School Ethnic-Racial Socialization as a Tool to Combat Racial Discrimination and Promote Adolescent Health

• In Event: Creating Safe Schools and Strong Relationships for Vulnerable Youth Populations of Color

Abstract

Purpose: Racial discrimination (RD) undermines the wellbeing of African American and Latinx youth (Sanders-Phillips et al., 2009), and is experienced across multiple contexts including school (Fisher et al., 2000; Jernigan & Daniel, 2011). RD is linked to psychological distress (Saleem & Lambert, 2016) and low academic outcomes (Benner, 2017; Howard, 2010). Ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) messages about race and preparing for racial bias are associated with positive psychological and academic outcomes for African American and Latinx youth who report experiencing RD (Hughes et al., 2006). While much research focuses on ERS in the family, research on ERS practices in schools is scant. Yet, youth spend most of their week in schools. Additionally, teachers and peers are salient socialization agents with the power to intentionally and/or unintentionally influence adolescents’ psychosocial outcomes and their feelings of safety in school. This study seeks to builds upon literature on the dimensions of school ERS (Aldana & Byrd, 2015) via an exploration of the process and effects of school level ERS.

Theoretical Framework: According to the Racial Encounter Coping Appraisal and Socialization Theory (Anderson & Stevenson, 2019), ERS reduces racial stress and teaches individuals how to anticipate, process, and respond when confronted with racially stressful interactions. Scholars have noted that discussing race in the family (Coll et al., 1996) and school context (Howard, 2010) is helpful in preparing youth to manage RD.

Method: Participants were a school-based sample of 140 adolescents (50% Latinx; 37% African American; 13% Multiracial) between the ages of 14-19 (51% female). Adolescents reported experiences of RD, school ERS, academic engagement, psychological well-being, and their perceived ability to manage racial stress at school. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine associations between adolescent reported ERS and psychosocial outcomes.

Preliminary Findings: Results showed a positive association between promotion of cultural competence and engagement such that students became more academically and emotionally engaged in school when they perceived having the opportunity to learn about other cultures. There was also a positive association between messages of preparation for bias and RD (ERS of critical consciousness) and students’ feelings of competence in managing RD in school. Students felt better equipped to manage RD when they received more messages of critical consciousness. Conversely, there was a negative association between messages that deemphasize the importance of race (ERS of colorblindness) and students’ feelings of competence in managing RD. Findings suggest that school ERS influences youth’s academic and psychosocial outcomes.

Significance: This study informs ways to help youth to manage RD, increase academic engagement, and promote adolescent well-being. The findings will be applied within a new conceptual model of school level ERS (Saleem & Byrd, under review) that explains who transmits ERS, the content and method of ERS transmission, and how ERS can influence the psychological, academic, and socioemotional outcomes for youth of color. Implications for how school ERS contributes to academic racial disparities, adolescents’ safety, and the school-to-prison pipeline will be discussed.

Author

• Farzana Saleem, University of California Los Angeles