Racial Group Identification Among Black Adults

The relation between sociodemographic factors and racial group identification is explored in this paper. Previous research suffers from important limitations which have led to much confusion in this area of research. For this and other reasons, the sociodemographic determinants of racial group identification have been little studied. Using data from a national sample of black adults, the findings of this research indicate that racial group identification is strongest among older blacks and the least-educated blacks who live in urban areas. Additionally, significant interactions between education and region are found; highly educated blacks living outside the West have strong levels of racial group identification. Income and sex are not found to be related to racial group identification.