Race, Context, and Privilege: White Adolescents’ Explanations of Racial-ethnic Centrality

This mixed-methods exploratory study examined the diverse content and situated context of White adolescents’ racial-ethnic identities. The sample consisted of 781 9th–12th grade White adolescents from three New England schools, which varied in racial and economic make-up. Open-ended responses provided a range of thematic categories regarding the importance of race-ethnicity to the adolescents’ identities, representing the diverse ideologies of White adolescents’ explanations, ranging from colorblind claims to ethnic pride. This study also found significant relationships between racial-ethnic identity importance (centrality) and parents’ education for White adolescents. These findings highlight the diversity of White adolescents’ understanding of their racial-ethnic identities and the importance of context in shaping racial-ethnic centrality.