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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.

In this article, we conceptualize youth-led antiracism research in developmental science. First, we discuss how Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) principles converge with critical race epistemological approaches to knowledge production. Second, we propose that youth-led antiracism research requires a commitment to multiple ways of knowing, countering paternalism, focusing on structural racism, and activist scholarship that advances racial equity. These commitments are necessary to challenge how White supremacy culture shapes social science research paradigms. We weave existing empirical evidence and theory on YPAR with counter-storytelling methodology to identify various participatory methods and creative strategies that exemplify these commitments and emerged from co-creating research projects with ethnically and racially diverse youth. We conclude with implications for developmental science and offer guiding questions that may help scholars reimagine research in partnership with youth in ways that advance racial justice.

This case study examined how the Michigan Youth Policy Fellows program—which aimed to create a space for a team of adolescents to engage in a collaborative photovoice project with peers from diverse backgrounds—empowered young people to critically analyze and interrupt racial segregation. The study describes how nine racially and socioeconomically diverse adolescent girls and boys (14–17 years old), from the inner city and suburbs of Detroit, collectively evaluated the cultural, economic, and racial markers of differences found along one of the region’s thoroughfares, Woodward Avenue. The case study used multiple sources of data, collected over 8 years from 2006 to 2014, and a hybrid inductive-deductive analysis approach to examine the process of youth empowerment. The collaborative nature of the photovoice tour helped youth move from critical self-reflection of lived experiences to a collective understanding of segregation and inequality in the metropolitan region. The findings also suggest that engagement in a photovoice project fostered collective action through intergroup advocacy and supported youths’ civic development. As a practical method, the case study demonstrates that photovoice is a useful tool for group empowerment with adolescents.

Scholarship on youth engagement indicates that adolescents address social issues of public concern, but it is not clear how youth challenge racism. This gap in the literature stems from indirect conceptualizations and a lack of quantitative measurement of adolescents’ acts to oppose racism. Correspondingly, this study presents the validation of a measure of youth anti-racism action. Study 1 describes the youth participatory approach used in the development of the Anti-Racism Action Scale and presents the results from an exploratory factor analysis that examined the measure’s initial factor structure and reliability. The factor structure of the 22-item measure was explored with a diverse sample of adolescents (Mage = 16.00, SD = 1.18; 61.7% girls, Black/African American [29.3%], Asian/South Asian [21.1%], White/European American [24.4%], Arab/Middle-Eastern [17.5%], Latino/Hispanic [4.5%], and Multiracial [3.3%]) enrolled in a race dialogue program (n = 249). The results indicated the measure consisted of three subscales: Interpersonal Action, Communal Action, and Political Change Action. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with an independent, nationally representative sample of youth (n = 384) from diverse backgrounds (Mage = 17.00, SD = 1.29, 51.0% girls, White/European American [26.1%], Black/African American [25.6%], Latino/Hispanic [19.3%], Asian/Pacific Islander [13.6%], Multiracial [9.9%], Native American [5.2%] and “other” [0.3%]). The results confirmed a three-factor model that resulted in a 16-item measure. Furthermore, tests of convergent validity tests were pursued between the Anti-Racism Action Scale and the Critical Consciousness Scale, a widely used measure of youths’ awareness of the structural causes of various forms of oppression, sense of sociopolitical agency, and social action. This study suggests that youth engagement in anti-racism is multidimensional and that notion of adolescent social action are more diverse than represented in the literature.

Using narrative inquiry the authors reflect about their experiences teaching and learning Critical Race Studies, in a department of Social Work whose theoretical foundation is Critical Race Theory. The students in this department are enrolled in a Master of Social Work Program, at a State university in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area in California, United States of America. The authors further explore the extent to which this class, particularly through an assignment in which students reflect about their political, social, and economic positionality, leads students to creating individual and collective counter-narratives that enhance their sense of agency toward creating social change.

Post-1965 children of Latino immigrants in the United States have come of age during an era of mass incarceration and a colour-blind ideology. Drawing from in-depth interviews with inner city, male...

The current study examined whether youth perceptions of school racial messages that acknowledged the reality of racism (critical consciousness [CC] messages) or denied racism (color-blind messages) predicted youth anti-racism action through interpersonal and communal/political means. We further tested whether youths' critical reflection of perceived inequality and anger toward social injustice-psychological aspects of CC development-mediated relations between school messages and youth actions. These questions were explored using structural equation modeling with 372 racially/ethnically diverse adolescents (Mage = 17.00; standard deviation = 1.29; female = 51.0%). Results indicated that youth perceptions of CC messages predicted their involvement in both interpersonal and communal/political anti-racism action. Youths' anger toward social injustice mediated links between school racial messages and anti-racism action, albeit in unique ways. These findings underscore the power of schools in prompting youth anti-racism action. Implications of the importance of partnerships between schools and youth community organizing groups to stimulate youth anti-racism action were discussed.

Research has sought to understand how parents socialize their children around race and ethnicity, but few studies have considered how contexts outside the home are also important sources of socialization. In this paper we review and integrate literature on practices in school settings that have implications for ethnic–racial socialization using a framework based on Hughes et al. (Dev Psychol 42(5):747–770, 2006) review of parental socialization. The practices reviewed include cultural socialization, preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust, egalitarianism, colorblindness, and silence. Our review shows a wide range of practices in education that may influence the development of ethnic–racial identity and ethnic–racial consciousness, but more research is needed to understand the role that schools play in developing African American youth’s understanding of race and identity.

This study examines the values in Latino young adults’ perceptions of messages about sex during their formative years and their current level of sexual exploration and sexual assertiveness. Latino young adults in college ( N = 218) rated the prevalence of four types of messages they heard from parents and friends: Sex is only for marriage (procreational), sex is only appropriate in a loving relationship (relational), sex is for pleasure (recreational), and the sexual double standard. Relational sex was most prominent in parental messages; recreational sex was most prominent in friend messages. Women reported more relational sex messages and men reported more recreational sex messages from parents and friends. Fewer procreational sex messages from parents and more recreational sex messages from friends were associated with higher reported levels of sexual exploration and assertiveness. We propose that sexual exploration and assertiveness are behavioral manifestations of individualistic values embedded in sexual discourses among friends and family.

Which form or forms of civic engagement have the most potential to involve young people in a socially-just diverse democracy? At a time when civic engagement will benefit from conceptual clarification, this paper addresses this question and some of the issues it raises. It analyzes four forms of youth civic engagement for a socially-just diverse democracy. It examines each one according to analytic categories, compares their similarities and differences, and raises questions for future work. It draws upon research in psychology, sociology, and other academic disciplines; and on intergroup relations, multicultural education, social work, and other professional fields. The expectation is that systematic analysis of these phenomena as a subject of study will contribute to the quality of their practice, and move discussion of civic engagement to the next level.

This review considers the relation between racial socialization and positive youth development in African American families. A central premise is that posi- tive youth outcomes (competence, confidence, character, connection, and caring) are often directly supported through traditional racial socialization messages (such as cultural socialization, preparation for bias, self-worth, and egalitarianism). The review draws contrasts between the more prevalent risk and resilience models and positive youth development, and makes recommendations for future research directions.

Empirical evidence shows that intergroup dialogue programs promote changes in ethnic-racial identity and racism awareness among college students. Expanding on this research, this study examines the effects of intergroup dialogues on adolescents’ racial consciousness. Self-reports of 147 adolescents (13–19 years old), of various racial and ethnic backgrounds were used. Repeated-measures ANOVAs, on pre- and post-tests examined changes in racial consciousness (ethnic-racial identity and racism awareness), controlling for parent education. Group differences (ethnic-racial groups, nativity) also were examined. As predicted, ethnic-racial identity and racism awareness increased after completing the program. Although there were statistically significant ethnic-racial group differences in ethnic-racial identity, no group differences in racism awareness were found. The findings demonstrate that intergroup dialogues can promote adolescents’ ethnic-racial consciousness.

Health disparities are pervasive in the United States; but among Hispanics, access to health care is encumbered by poverty, lack of insurance, legal status, and racial or minority status. Research has identified certain aspects of Hispanic culture, values, and traditions contributing to the nature of the Hispanic patient-doctor relationship and the quality of the health care service. Current educational efforts by nonprofit organizations, government, health professionals, and pharmaceutical manufacturers fail to address the needs for accessible and appropriately culture-sensitive information when approaching the diverse Hispanic community. Understanding Hispanics' consumptive practices and expectations surrounding medications is critical to the success of many treatment regimens. Recommendations are presented to address this health care issue.