Department of Psychology, University of Michigan.
T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University.
Dev Psychol. 2017 Nov;53(11):2170-2181. doi: 10.1037/dev0000413.
The developmental significance of youths' racial identities during adolescence is well established. It is less clear how puberty, a normative process, influences the relationship between racial identity and adjustment outcomes during adolescence. This study examined whether puberty moderates the relationship between racial identity dimensions and internalizing and externalizing outcomes, and whether the effects of puberty and racial identity on internalizing and externalizing outcomes vary by child sex. Data are drawn from African American families (N = 176; 48% female) who participated in Waves 4 and 5 of Phase III of the NICHD SECCYD. Results indicated that fifth-grade boys who felt more positively about being African American and were less advanced in their pubertal development evidenced less internalizing problems 1 year later, after adjusting for previous internalizing levels; however, for boys further in their pubertal development, having higher private regard was associated with more, rather than less, internalizing problems. Additionally, fifth-grade boys and girls who were less advanced in their pubertal development and believed that society views African Americans in a more positive light (higher public regard levels) engaged in more externalizing behaviors 1 year later, after adjusting for previous externalizing levels. Findings offer new insights into the independent and synergistic linkages between racial identity and pubertal development in their relation to internalizing and externalizing outcomes among African American youth. (PsycINFO Database Record
青少年时期种族认同的发展意义已得到充分证实。青春期是一个正常的过程，它如何影响种族认同与青少年时期适应结果之间的关系则不太清楚。本研究检验了青春期是否调节了种族认同维度与内化和外化结果之间的关系，以及青春期和种族认同对内化和外化结果的影响是否因儿童性别而异。数据来自参加儿童健康与人类发展研究（NICHD SECCYD）第三阶段第 4 波和第 5 波的非裔美国家庭（N = 176；48%为女性）。结果表明，在调整先前内化水平后，五年级时对自己的非裔美国人身份感觉更积极、青春期发育程度较低的男孩，一年后内化问题较少；然而，对于青春期发育程度更高的男孩来说，拥有更高的私人评价与更多而不是更少的内化问题相关。此外，在调整先前的外化水平后，五年级时青春期发育程度较低、认为社会对非裔美国人的看法更为积极（更高的公共评价水平）的男孩和女孩，一年后外化行为更多。这些发现为种族认同与青春期发展之间的独立和协同联系及其与非裔美国青年内化和外化结果之间的关系提供了新的见解。
