A Qualitative Inquiry into Peer Racial-Ethnic Socialization in Interminority Friendships

This dissertation is divided into two chapters that broadly focus on interminority cross-race friendships. In chapter one, a scoping review was conducted to clarify knowledge about predictors and outcomes of interminority friendships among racial-ethnic minority (REM) youth. A thorough search across four databases (e.g., PsycINFO, ERIC, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) resulted in 16 relevant articles. Thematic analysis revealed several predictors that encompassed individual, relationship, community, and societal-level factors. Outcomes found included increased awareness of racialization processes, attitude and behavior changes, improvements in well-being, and an absence of protective effects. I conclude with recommendations for research and practice related to fostering cross-racial peer relations.

In chapter two, I conducted semi-structured dyadic and individual interviews with nine diverse interminority friendship dyads to explore how friends discuss racial identity, racism, and race relations. Thematic analysis identified 10 distinct peer racial socialization themes, including raising critical awareness, raising awareness of meta-stereotypes and intergroup relations, validation and support with racial encounters, instilling radical hope, strategizing with racist events, peer modeling of navigating a racialized society, intersectional solidarity, affirming racial pride and diversity, colorblind socialization, and silent socialization. These findings offer important research and practice implications for understanding cross-racial peer relations and supporting racially minoritized individuals in navigating racialized systems and resisting racism.