Internalizing Symptoms and Ethnic-Racial Identity Development During Adolescence

Most research examining the development of ethnic-racial identity has focused on peer and family predictors, but there is limited literature regarding the effect that psychological stress may have in the development of ethnic identity commitment and exploration among adolescents. Internalizing symptoms such as social anxiety and depression are important factors to consider during the development of ethnic-racial identity. The current study analyzed associations among ethnic-racial identity, social anxiety, depressive symptoms, social preference, and popularity within a sample of African American and Latinx adolescents. Higher social anxiety was longitudinally associated with lower ethnic-racial identity commitment over time, suggesting that psychological distress may affect how ethnic-racial identity develops.Bachelor of Scienc