Gender-based differences in work styles and career satisfaction in the retina subspecialty in Japan.

Identity development represents a hallmark of adolescence (). Ethnic/racial identity (ERI) is considered to be a “multidimensional, psychological construct that reflects the beliefs and attitudes that individuals have about their ethnic-racial group memberships” (, p. 23) and has been linked to greater self-esteem, group belongingness, improved mood, positive emotion, and academic motivation (; ). One important component of identity development for adolescents is exploration, which involves learning more about the history, customs, and events surrounding one’s ethnic/racial group (). Prior research has found that opportunities for ERI exploration can depend on the availability of major socializing contexts such as peers and schools (; ). In particular, the ethnic/racial composition of one’s friendships (relationships selected from available peers that involve an emotional bond over time; ), has been shown to play a significant role in how adolescents make sense of their own identities (). However, the current literature on how multiple levels of socializing contexts (schools, friends) jointly shape ERI remains limited (; ). The goal of this study was to examine the longitudinal associations between friendship ethnic/racial composition and ERI exploration, considering the influence of school ethnic/racial diversity. Ethnic/racial identity (ERI) can play a critical role in adolescent development. Research on ethnic/racial identity among adolescents of color has linked ERI to a range of psychosocial, emotional, and academic outcomes (; ). ERI refers to the degree to which individuals seek out or have opportunities to learn more about their ethnicity-race (). Since adolescence is a stage marked by heightened awareness of social identity, individuals may explore their ethnic/racial identity to make sense of its importance (or lack thereof) to their sense of self, sense of community, and sense of belongingness (). In contrast, lacking opportunities to explore one’s ethnic/racial group and failing to arrive at a resolution regarding one’s ERI is theorized to result in uncertainty and confusion around one’s identity (). This is particularly relevant for adolescents of color in the United States, with research on Black adolescents finding lower reports of ERI to be associated with lower reports of well-being and higher reports of depressive symptoms (). In addition to the developmental significance of ERI across time (; ), identity research has also highlighted the flexible nature of ERI at the level of specific situations and at the daily level (Yip et al., 2013). In particular, daily diary studies have found that on days when Chinese adolescents reported engaging in ethnic behaviors (i.e., speaking their ethnic language), they also reported higher ethnic identity salience and well-being (). Similarly, time-lag analyses measuring daily-level associations found that contact with same-race others predicted higher levels of next-day ethnic private regard (positive feelings about one’s ethnic/racial group). However, ethnic private regard did not predict next-day contact with same-race others, suggesting that adolescent ethnic identity was driven by contact with peers (Yip et al., 2013). Research on young adults has also found higher reported levels of ethnic belonging and exploration with parents, followed by same-race peers, then by cross-race peers (), though the authors raise the limitation that they did not measure the ethnic/racial diversity of the participants’ immediate environments. Investigating the role of ethnic/racial diversity at different levels can delineate how these different contexts co-influence adolescent ERI development.