U.S. Latine Racial Ethnic Identification and Demographic Form Presentation Preferences Across Development

Abstract

The U.S. government has historically oversimplified the classification of groups as strictly races (e.g., White, Black, Asian, etc.) or strictly ethnicities. However, because categories like Latine straddle conventions of what constitutes a race versus an ethnicity in the U.S., there is no consensus of whether Latine should be generally regarded as a race or an ethnicity. This dissertation introduces the Proposed Model of Latine Ethnic or Racial Identification with two pathways (Cultural Heritage Pathway and Racialization Pathway) to examine how people can develop distinct conceptualizations (i.e., ethnic or racial) of the same identity (i.e., Latine). Here, across three developmental timepoints (late childhood/early adolescence, young adulthood, and middle adulthood), this model is used to examine whether one’s Latine identity is generally regarded as a race or an ethnicity, whether Latine should be considered a race or an ethnicity on demographic forms, and what sociodemographic factors predict these choices. The Cultural Heritage Pathway predicts culture-related factors like increased levels of cultural socialization, ethnic identity, and assimilation would lead Latine people to view their identity as an ethnicity and prefer a demographic form that lists Latine as an ethnicity, since ethnicity is theoretically a matter of cultural self-assertion. The Racialization Pathway predicts experiences with discrimination and having a darker skin-tone could lead Latine people to view their identity as a race and prefer a demographic form that lists Latine as a race, because race is inextricably related to discrimination. In Chapter 2, I use semi-structured interviews to demonstrate Latine children in late childhood prefer to fill out a demographic form that lists Latine as an ethnicity and Latine children in early adolescence prefer to fill out a demographic form that lists Latine as a race. For this child sample (9- to 14-years-old), having a darker skin-tone is predictive of preferring a form that lists Latine as a race. For their parents, having experienced discrimination is predictive of preferring this same race form presentation, supporting the proposed Racialization Pathway. Next, in Chapter 3, focus groups of Latine college students in young adulthood say their Latine identity is an ethnicity and cite cultural ties to their identity, as the Cultural Heritage Pathway predicted. However, most of these same participants indicated they prefer a demographic form that lists Latine as a race. This reveals that how a person prefers to see their identity presented on a demographic form may be distinct from other perceptions of one’s identity; perhaps because demographic forms guide the person filling them out to think of their identity within the context of other racial/ethnic groups and the larger framework of U.S society. Lastly, in Chapter 4, surveys revealed a cultural difference where Mexican American adults prefer a demographic form that lists Latine as a race and Cuban American adults prefer a demographic form that lists Latine as an ethnicity. In this sample, those with higher levels of American Acculturation were more likely to prefer a demographic form that listed Latine as an ethnicity, supporting the Cultural Heritage Pathway. These studies have laid a foundation for examining the distinct factors that influence how Latine people conceptualize their identity as either a race or an ethnicity. Moreover, this work provides a developmental and sociocultural framework for understanding how Latine identity is constructed and categorized within U.S. racial systems. Future work should continue examining how demographic forms can prime feelings of rejection or belonging, specifically if a person cannot identify on the form in a way that feel congruent with their identity perceptions.