Week 3 response 1

Ethnic identity is a multifaceted concept that describes how people develop and  experience a sense of belonging to their culture. Researchers, on the other hand, have studied the different ways through which children and adolescents  experience this sense of belongingness.  In the article,Making meaning in middle childhood: An exploration of the meaning of ethnic identity, the researchers note that the development of race and ethnicity begins when children ascribe  meanings to labels or make sense of the content, For example, a child may view race as physical characteristics or just by the language of a person. Ethnic identity is the all-encompassing of a group, their uniqueness in physical characteristics, cultural  experiences, language , group pride and awareness of group differences and social consequences( as cited in Halim et al., 2012) This meaning-making process provides children  with the  foundation to construct their social-cultural identity. However, it is not always an easy process for children to understand and identify with their social-cultural identity . As researchers and developmental psychologist understand psychological well-being and higher self-esteem enables children and adolescent to have a strong ethnic identity.