Internalized Racism, Perceived Racism, and Ethnic Identity: Exploring Their Relationship in Latina/o Undergraduates.

For Latina/o undergraduates, ethnic identity is an important construct linked to self-esteem and educational attainment. Internalized and perceived racism have been hypothesized to hinder ethnic identity development in Latina/o undergraduates. To assess if internalized and perceived racism were inversely related to ethnic identity, the author conducted a hierarchical linear regression with 373 Latina/o undergraduates. There was a significant relationship between internalized racism and ethnic identity. Findings indicate a need to challenge internalized racism in Latina/o undergraduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]