Latinx sexual minority youth's identity development and experiences with preparation for bias

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• Author: Sei Eun Kim,Russell B. Toomey,Karla Anhalt
• Date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12729

RESEARCH

Latinx sexual minority youth’s identity development

and experiences with preparation for bias

Sei Eun Kim

1

| Russell B. Toomey

2

| Karla Anhalt

3

1

Department of Counseling and Clinical

Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia

University, New York, NY, United States

2

Family Studies and Human Development,

The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

3

School Psychology Program, Kent State

University, Kent, OH

Correspondence

Sei Eun Kim, Department of Counseling and

Clinical Psychology, Teachers College,

Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street,

New York, NY 10027, USA.

Email: sek2177@tc.columbia.edu

Abstract

Objective: This study examined how preparation for ethnic

and sexual orientation bias uniquely and collectively con-

tributes to ethnic identity and sexual orientation identity

development among Latinx sexual minority youth (SMY).

Background: Theories indicate that parental socialization strat-

egies are associated with youth’s development, yet no studies

have examined how multiple forms of socialization are uniquely

and collectively associated with youth’s identity development.

Method: Hypotheses were tested using self-reported data

from 385 Latinx SMY (M=20.26, SD =2.6).

Results: Preparation for ethnic bias was negatively associated

with ethnic identity affirmation but positively associated with

ethnic identity exploration and resolution. Preparation for

sexual orientation bias was negatively associated with ethnic

identity exploration, resolution, and affirmation, as well as

sexual orientation identity resolution and affirmation, but

not exploration. Several interactions emerged between prepa-

ration for ethnic bias and sexual orientation bias predicting

ethnic and sexual orientation identity.

Conclusion: Findings suggest that preparation for bias

relatedtoethnicityandsexualorientation are interconnected,

rather than independently shaping ethnic and sexual orienta-

tion identities development among SMY.

Implications: Additional studies are needed to understand the

impacts of family socialization related to ethnicity and sexual-

ity to optimize identity development among Latinx SMY.

Author note: We thank the young people who participated in the study. We also thank the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network

(GLSEN) for their assistance with participant recruitment. (The study was approved by GLSEN’s Research Ethics Review Committee

for promotion by GLSEN). Support for this project was provided by a Loan Repayment Award by the National Institute of Minority

Health and Health Disparities (L60 MD008862 to R. B. Toomey). We acknowledge the Francis McClelland Institute on Children,

Youth, and Families of the University of Arizona for funding the first author through the Lang Summer Fellowship for the completion

of this manuscript.

Received: 19 March 2021 Revised: 31 December 2021 Accepted: 9 April 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12729

© 2022 National Council on Family Relations.

948 Family Relations. 2023;72:948–965.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare

KEYWORDS

Latinx, youthethnic identity, preparation for bias, sexual minority youth,

sexual orientation identity, youth

Family plays a critical role in teaching youth the skills necessary to thrive amid racial and eth-

nic oppression (García-Coll et al., 1996; Neblett et al., 2012). As delineated in the integrative

model (García-Coll et al., 1996), family racial and ethnic socialization (RES) is recognized as a

set of critical adaptive practices that guide the developmental competencies of youth of color

(García-Coll et al., 1996; Hughes et al., 2006). Minority families’social positionality, which is

mediated by racism, segregation, inhibiting–promoting contexts, adaptive culture, and charac-

teristics of the children and their families, collectively shape the developmental competencies of

minority youth. Further, ethnic and racial discrimination is especially significant to ethnic iden-

tity development as experiences of discrimination shape the ways minority youth understand

their minority status (García-Coll et al., 1996). Thus, family values, beliefs, and goals—rooted

in the cultural traditions and adaptive culture, as well as the experiences of the caregivers—

determine how families embody socialization practices to alleviate the cost of their minority sta-

tuses on youth’s developmental outcomes (Hughes et al., 2006).

Racial and ethnic minority youth may also embody identities and locations that experience

additional or intersecting forms of discrimination, such as those who identify as sexual minorities.

Despite the increase in public support for same-sex marriage in the United States, sexual minority

youth (SMY) still experience high levels of minority stress specific to their sexual orientation

(e.g., discrimination, victimization; Russell & Fish, 2016). SMY of color, including those who are

Latinx, also experience a range of minority stressors related to their race/ethnicity, such as racial/

ethnic discrimination (Toomey et al., 2018). Given that Latinx SMY report the highest number

of negative reactions from caregivers regarding their sexual orientation compared with their non-

Latinx counterparts (Gattamorta et al., 2019; Ryan et al., 2010), it is crucial to examine whether

parental strategies to prepare their youth for sexual orientation bias are associated with Latinx

SMY’s sexual orientation identity development. Although there are promising trends in research

that RES promotes optimal development among youth of color (García-Coll et al. 1996), only a

handful of studies have examined the ways families prepare youth for heterosexism (Toomey

et al., 2018). To our knowledge, no studies have examined how the two socialization processes

shape ethnic identity and sexual orientation identity collectively.

Although the integrative model posits that social position variables (e.g., race, gender, social

class, and immigrant status) jointly shape youth development through the mechanisms of racism,

prejudice, and discrimination (García-Coll et al., 1996; Perez-Brena et al., 2018), its application

alone may not adequately address multiple identities that are defined within sociocultural power

(Parentetal.,2013). An intersectionality framework helps recognize how heterosexism in addition

to racism frames the ways families address preparation for ethnic bias and sexual orientation bias.

Considering that Latinx SMY belong to multiple identity groups (e.g., ethnic and sexual minori-

ties), this study combined the integrative model and intersectionality frameworks (Crenshaw, 1994;

Santos & Toomey, 2018) to examine how interrelated yet distinct aspects of familial socialization

processes, specifically preparation for ethnic bias and sexual orientation bias, inform both ethnic

identity and sexual orientation identity development among Latinx SMY.

RACIAL–ETHNIC SOCIALIZATION

RES is a central component of parenting among racial and ethnic minority families. It is a mul-

tifaceted construct that involves transmitting implicit and explicit messages and meanings about

the values, traditions, and practices associated with one’s race and ethnicity to others (Hughes

et al., 2006). RES practices assist youth in understanding what it means to be a member of

LATINX SEXUAL MINORITY YOUTH AND PREPARATION FOR BIAS 949