Neighborhood Effects on Racial–Ethnic Identity: The Undermining Role of Segregation

African American and Latino youth experience stereotypes about their group’s academic ability but youth high in three components of racial–ethnic identity Connectedness, Awareness of Racism, and Embedded Achievement are buffered from these stereotypes and are more likely to attain good grades in school, feel efficacious, and engaged with academics. In the current study, the effect of neighborhood segregation on these components of racial–ethnic identity was examined. Segregation impairs racial–ethnic identity Connectedness, Awareness of Racism, and Embedded Achievement among African American and Latino youth. Eighth graders (n = 206 African American, n = 131 Latino) living in 100 census tracks filled out racial–ethnic identity scales. A multilevel model demonstrates that segregation is associated with lower scores on each of the components of racial–ethnic identity. Low-income African Americans are likely to live in raciallyethnically segregated neighborhoods (Massey and Eggers 1990) and racial–ethnic segregation has negative effects on academic outcomes (Bankston and Caladas 1996; Hanushek et al. 2002; Peterson and Krivo 1993; Wacquant and Wilson 1989). Whereas racial–ethnic segregation was not historically income-based, shifts in the labor market have produced a concentration of low income racial–ethnic minorities in urban centers. The American labor market is now ‘‘post industrial’’ which means that there are now fewer jobs for low skill workers and especially fewer good wage manufacturing jobs for these workers, with an increase in the proportion of the labor market working in service jobs (Eggers and Massey 1992; Wilson 1996). In addition to this contraction in the size of the labor market and shift in focus from manufacturing to service, wages have become more polarized, with better paying jobs shifting away from central cities. As the market shifted, those with job skills or the resources to attain these skills followed high skill jobs out of central cities, leaving behind those who lacked skills and did not have the resources to attain them. This resulted in increasingly segregated and high poverty urban centers with fewer and worse paying jobs (Eggers and Massey 1992; Wilson 1996). This spatial segmentation and separation means that residents of segregated neighborhoods have little exposure to people who have high education, income, or occupational prestige (Adelman and Gocker 2007; Krivo et al. 1998; Massey et al. 1994). Because African American and Latino children are disproportionately likely to live in these segregated neighborhoods (Wallace and Muroff 2002), in the current article we examine the impact of neighborhood segregation on the racial–ethnic identities of African American and Latino youths, controlling for poverty and unemployment. We use the term racial–ethnic identity purposely. Race and ethnicity are likely to form a multifaceted identity that includes sense of membership, valued goals, norms, and behaviors perceived to be shared by in-group members and beliefs about how the in-group is perceived by others (Oyserman et al. 2007). In the current article, we first lay out the theoretical argument, starting with prior research demonstrating that racial–ethnic identity can have positive D. Oyserman (&) Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA e-mail: [email protected] K.-I. Yoon Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA e-mail: [email protected] 1 We refer to identity with regard to these content domains rather than simple categorization of individuals into a group. 123 Race Soc Probl (2009) 1:67–76 DOI 10.1007/s12552-009-9007-1