The Measurement of Racial/Ethnic Identity in Children

Abstract

Researchers have long been interested in racial attitudes and preferences of young children with a focus on the implications of societal racism on healthy development. The doll study paradigm popularized by Clark and Clark is the most commonly used measure for children; however, researchers also have adapted paper and pencil measures and projective techniques to capture children's attitudes. This article reviews multiple measurement approaches, drawing on developmental frameworks, and argues that researchers should draw more on cognitive developmental theories in creating measures that can better capture the unique nature of ethnic minority children's racial attitudes, how they form, and implications for adjustment. Keywords racial identity, racial preferences, children, doll study Researchers have long been interested in the racial attitudes and preferences of young children. The doll study paradigm popularized by K. B. Clark and Clark (1939) is the most commonly used and enduring measure for children

Ethnic/racial identity and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review

“…Byrd (2012) argued that children's responses to various racial identity measures might not be very meaningful, as children have not yet developed the cognitive abilities to think about race and identity abstractly. Earlier work done to assess children's racial identity used the doll study method (Clark & Clark, 1939; for a review see Byrd, 2012), or asking questions about children's preference to white or black dolls, and the MEIM. It is possible that children have not yet had enough experience to tie experiences to or make meaning of the questions for these assessments, making the correlations for ERI and academic achievement less meaningful and spurious.…”

Racial‐ethnic Identity in Context: Examining Mediation of Neighborhood Factors on Children's Academic Adjustment

“…Historically, there was substantial research on the formation of identity (Byrd, 2012; Clark & Clark, 1939; Spencer, 1985) in young African American children. However, the extant empirical research on racial-ethnic identity among young children is scant; most of the literature focuses on adolescence (Rivas-Drake, Seaton, et al, 2014; Rivas-Drake, Syed, et al, 2014) as scholars propose that these earlier experiences in childhood are the foundation for racial-ethnic identity formation, which focuses on the internalized meaning of race-ethnicity.…”

“…However, the extant empirical research on racial-ethnic identity among young children is scant; most of the literature focuses on adolescence (Rivas-Drake, Seaton, et al, 2014; Rivas-Drake, Syed, et al, 2014) as scholars propose that these earlier experiences in childhood are the foundation for racial-ethnic identity formation, which focuses on the internalized meaning of race-ethnicity. Yet, several scholars have begun to delineate the process of racial-ethnic awareness and categorization to identity formation (e.g., Bigler & Liben, 2007; Byrd, 2012; Quintana, 2008). Quintana (2008) suggests a four-level developmental model of racial perspective taking ability (RPTA) that explains how children come to understand how race impacts their worlds.…”

Self‐concept in children with Down syndrome

“…However, this methodology has its limitations. These limitations have included potential difficulty in accurate classification by the participants and the appropriateness of including certain toys and dolls [Byrd, 2012; Phillips, 1945]. Nonetheless, based upon the controlled paradigm in this study, we feel that such doll study limitations have been minimized and that we were able to capture children with DS attitudes and perceptions that may not have been able to otherwise be measured.…”