The goal of this study was to apply insights from social identity gratifications and ethnic/racial identity development frameworks to better understand how adolescents perceive, select, and avoid media content which has the potential to damage self-and group-concept. We conducted focus groups with 32 Latino adolescents aged 13 to 15. We found mixed evidence that youth prioritized the ethnicity of characters in program selection. Most referenced personality or age as the primary identity-based factors of interest. Although students widely recognized negative stereotypes of Latinos in mainstream English-language media, this did not overwhelmingly dictate media choices, seemingly due to lack of alternative choices. In contrast, Spanish language programming offered a positive alternative to English-language media and may serve identity needs. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

本研究的目的是应用来自社会认同满足感和种族/种族认同发展框架的见解，以更好地了解青少年如何感知、选择和避免可能损害自我和群体概念的媒体内容。我们对 32 名 13 至 15 岁的拉丁裔青少年进行了焦点小组讨论。我们发现混合证据表明青年在节目选择中优先考虑角色的种族。最常提及的人格或年龄是主要的基于身份的兴趣因素。尽管学生们普遍认识到主流英语媒体对拉丁裔的负面刻板印象，但这并没有压倒性地决定媒体选择，似乎是因为缺乏替代选择。相比之下，西班牙语节目为英语媒体提供了一个积极的替代方案，并且可能满足身份需求。