Integrating Process with Content in Understanding African American Racial Identity Development

Historically, racial identity research has focused on either the process by which identity develops or the content of the identities that individuals hold. This paper investigates the nexus of these approaches. Specifically, cluster analysis was used to locate 204 African American college students in one of four statuses of development outlined by Phinney (1989) and examine movement across clusters over time. Mean differences in the content of individuals' racial Centrality, racial Regard, and racial Ideology beliefs across clusters at both time points were then assessed. Results indicate some relationship between process and content such that higher levels of development are associated with higher levels of identification with and more positive attitudes toward one's racial group.