Cultural Mistrust and Racial Awareness among Ethnically Diverse Black Adolescent Boys

Abstract

Using survey datafrom a study of adolescents in Miami, Florida, data on cultural mistrust and racial awareness are presentedfrom a multiethnic sample of 1,328 Black adolescent boys: 946 African American Blacks, 196 Haitians, and 186 Caribbean Islanders from countries other than Haiti. Of the Haitians and other Caribbean Island students, half were born outside the United States. Overall, Haitians, especially foreign-born ones, expressed more mistrust of Whites and less racial awareness and pride of being Black than did African American and other Caribbean Island students. Students with Caribbean Island backgrounds other than Haitian expressed the lowest levels of racial mistrust. The data suggest that there are important differences between African American adolescents and students from other national and cultural backgrounds on these characteristics. Several explanations are offered for these findings, and avenues for further exploration into these issues are suggested.