Identidade étnico-racial em brasileiros: análise de redes, comparações entre grupos raciais e contribuições psicopedagógicas

Abstract

Ethnic-racial identity can be understood as a psychosocial construct referring to how individuals perceive, interpret, and attribute meaning to their racial and ethnic belonging. This process is influenced by social, cultural, and historical experiences, particularly in contexts marked by racial inequalities, such as the Brazilian one. This study aimed to analyze the architecture of ethnic-racial identity among Brazilians, investigating how racial self-identification relates to identity dimensions. The study included a sample of 1,397 racially diverse participants aged between 18 and 79 years (M = 26.76; SD = 9.70). Most participants self-identified as female (66.3%), belonged to a lower-middle socioeconomic class (44.4%), and had incomplete higher education (48%). Regarding racial self-identification, 41.2% identified as mixed-race (pardo), 30.3% as White, and 25.1% as Black. Data were collected using the Cross Ethnic-Racial Identity Scale – Adult (CERIS-A), an instrument designed to assess different dimensions of ethnic-racial identity development. The data were analyzed using multivariate analyses (MANOVA and ANOVA) and network analysis, allowing the identification of differences between racial groups and the structural organization of identity dimensions. The results indicated that White participants presented higher scores in the pre-encounter stage, characterized by lower racial awareness, while Black and Indigenous participants showed higher levels of identity internalization. Network analysis also revealed distinct identity structures between Black and mixed-race participants, highlighting the complexity of ethnic-racial identity construction processes in the Brazilian context.