Something You Can See, Hear, and Feel

A Descriptive, Exploratory Mixed-Methods Analysis of Youths’ Articulations About Racism

Bibliographic Data

ID8073178
AuthorsJosefina Bañales (0000-0003-0119-3847, University of Illinois Chicago, corresponding author), Adriana Aldana (0000-0003-1250-4006, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Carson, USA), Katie Richards-Schuster (University of Michigan), Katie Richards‐schuster, Alexandra Merritt (Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA)
Year2021
Volume38
Issue3
Pages493-527
Publication date2021-12-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Adolescent Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0743-5584 • E-ISSN: 1552-6895
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/07435584211062117
OpenAlexW4200004738
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited61

This descriptive, exploratory, sequential mixed-methods study investigated youths’ articulations about racism via an open-ended survey question, and the extent to which these articulations differed based on youths’ demographic characteristics. This study included 384 youth who identified as African American ( n = 98), Latinx/o/Hispanic ( n = 74), Asian/Pacific Islander ( n = 52), Multiracial ( n = 38), Native American ( n = 20), and White ( n = 100). Youth were between 14 and 18 years of age ( Mage = 16.66, SD = 1.28) and were primarily cisgender girls (51.3%) followed by cisgender boys (44.5%) and transgender (4.2%) youth. Thematic analysis was used to analyze youths’ responses, finding that youth displayed an analysis of intrapersonal/interpersonal racism, structural racism, and color-evasive ideology. Cross-tabulation analysis revealed that youth from lower socioeconomic statues (SES) were more likely than higher SES youth to describe racism as an intrapersonal/interpersonal phenomenon, and girls and transgender youth were more likely than boys to express a structural analysis of racism. Study findings suggest that youths’ beliefs about racism are multidimensional and primarily characterize racism as an intrapersonal/interpersonal phenomenon. Results may be used to inform the development of youth programs that aim to discuss racism in critical ways

Developmental psychology · Ethnic group · Exploratory research · Interpersonal communication · Intrapersonal communication · Pacific islanders · Qualitative research · Racism · Socialization · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Transgender · Critical Race Theory in Education · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Youth Development and Social Support · Gender Studies · Social Psychology