Peer support development among Black American and Latinx adolescents: The role of ethnic-racial centrality

Abstract

Adolescence is a developmental period when youth are increasingly likely to turn to their peers for support, and it is also a time of increased salience and development of ethnic-racial identity (ERI). Ethnic-racial centrality, a dimension of ERI, could be a predictor in the development of peer support, as youth with a stronger self-concept on the basis of their ethnic-racial identity might garner stronger peer relations. The current study examined trajectories of academic and emotional peer support as well as the role of centrality of one's ethnic-racial identity (i.e., ethnic-racial centrality) in predicting such trajectories among Black American and Latinx adolescents (N = 143, M_age = 11.91). Average levels of both academic and emotional peer support did not change over time. However, greater ethnic-racial centrality was positively related to higher initial levels of academic and emotional peer support. Ethnic-racial centrality as a potential asset for youth of color in the development of peer support is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).