The relationships between ethnic identity, social context, and depressive symptoms in adolescents

Ethnic identity is a construct that has been studied for decades in the field of psychology. Much of this literature has focused on contextual factors that may contribute to the development of ethnic identity, as well as how ethnic identity impacts mental health. The purpose of this study was to better understand ethnic identity across different racial and ethnic groups, which social factors are related to ethnic identity in adolescents, and the relationship between ethnic identity and adolescent depression. In a sample of 186 adolescents, ethnic identity was higher in Hispanic youth than Black, Non-Hispanic or White, Non-Hispanic youth. Greater parental support and feelings of school connectedness were predictive of concurrent ethnic identity; parental conflict was not significantly associated with ethnic identity. Ethnic identity did not significantly predict concurrent depressive symptoms. This study highlights the importance of positive social relationships in the development of adolescent ethnic identity. Future research should incorporate general measures of well-being to better understand the relationship between ethnic identity and mental health during adolescence.