Neighborhood Ethnic Composition and Perceived Discrimination Among Young Adult Latina/os: The Mediating Role of Ethnic Centrality

Abstract

This study examines whether neighborhood ethnic composition (i.e., percentage of Latina/os residing in a given residential community) predicts greater perceived experiences of ethnic discrimination and whether this direct effect is mediated by ethnic centrality (i.e., perceived importance of ethnicity for one’s identity). In a cross-sectional study, 237 self-identified young adult Latina/os reported their five-digit zip codes and sociodemographic information and completed measures of ethnic centrality and perceived ethnic discrimination. A mediation analysis revealed that neighborhood ethnic composition indirectly predicted perceived ethnic discrimination through its effect on ethnic centrality even when accounting for known sociodemographic predictors of perceived discrimination, b = 0.28, SE = .18, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [0.03, 0.71]. These results provide initial evidence that where young adult Latina/os live and grow up impacts the extent to which they find their ethnicity to be an essential part of their identity and, consequently, their perceived frequency of experiencing ethnic discrimination.