Ethnic-Racial and Religious Identity as Mediators of Relations Between Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Prosocial Behaviors Among Black Young Adults

Abstract

Scholars have long asserted the importance of studying cultural socialization processes predicting prosocial behaviors, but studies on this topic among Black young adults are rare. The current study examined the mediating roles of ethnic-racial identity and religious identity in associations between ethnic-racial socialization and prosocial behaviors among Black young adults. Participants consisted of 208 Black young adults (Mage = 19.90 years, SDage = 1.62, 73.6% women) from universities across the United States, who reported on their ethnic-racial socialization, ethnic-racial identity, religious identity, and prosocial behaviors. Mediation analyses showed that ethnic-racial identity and religious identity mediated the relation between ethnic-racial socialization and prosocial behavior. Our findings highlight the ways in which cultural socialization and identity processes may foster prosocial behaviors among Black young adults. Discussion focuses on a culturally grounded and strengths-based understanding of prosocial development among Black young adults.