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Say it Loud: The Obama Effect and Racial/Ethnic Identification of Adolescents |
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| Authors: | Javonda Williams Kathleen A. Bolland Lisa Hooper Wesley Church Sara Tomek John Bolland |
| Affiliation: | 1. School of Social Work, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA jwilliams11@sw.ua.edu;3. School of Social Work, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA;4. Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, Counseling, and College Student Personnel, The University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA;5. School of Social Work, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA;6. College of Education, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA;7. College of Human and Environmental Sciences, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA |
| Abstract: | The current study examined how self-reported racial/ethnic identification of adolescents living in poverty may be related to significant societal events and seminal public figures. Data from a multiple cohort longitudinal study, conducted in Mobile, Alabama between 1998 and 2011, were used to examine the impact of Barack Obama's nomination and presidency on racial/ethnic identification. The results show that significantly more adolescents changed their self-reported racial/ethnic identification from White or Mixed-Race to Black or Mixed Race after the election than before. These results suggest that a distant public figure can serve as a role model with observable effects for adolescents. |
| Keywords: | Racial identification adolescent development identity development |