The Impact of Family Relationships on Racial and Ethnic Identity Among U.S. Afro-Caribbeans

Using the National Survey of American Life: Coping with Stress in the 21st Century, this study is guided by the following question: To what extent do family relationships (i.e., frequency of contact with, closeness to, and negative interactions with family) shape racial and ethnic identity among U.S...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Amy Irby-Shasanmi, Akilah Hairston, Christy L. Erving
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-04-01
Series:Socius
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231251332074
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849697411330473984
author Amy Irby-Shasanmi
Akilah Hairston
Christy L. Erving
author_facet Amy Irby-Shasanmi
Akilah Hairston
Christy L. Erving
author_sort Amy Irby-Shasanmi
collection DOAJ
description Using the National Survey of American Life: Coping with Stress in the 21st Century, this study is guided by the following question: To what extent do family relationships (i.e., frequency of contact with, closeness to, and negative interactions with family) shape racial and ethnic identity among U.S.-born and foreign-born Afro-Caribbeans? The authors operationalize identity as closeness to Black Americans, closeness to Caribbean Blacks, and identity preference. The results indicate that closeness to family was associated with feeling close to Black Americans for U.S.- and foreign-born Caribbean Blacks. Second, closeness to family was associated with higher odds of closeness to other Caribbean Blacks, but only among foreign-born Afro-Caribbeans. Last, negative interactions with family was associated with adopting an ethnic identity instead of a racial identity for U.S.-born Caribbeans. For foreign-born Afro-Caribbeans, negative interactions with family was associated with lower likelihood of adopting an ethnic identity relative to an “other” identity. This study demonstrates the role of family relationships in understanding identity processes among U.S.- and foreign-born Afro-Caribbeans.
format Article
id doaj-art-2a036d3bf43241f58b7a9efa7d08870e
institution DOAJ
issn 2378-0231
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher SAGE Publishing
record_format Article
series Socius
spelling doaj-art-2a036d3bf43241f58b7a9efa7d08870e2025-08-20T03:19:13ZengSAGE PublishingSocius2378-02312025-04-011110.1177/23780231251332074The Impact of Family Relationships on Racial and Ethnic Identity Among U.S. Afro-CaribbeansAmy Irby-Shasanmi0Akilah Hairston1Christy L. Erving2Indiana University-Indianapolis, Cavanaugh Hall, Indianapolis, IN, USAKennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USAUniversity of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USAUsing the National Survey of American Life: Coping with Stress in the 21st Century, this study is guided by the following question: To what extent do family relationships (i.e., frequency of contact with, closeness to, and negative interactions with family) shape racial and ethnic identity among U.S.-born and foreign-born Afro-Caribbeans? The authors operationalize identity as closeness to Black Americans, closeness to Caribbean Blacks, and identity preference. The results indicate that closeness to family was associated with feeling close to Black Americans for U.S.- and foreign-born Caribbean Blacks. Second, closeness to family was associated with higher odds of closeness to other Caribbean Blacks, but only among foreign-born Afro-Caribbeans. Last, negative interactions with family was associated with adopting an ethnic identity instead of a racial identity for U.S.-born Caribbeans. For foreign-born Afro-Caribbeans, negative interactions with family was associated with lower likelihood of adopting an ethnic identity relative to an “other” identity. This study demonstrates the role of family relationships in understanding identity processes among U.S.- and foreign-born Afro-Caribbeans.https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231251332074
spellingShingle Amy Irby-Shasanmi
Akilah Hairston
Christy L. Erving
The Impact of Family Relationships on Racial and Ethnic Identity Among U.S. Afro-Caribbeans
Socius
title The Impact of Family Relationships on Racial and Ethnic Identity Among U.S. Afro-Caribbeans
title_full The Impact of Family Relationships on Racial and Ethnic Identity Among U.S. Afro-Caribbeans
title_fullStr The Impact of Family Relationships on Racial and Ethnic Identity Among U.S. Afro-Caribbeans
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of Family Relationships on Racial and Ethnic Identity Among U.S. Afro-Caribbeans
title_short The Impact of Family Relationships on Racial and Ethnic Identity Among U.S. Afro-Caribbeans
title_sort impact of family relationships on racial and ethnic identity among u s afro caribbeans
url https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231251332074
work_keys_str_mv AT amyirbyshasanmi theimpactoffamilyrelationshipsonracialandethnicidentityamongusafrocaribbeans
AT akilahhairston theimpactoffamilyrelationshipsonracialandethnicidentityamongusafrocaribbeans
AT christylerving theimpactoffamilyrelationshipsonracialandethnicidentityamongusafrocaribbeans
AT amyirbyshasanmi impactoffamilyrelationshipsonracialandethnicidentityamongusafrocaribbeans
AT akilahhairston impactoffamilyrelationshipsonracialandethnicidentityamongusafrocaribbeans
AT christylerving impactoffamilyrelationshipsonracialandethnicidentityamongusafrocaribbeans