2022-23 Department of Psychology Rising Star Speaker Series -- Bernardette Pinetta (Univ of Michigan)

Growing up in a society that promotes eurocentrism, repudiates Latinx communities, and gaslights those who challenge these norms, can cause distorted views Latinx youth have of themselves and their ethnic-racial community. How youth of color form attachments to and the feelings they have towards their ethnic/racial group (i.e., ethnic-racial identity) have been associated with a host of academic, social, and psychological outcomes, suggesting that youth who express strong feelings of affirmation towards their ethnic/racial group can better adjust within multiple contexts. Furthermore, how Latinx youth explore and construct their understandings of what it means to "Latinx" forms the basis of how they understand, process, and challenge systems of oppression (e.g., racism and xenophobia). As such, it is necessary to ensure Latinx youth have access to the tools and resources to reimagine and redefine what their ethnic/racial group memberships mean to them. Through this presentation, I will discuss how Latinx adolescents' ethnic-racial identity is shaped by the cultural and racialized messages they receive through their everyday observations, interactions, and experiences. And how families, educators, and practitioners can enrich Latinx adolescents' ERI development in ways that raise their critical awareness of social injustice and empower them to enact positive social change.

Time and Location: 
1:30pm, 130 Monroe Hall
Date: 
Friday, October 7, 2022
Subtitle: 
"Enriching Latinx Adolescents' Ethnic-Racial Identity Development as a Pathway to Resistance"