Date of Award
Spring 5-30-2026
Document Type
Honors Project
University Scholars Director
Dr. Joshua Tom
First Advisor/Committee Member
Dr. Piljoo Kang
Keywords
identity, development, socialization, microsystems, ecological systems, qualitative
Abstract
This study aims to explore the different aspects of socialization that can impact one’s White racial identity development, in order to analyze why White individuals struggle to describe their racial identity. Acknowledging an individual’s White identity is an imperative aspect to understanding diversity and race, and yet, White individuals will often have difficulty recognizing and explaining their racial identity. This qualitative study used data collected from semi-structured interviews of 60 young White college participants (ages 18-25) in two different geographical locations, the Northwest and Southeast of the U.S.[1] Several themes were extracted from these interviews, among them were family, school, and peer microsystems, along with media influence, and the participant’s own curiosity in their White identity. Findings suggest that family and school microsystems did not provide many opportunities to openly explore one’s own White identity, whereas peer microsystems supported and encouraged White identity development. Media played a critical role as participants would turn to the internet to explore topics regarding race, White identity, and White privilege when they had further questions. In order to increase White identity awareness and ultimately shed light on an overlooked part of White individual’s identity, further research to increase family and school roles in identity development is needed.
[1] Data collected by Dr. Kang.
Recommended Citation
Erickson, Miandria, "The Importance of Socialization: Family, School, Peer, and Media Influence on White Identity Development" (2026). Honors Projects. 263.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/263
Copyright Status
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional Rights Information
Copyright held by author.
Comments
A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Honors Liberal Arts at Seattle Pacific University. Presented at the SPU Honors Research Symposium on May 16th, 2026. The data used in this study is a part of Dr. Kang’s research on White Racial Identity Development, and this author worked as a research assistant in Dr. Kang’s Cultural Developmental Laboratory.