A developmental perspective of the relationship of racial–ethnic identity to self-construct, achievement, and behavior in African American children.

Racial identity is one of the most frequently studied cultural identities in the United States, and it is examined most frequently in relation to African Americans. Racial identity is also examined in European American samples to a lesser extent, and there is a growing literature on the racial identity of biracial and multiracial individuals. Racial identity and ethnic identity are similar constructs, and there are some researchers who do not distinguish between the constructs, using the terms and the measurement instruments interchangeably. However, as the instruments are developed in relation to theoretical models that speak to one or the other construct specifically (i.e., ethnic or racial identity), this perspective is not adopted in this article. Thus this article focuses solely on racial identity as a construct and does not include literature on ethnic identity or studies that used instruments developed to measure ethnic identity. The relationship between racial identity and learning, and more specifically academic achievement, is typically studied in the context of the achievement gap among racial and ethnic groups in the United States, and is most closely associated with the achievement gap between African American and European American students. Thus, studies of the relationship of racial identity to learning typically involve black racial identity but not white racial identity. In most of the scholarship in this area, researchers examine the relationship of black racial identity attitudes to academic achievement or other academic constructs (e.g., motivation). Additionally, two of the preeminent theories of underachievement in African Americans and other underachieving groups—that is, cultural ecological theory and stereotype threat—implicate racial identity as a contributing factor. Although there is a strong belief that racial identity is related to learning, there is still considerable debate about the contexts in which this relationship is manifested and the strength and explanatory power of the relationship, and the evidence in favor of a direct relationship between the racial identity and learning is mixed at best.

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The Relationship Between Types of Rap Music and Memory in African American Children

Journal of Black Studies ◽

10.1177/002193479802800607 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 28 (6) ◽

pp. 802-814 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Pamela D. Hall

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Rap Music ◽

African American Children ◽

American Children ◽

The Relationship

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Adherence to Therapy and Access to Care: The Relationship to Excess Asthma Morbidity in African-American Children

Pediatric Asthma Allergy & Immunology ◽

10.1089/pai.1994.8.179 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 179-184 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

CYNTHIA S. RAND ◽

ARLENE M. BUTZ ◽

KAREN HUSS ◽

PEYTON EGGLESTON ◽

LERA THOMPSON ◽

...

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Access To Care ◽

African American Children ◽

Asthma Morbidity ◽

American Children ◽

The Relationship ◽

Adherence To Therapy

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The Risk of Obesity for Children with Obese Mothers is Greater for Latinos and African Americans Than Whites from Low-Income Households

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzaa063_061 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 1663-1663

Author(s):

Fred Molitor ◽

Celeste Doerr

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Childhood Obesity ◽

Low Income ◽

African American Children ◽

White Children ◽

Obese Mother ◽

Increased Risk ◽

American Children ◽

Racial Ethnic ◽

Low Income Households

Abstract Objectives To investigate whether the magnitude of the increased obesity risk from having an obese mother is greater for children from certain racial/ethnic groups. Methods Low-income households were randomly selected in 2015, 2016, and 2017, and sent a tape measure for recording height prior to English or Spanish telephone interviews with mothers and children (5–17 years). Reported height (kilograms), weight (centimeters), gender, and age were used to calculate BMI. Children ≥the 95th percentile were classified as obese. Children with missing (9.0% of the sample) or extreme (< 1 of the sample) height or weight were excluded from the analyses. Relationships between mother and childhood obesity status controlled for children's age and gender, and mothers’ education. Results The analytic sample was 8603; 5415 children 5 to 11 years and 3188 children 12 to 17 years. The overall response rate was 70.2%. The sample was 67.1% Latino, 15.0% African American, and 14.2% white. The adjusted obesity prevalence was 23.2%; 25.2% for children 5 to 11 years and 20.6% for children 12 to 17 years. African American (OR 1.67, 95% CI, 1.38–2.02) and Latino (OR 1.43, 95% CI, 1.22–1.68) children had higher obesity rates than white children. As hypothesized, children with obese mothers were more likely to be obese. The increased odds of childhood obesity for having an obese mother was significantly greater for African American (OR 2.33, 95% CI, 1.97–3.03) and Latino children (OR 2.21, 95% CI, 1.95–2.50) than for white children (OR 1.84, 95% CI, 1.37–2.48). Conclusions One-fourth of children 5 to 11 years and one-fifth of children 12 to 17 years from low-income households in California are obese. In line with past research, white children were less likely to be obese than Latino and African American children. Our prevalence findings are subject to self-report biases. Yet, the increased risk of obesity for children with obese mothers for Latino and African American children are less subject to invalidity. Our study uniquely contributes to the research literature by demonstrating that disparities across racial/ethnic groups extend to the increased risk of obesity for Latino and African American children whose mother is obese, compared with white children with an obese mother. Funding Sources California Department of Social Services.

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