Developmental research is reviewed to evaluate how race, ethnicity, racial identity, and ethnic identity are defined and investigated for minority populations. First reviewed is how these terms are used in developmental and counseling research. Early practices limited these terms to their demographic denotations (e.g., heritage), but more recent practices have expanded to include socially constructed connotations. Second, developmental research was used to evaluate key assumptions in theories of racial and ethnic identity development, with an emphasis on recent longitudinal studies. Research supports some, but not all, of these developmental predictions. Longitudinal research supported the progressive nature of ethnic and racial identity development and that exposure to racism appears to stimulate further identity development during adolescence. In contrast, available evidence does not support the claims of a developmental hierarchy for racial ideologies and that identity crises are normative. Adjustment was not predicted by a single racial or ethnic identity ideology, but research suggested that the adolescent's sociocultural identity and socialization should be tailored to the nature of the racial and ethnic context for development. Implications for counseling research and practice are offered.

Counseling psychology has shown leadership within psychology in defining and describing processes associated with race, ethnicity, and culture. Developmental psychology has made, however, important strides in investigating and characterizing psychological processes that are influenced by race, ethnicity, and culture (see, e.g., Quintana et al., 2006). With longitudinal methodology and large samples, developmental psychologists are conducting important investigations into how racial and ethnic identity develops. These important innovations supplement counseling psychology's reliance on cross-sectional and self-report methodologies (see Hoyt, Warbasse, & Chu, 2006).

Below are described recent practices and findings that provide a developmental perspective on debates into how race, ethnicity, racial identity, and ethnic identity...