Running Head: META-NARRATIVES 1
Moral Meta-Narratives, Marginalization, and Youth Development
José M. Causadias and Kimberly A. Updegraff
T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics
Arizona State University
Willis F. Overton, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
Temple University
Word count: 9,528
Author Note
Correspondence should be addressed to José M. Causadias, T. Denny Sanford School of
Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Cowden Family Resources Building,
850 South Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281. E-mail: jose.causadias@asu.edu
META-NARRATIVES 2
Abstract
Morality, a central dimension of culture, is crucial for research on the development of youth
experiencing marginalization. In this article, we discuss two main meta-narratives as moral
frameworks that provide different meaning to the past and to cultural change: liberal progress,
focused on the struggle of those who have historically experienced marginalization (e.g.,
racial/ethnic minorities), and community lost, focused on those who are experiencing some forms
of marginalization in response to cultural and economic changes (e.g., rural Whites). Because
these two meta-narratives represent a false dichotomy, we use relational epistemology principles
–holism, identity of opposites, opposites of identity, and synthesis of wholes- to formulate an
integrated meta-narrative, community progress, to overcome this polarity and promote research
on the development of all youth experiencing marginalization. Acknowledging and
understanding these moral meta-narratives is crucial because they influence scientific discourse,
political action, and policy that impacts marginalization and youth development.
Keywords: culture; morality; meta-narratives; marginalization; development.
META-NARRATIVES 3
Moral Meta-Narratives, Marginalization, and Youth Development
The role of culture1, as well as research on racial/ethnic minority youth (henceforth,
minority youth2), have been historically neglected in developmental science. If marginalization is
defined as relegating ideas and groups to the fringe of society, both culture and minority youth
have experienced considerable marginalization in developmental research. It took decades for
scholars to convince their colleagues that culture is not peripheral, but of central importance in
human development (e.g., Quintana et al., 2006; Rogoff, 2003; Super & Harkness, 1986), and
that minority youth are under- and misrepresented in developmental research (e.g., García Coll,
Akerman, Cicchetti, 2000; Graham, 1992; MacPhee, Kreutzer, & Fritz, 1994; McLoyd &
Randolph, 1985). One of the major achievements of García Coll and colleagues (1996)’s
integrative model is that it addressed both forms of marginalization by placing culture and
minorities at the forefront of developmental science.
In this article, we advance this endeavor by presenting morality as a domain of culture
that is often neglected in developmental research on marginalization, and by discussing the role
of meta-narratives as moral frameworks that have profound impact on the development of youth
experiencing marginalization3. We center on two opposing meta-narratives that are implicitly
used to approach youth marginalization: liberal progress and community lost. We use Overton’s
(2010, 2015) relational epistemology to frame and propose their integration. Fundamental split
dichotomies, such as these opposing meta-narratives, are typical of Cartesian dualistic
epistemologies. However, from a relational epistemological viewpoint this separation represents
1 We define culture as a system of practices, symbols, values, and ideals that are shared by a community, transmitted from one generation to the next, dynamic and constantly changing, operating at the individual and societal levels, and related to ethnicity and race (Causadias, 2013; Cohen, 2009; Kitayama & Uskul, 2011). 2 We use the term minorities to represent membership in any non-White groups in the US, including, but not limited to, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders. 3 Consistent with the editorial for this Special Issue (see Causadias & Umaña-Taylor), we focus on “youth experiencing marginalization” or “youth marginalization”, rather than “marginalized youth”.
META-NARRATIVES 4
a false dichotomy, as both are in constant interpenetration, coaction, and reciprocal
bidirectionality (Overton, 2010, 2015). We employ relational epistemological principles –holism,
identity of opposites, opposites of identity, and synthesis of wholes- to approach these meta-
narratives and developmental research on youth experiencing marginalization, and to formulate a
new integrated meta-narrative: community progress. We believe this meta-narrative can guide
research, policy, and interventions to support the development of all youth experiencing
marginalization. Following García Coll and colleagues (1996)’s integrative model, we focus
primarily on youth residing in the United States.
Culture, Morality, and Development
García Coll and colleagues (1996) situated cultural influences in minority youth
development, not as isolated, but within the dominant stratification system of society. According
to this framework, minority youth development is inherently linked to culture, ethnicity, race,
gender, and class. Reflecting on the role of morality can further advance our understanding of
marginalization, as morality plays a central role in human development and culture (Jensen,
2008; 2015). Moral development is conceptualized as a universal aspect of children’s
socialization in all cultures and societies (Jensen, 2015). Within the field of developmental
psychology, research has focused heavily on the development of children’s moral reasoning with
regard to principles of justice, fairness, and individual rights (see Haidt, 2008). Kohlberg (1963,
1969) proposed a cognitive developmental theory of moral reasoning that posits an invariant
sequence of stages through which individuals progress. Although this theory was informed by
data from youth and young adult males in the U.S. (Colby et al., 1983; Kohlberg, 1963),
Kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning were postulated as universal (e.g., Nisan & Kohlberg,
1982; Snarey, Reimer, & Kohlberg, 1985), but scholars argued that moral reasoning concepts
META-NARRATIVES 5
among children from different cultural groups are broader than the concepts articulated by
cognitive-developmental (Kohlberg, 1963) and domain approaches (Turiel, 1983).
Efforts to integrate developmental and cultural perspectives on moral reasoning has led to
an expansion of the concepts that are pertinent to moral development to better represent the
diversity of human experience in different cultures (Jensen, 2008). One such model involves an
emphasis on moral reasoning with regard to autonomy (i.e., individual rights and needs), divinity
(i.e., spirituality, religiosity, and divine law), and community (obligations and concerns for the
group’s welfare; Jensen, 2008; Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, & Park, 1997). These expanded
concepts of morality are pertinent to the study of youth marginalization in the U.S. For example,
many Latino youth are socialized to value concepts of community, such as placing the needs of
the family above the needs of the individual (Sabogal, Marín, Otero-Sabogal, Marín, & Perez-
Stable, 1987). As such, understanding moral development from a perspective that is informed by
developmental and cultural models has the potential to advance the field. But it also entails
recognition of the supra-individual nature of culture (Kitayama & Uskul, 2011), the
acknowledgement that morality goes beyond the development of moral reasoning at the
individual level. It also operates at the societal level through moral meta-narratives that impact
the development of youth experiencing marginalization.
Morality and Meta-Narratives
Morality4 specifies ideals, norms, values, virtues, ethics, and goals (Wuthnow, 1987),
informing the distinction between good and bad, right and wrong, fair and unfair, and
meaningful and meaningless (Smith, 2003). Morality is made of interrelated sets of values, rules,
4 We rely on some of the premises of Haidt and Graham’s moral foundations theory (Graham, Haidt, & Nosek, 2009; Graham & Haidt, 2010; Haidt & Graham, 2007). However, a detailed discussion of this theory goes beyond the scope and aims of this paper. For a comprehensive review, see Haidt (2012).
META-NARRATIVES 6
practices, identities, and organizations that work together to regulate individual behavior and
make social life possible. For individuals, morality provides a cohesive -but not always coherent-
set of assumptions, expectations, commitments, beliefs, aspirations, thoughts, judgements,
obligations, and feelings. But morality is not merely a set of abstractions far removed from
everyday life. Morality is a call for action, a motivating engine to enact and sustain moral orders,
a framework that inspires individuals to pursue what is good, valued, and just (Smith, 2003). For
groups, communities, societies, and nations, morality is enacted collectively in social practices,
rituals, and institutions. Morality is personified by institutions, so not merely limited to
subjective concerns for rules and values (Graham & Haidt, 2010). Morality plays a pivotal role
in cooperation and coalition building, as perceived moral outrage over transgressions galvanize
groups and facilitate social cohesion (Tooby & Cosmides, 2010). Ultimately, moral systems,
such as religions, bind individuals into moral communities (Graham & Haidt, 2010).
The broader cultural frameworks in which individuals derive their morals beliefs are
profoundly narrative in form. For instance, the “American experiment” meta-narrative argues
that brave and freedom-loving pioneers, fleeing religious and political persecution, came to the
New World to carve a new civilization (Smith, 2003). Through their hard work, they forged a
new society where equality and liberty rule. This meta-narrative has powerful effects in the lives
of Americans, and even citizens of other countries. It organizes practices, rituals, and obligations.
Without this narrative, “many Americans would confront the world with profound confusion and
disorientation” (Smith, 2003, p. 68).
We acknowledge the rich tradition of narrative research in developmental sciences, that
has documented the importance of root metaphors as cultural models of development (Cooper,
1987; Cooper & Denner, 1998), and cultural conflict and rapid social change (Greenfield, 1999;
META-NARRATIVES 7
Rogoff, 2003), to name a few approaches. However, we argue that morality and meta-narratives
are not central to their conceptualizations. Furthermore, while narrative research on youth
development has often focused on the role of master narratives, these are typically rooted in the
work of Erik Erikson and focus on identity (Hammack & Pilecki, 2012; McLean & Syed, 2015).
In contrast, our approach to meta-narratives is grounded in the work of Smith (2003) and Haidt
(2008, 2012), and centers on morality.
Moral meta-narratives (henceforth, meta-narratives) are a unique form of narratives. They
are broader and more encompassing than single narratives and master narratives5, in that they
include, in some cases, all history, experience, and meaning in a single story. Meta-narratives
function like invisible constitutions that guide and inspire communities. They are shared stories
that lay out the foundation for a moral order, offering a system of beliefs, ideology, and
obligations (Haidt, 2008). Meta-narratives go beyond chronicles of separate events placed in
time, but they aspire to express the magnitude and meaning of actions and events in a unified,
interconnected explanation (de Rivera & Sarbin, 1998). Meta-narratives are therefore
purposefully created to provide accounts and meaning to human history, usually by articulating
three common components: (a) a cast of characters who are the subjects or objects of action; (b)
a plot with a structured sequence of beginning, middle, and end, although not always in that
order; and (c) the transmission of an important message, whether it is a revelation, explanation,
or insight about life and the world (Smith, 2003). Many Western meta-narratives parallel or
emulate the Christian narrative, including elements of paradise lost, fall or awakening into sin,
temptations along the way, and a road for redemption (Smith, 2003).
5 For a discussion of differences and similarities between master and meta-narratives, see Supplemental Material.
META-NARRATIVES 8
In addition to providing meaning and social cohesion, meta-narratives have the function
of enforcing moral systems that challenge, perpetuate, or seek to reclaim social power. Power
dynamics lie at the center of meta-narratives because they serve to maintain a moral and social
order. They define who experiences marginalization and who does not, and who is entitled to
rights and privileges, access to resources, and even justice. They inform ideology and serve for
system-justification, motivating individuals and communities to defend the status quo and to
view current social arrangements as just, legitimate, and necessary (Jost, Federico, & Napier,
2009). But they can also articulate system-resistance by challenging the status quo and
illuminating the present conditions of some groups as unfair, unfair, and oppressive. Thus, these
meta-narratives are not power-neutral: they are biased towards responding to perceived threats to
privilege and social status or towards denouncing oppression. Next, we discuss the meta-
narrative that arguably inspired García Coll and colleagues (1996)’s integrative model, and that
is at the core of most developmental research on youth marginalization.
The Liberal Progress Moral Meta-Narrative
One of the most consequential moral frameworks for the study of youth marginalization
is the “liberal progress” meta-narrative (henceforth, liberal progress), described as follows:
“Once upon a time, the vast majority of human persons suffered in societies and social institutions that
were unjust, unhealthy, repressive, and oppressive. These traditional societies were reprehensible because of their
deep-rooted inequality, exploitation, and irrational traditionalism — all of which made life very unfair, unpleasant,
and short. But the noble human aspiration for autonomy, equality, and prosperity struggled mightily against the
forces of misery and oppression, and eventually succeeded in establishing modern, liberal, democratic, capitalist,
welfare societies. While modern social conditions hold the potential to maximize the individual freedom and
pleasure of all, there is much work to be done to dismantle the powerful vestiges of inequality, exploitation, and
repression. This struggle for the good society in which individuals are equal and free to pursue their self-defined
happiness is the one mission truly worth dedicating one’s life to achieving” (Smith, 2003, p. 82).
META-NARRATIVES 9
The core message of liberal progress is that injustice, oppression, and inequality
provoked significant suffering in the past, but modern democracy and science offer a chance to
reverse these effects by promoting equality and fighting to overcome the lingering consequences
of exclusion (Haidt, 2012). Issues of power are central to this meta-narrative because it focuses
on groups that have historically faced marginalization (e.g., ethnic/racial, sexual, and religious
minorities; women; immigrants6). According to liberal progress, these groups have been
oppressed, victimized, excluded, and neglected by those who hold positions of power and enjoy
exclusive social advantages and privileges (e.g., Whites7, religious majorities, heterosexuals,
men, nationals). Thus, liberal progress is not an abstract issue disconnected from the reality of
children and youth who have historically experienced oppression and exclusion. On the contrary,
this meta-narrative has had profound impact in the development of youth experiencing
marginalization. It has provided a roadmap for group action aimed at ending racial segregation
and discrimination, like the American civil rights movement. In turn, these movements resulted
in landmark legislations (e.g., Brown versus Board of Education, 1954; Civil Rights Act of
1964), that have led to some improvements in the educational opportunities and lives of minority
youth over the last decades.
The impact of this meta-narrative in developmental science on youth marginalization
cannot be overstated. We argue that García Coll and colleagues’ integrative model (1996) is
firmly embedded within this meta-narrative, as it conceptualizes marginalization as central rather
than peripheral for the theoretical understanding of minority youth development. Grounded
6 Individuals can belong to more than one of these groups, as proposed by the intersectionality framework (Crenshaw, 1991). We do not utilize this model because it has already been employed to approach marginalization (e.g., Santos, 2016), while using moral meta-narratives to address marginalization has not. 7 We use the term Whites to represent membership into any racial/ethnic group in the US of European ancestry, including, but not limited to, European-Americans, Anglo-Americans, and Caucasians.
META-NARRATIVES 10
within social stratification theory, a key emphasis of this framework is on its underlying
processes, including racism, discrimination, oppression, and segregation (García Coll et al.,
1996). Furthermore, this meta-narrative impacts development by inspiring, providing life
purpose and meaning, and articulating political, ideological, social, and professional goals to
those who embrace it (e.g., the struggle against inequality), including many minority scholars
(see Syed, in press).
The Community-Lost Moral Meta-Narrative
The community lost meta-narrative (henceforth, community lost) represents history and
morality in stark contrast to the liberal progress meta-narrative. Also framed as the Reagan
narrative (Westen, 2008), this meta-narrative is defined as follows:
“Once upon a time, folk lived together in local, face-to-face communities where we knew and took care of
each other. Life was simple and sometimes hard. But we lived in harmony with nature, laboring honestly at the
plough and in handcraft. Life was securely woven in homespun fabrics of organic, integrated culture, faith, and
tradition. We truly knew who we were and felt deeply for our land, our kin, our customs. But then a dreadful thing
happened. Folk community was overrun by the barbarisms of modern industry, urbanization, rationality, science,
fragmentation, anonymity, transience, and mass production. Faith began to erode, social trust dissipate, folk customs
vanish. Work became alienating, authentic feeling repressed, neighbors, strangers, and life standardized and
rationalized. Those who knew the worth of simplicity, authentic feeling, nature, and custom resisted the vulgarities
and uniformities of modernity. But all that remains today are tattered vestiges of a world we have lost. The task of
those who see clearly now is to memorialize and celebrate folk community, mourn its ruin, and resist and denounce
the depravities of modern, scientific rationalism that would kill the Human Spirit” (Smith, 2003, pp. 85-86).
In contrast to liberal progress, community lost focuses on groups who are now
experiencing some forms of marginalization (e.g., rural and working-class Whites, alienated
males) and argues that the excessive pressures and demands of modern societies -science,
urbanization, industrialization, secularization – have eroded and fragmented communities that
META-NARRATIVES 11
were previously harmonious, integrated, religious, and traditional in values and lifestyles. The
past plays a central role in community lost, and it is usually viewed as a splendid period of
prosperity and cohesion; happiness and harmony; and obedience to tradition and God. Cultural
change is perceived as negative, as alien ideas championed by intellectuals (e.g., professors,
journalists) challenged and perverted this order. Those who endorse this narrative see the present
as decadent and yearn for the past. They “have discovered that nostalgia can be a powerful
political motivator, perhaps even more powerful than hope. Hopes can be disappointed.
Nostalgia is irrefutable” (Lilla, 2016, p. xiv).
In part, community lost articulates the reaction to major demographic shifts in the US,
including the rapid growth in minority populations. By 2044, Whites will no longer be the
numerical majority in the US (Colby & Ortman, 2014). It also accounts for economic and
cultural changes, including the decline in health and rise in mortality as a result of worsening
economic conditions of rural and working-class Whites in the US (Case & Deaton, 2015, 2017),
their struggle to keep up with rapid cultural changes, deep resentment of urban liberals, and
feelings of betrayal and abandonment by the federal government (Hochschild, 2016). However,
it is problematic to equate the experience of rural, working-class Whites to that of groups that
have historically faced marginalization in ways that are quantitatively and qualitatively different
(see Causadias & Umaña-Taylor, in this issue). For instance, marginalization of rural Whites is
often related to class and education, while minority marginalization is also based on culture,
ethnicity, and race (Isenberg, 2016), which have different developmental implications.
Despite these differences, the impact of the community lost meta-narrative should not be
easily disregarded, even if its premises are questionable. This meta-narrative articulates
arguments employed by the populist wave that depicts liberal progress as a threat to the social
META-NARRATIVES 12
status, power, and privilege of Whites. It sheds light on the rise of Donald J. Trump to the
presidency of the United States under the call for a return to the past and the status quo of
unapologetic and uncontested White dominance (“Make America Great Again”). It has profound
effects on the development of youth who have historically experienced marginalization because
it directly threatens their wellbeing, not only by removing protections, but by potentially
criminalizing undocumented, transgender, and minority youth.
However, community lost may have the positive effect of calling attention to the adverse
experience of rural White youth. In recent years, rural White youth have been afflicted by the
heroin epidemic (Cicero, Ellis, Surratt, & Kurtz, 2014), and have surpassed urban youth in
substance abuse (Lambert, Gale, & Hartley, 2008; Roberts et al., 2016). Landmark research on
the development of White youth has documented the role of social class identity development in
the context of educational and career pathways (Bettie, 2014; Bullock & Limbert, 2003; Fine &
Sirin, 2007), and White youth and their feelings of marginalization in school, their multi-ethnic
communities, and more broadly, society (Azmitia, Syed, & Radmacher, 2008). Nevertheless,
more developmental research on rural White youth is necessary.
Moral Meta-Narratives, Marginalization, and Youth Development
Liberal progress and community lost impact emotional responses and cognitive
processing, provide meaning to the past, help explain the present, and give guidance for the
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