User:VerdantAurum/Ethnic identity development

I am intending to add a new section after "Phinney's model of ethnic identity development" and before "applications. Thusly, I have copied the leading statement, and the surounding sections from the main article to the draft page. My addition to the article are under the Social/Personaity Models for Ethnic identity.

'''7 March - After reading back over my contributions, I agreed with the review left by Bedrum00 that my use of acronyms was rather confusing to keep track of. While I still specify the commonly used acronyms, I edited my contributions to instead more often spell them out. It was also mentioned that it might be more interesting to eleaborate more on, "...and more so on their content -what it means to the person and it's impact on said person." Elaborating on this phrase, however, would not be very pertinent to the article since what is essentially saying is that the personality models have a greater foundation in personality psychology. I do however add in parentheses that this refers to topics more typically explored by personality psychlogy and link the page to personality psychology.'''

'''Rio's review states that I may also want to add a section about the independent formation and patterns of ethnic identity in groups as well as the positives and negatives associated with this. I do believe that this could be an interesting addition but don't think I will be adding it to the article. I believe the pros and cons of ethnic identity formation are noted throughout the article already. While ethnic identity formation and patterns in groups could be interesting, I am not sure the research to support its own section currently exists. I will look further into this, but most of what I've found details theories and models of development.'''

'''I do also believe that Jaylaa20's review does make an excellent point when she notes that the existing article states that the majority of research on Ethnic identity development is American, and it may provide a more well rounded view to find some international sources. However, in my PubMed searches, meta-analysis of ethnic identity development topics all tend to be published by American journals. While not considered reliable sources for my article's content, it is possible I could look into sources cited in other meta-analysis and see if they have any non-American research or researchers cited.'''

Ethnic identity development includes the identity formation in an individual's self-categorization in, and psychological attachment to, (an) ethnic group(s). Ethnic identity is characterized as part of one's overarching self-concept and identification. It is distinct from the development of ethnic group identities.

Phinney's model of ethnic identity development
Jean Phinney’s model of ethnic identity development is a multidimensional model, with theoretical underpinnings of both Erikson and Marcia. In line with Erikson's identity formation, Phinney focuses on the adolescent, acknowledging significant changes during this time period, including greater abilities in cognition to contemplate ethnic identity, as well as a broader exposure outside of their own community, a greater focus on one's social life, and an increased concern for physical appearance.

Phinney's Three Stage Progression:


 * Unexamined Ethnic Identity – Prior to adolescence, children either give ethnicity little thought (related to Marcia's diffuse status) or are assumed to have derived their ethnic identity from others, rather than engaging in personal examination. This is related to Marcia's foreclosed identity status. Knowledge of one's ethnicity is "absorbed", which reflects the process of socialization.

Broadly, socialization in the context of ethnic identity development refers to the acquisition of behaviors, perceptions, values, and attitudes of an ethnic group(s). This process recognizes that feelings about one's ethnic group(s) can be influenced by family, peers, community, and larger society. These contextual systems or networks of influence delineate from ecological systems theory. These systems influence children's feelings of belonging and overall affect toward ethnic group(s). Children may internalize both positive and negative messages and therefore hold conflicting feelings about ethnicity. Socialization highlights how early experiences for children are considered crucial in regards to their ethnic identity development.


 * Ethnic Identity Search- During the onset of adolescence, there is a questioning of accepted views of ethnicity and a greater understanding of ethnicity in a more abstract sense. Typically this stage has been characterized as being initiated by a significant experience that creates heightened awareness of ethnicity, such as discrimination. Engagement in some form of exploration includes an interest in learning more about one's culture and actively involving oneself in activities such as talking with others about ethnicity, reading books on the subject, and thinking about both the current and future effects of one's ethnicity. This stage is related to Erikson's ‘Identity versus Role-confusion’, and Marcia's moratorium.
 * Ethnic Identity Achievement- This stage is characterized by clarity about one's ethnic identity. The achievement phase includes a secure, confident, and stable sense of self. Achievement also is characterized as a realistic assessment of one's in-group(s) in a larger social context. In essence, the individual has internalized their ethnicity. This stage is related to Erikson's achieved identity, and identity achievement of Marcia. Identity achievement is also related to social identity theory in that this acceptance replaces one's negative ethnic self-image. Although achievement represents the highest level of ethnic identity development, Phinney believes reexamination can occur depending on experiences over time.

More recently, Phinney has focused on the continuous dimensions of one's exploration and commitment to one's ethnic group(s), rather than on distinct identity statuses.

Social/Personality Models for Ethnic identity
Social/personality models for ethnic identity, unlike the more known Phinney's model for ethnic identity development derived from Erickson's model of personality development, focus less so on the development stages of ERI and more so on their content -what it means to the person and it's impact on said person (concepts typically more explored in personality psychology). Though, like Phinney's model, ethnic identity is still viewed as being multidimensional.

In the meta-analysis done by Tiffany Yip, Yijie Wang, Candace Mootoo, snd Sheena Mirpuri, the prominent Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI) is detailed along with possible, though conflicting dimensions: the Social Identity Theory (SIT) vs. the Self-Catagorization Theory (SCT). These theories differ in their suggestion of the impact high ethnic/racial identity centrality on a person's personality. Social Identity Theory (SIT) suggests that the effects of ethnic/racial discrimination (ERD) will be mediated in a person with high ERI centrality whereas Self-Catagorization Theory (SCT) suggests that high ethnic/racial identity centrality may result in more negative outcomes when faced with ethnic/racial discrimination.

Applications
Research reveals ethnic identity development is related to psychological well-being. Ethnic identity has been linked with positive self-evaluation and self-esteem. Ethnic identity development has also been shown to serve as a buffer between perceived discrimination and depression. Specifically, commitment of an ethnic identity may help to abate depressive symptoms experienced soon after experiencing discrimination, which in turn alleviates overall stress. Researchers posit commitment to an ethnic identity group(s) is related to additional resources accumulated through the exploration process, including social support. Ethnic identity development has been linked to happiness and decreased anxiety. Specifically, regard for one's ethnic group may buffer normative stress. Numerous studies show many positive outcomes associated with strong and stable ethnic identities, including increased self-esteem, improved mental health, decreased self-destructive behaviors, and greater academic achievement. In contrast, empirical evidence suggests that ethnic identity exploration may be related to vulnerability to negative outcomes, such as depression. Findings suggest this is due to an individual's sensitivity to awareness of discrimination and conflicts of positive and negative images of ethnicity during exploration. Also, while commitment to an ethnic group(s) is related to additional resources, exploration is related to a lack of ready-access resources.

Studies have found that in terms of family cohesion, the closer adolescents felt to their parents, the more they reported feeling connected to their ethnic group. Given the family is a key source of ethnic socialization, closeness with the family may highly overlap with closeness with one's ethnic group. Resources like family cohesion, proportion of same-ethnic peers, and ethnic centrality act as correlates of within-person change in ethnic identity, but it is only on the individual level and not as adolescents as a group.