NCJ Number
190485
Journal
Youth & Society Volume: 33 Issue: 1 Dated: September 2001 Pages: 99-128
Date Published
September 2001
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study examined ethnic and gender identity among at-risk youth in Hawaii.
Abstract
The study reported qualitative data collected between December 1997 and May 1998. The data were derived from 13 focus group interview sessions with a diverse sample of adolescents (N = 58) at various youth centers. Findings led the study to suggest that identity development theories expand their frameworks beyond the notions of ethnicity and gender. Theoretical frameworks must also incorporate unique circumstances within differing communities, such as interethnic violence, sexual objectification and exploitation, immigration patterns, and notions of class privilege and constraint. The study claimed that it was vital for notions of adolescent development to capture and document the multiple and complex identities that modern youth craft to deal with their worlds. Researchers must be very familiar with the many communities youth negotiate as they deal with the "new configuration of racialized ethnicity, class, and gender stratification" that increasingly characterizes most U.S. cities. Table, references