Individual Submission Summary
Share...

Direct link:

Poster #89 - Who Am I: The Role of Social identities in Latino and White Youth’s Achievement

Sat, March 23, 2:30 to 3:45pm, Baltimore Convention Center, Floor: Level 1, Exhibit Hall B

Integrative Statement

Youth’s interactions with family, culture, and school influence their multiple social identity development. Youth’s multiple social identities may not be congruent with one another due to the diversity of these identities. Previous research suggests that in order to understand the academic achievement of youth, it is important to understand the ways that youth manage their social identities (Altschul, Oyserman, & Bybee, 2006). According to Tajfel’s (1981) social identity theory (SIT), individuals develop social identities based on their sense of belonging to a particular group and the affective component that accompanies their sense of group membership. Specifically, the way in which youth manage their ethnic identity with their school identity is particularly important for academic achievement (Okagaki, 2001; Altschul, Oyserman, & Bybee, 2008). The expectancy value theory (EVT) and research using this framework (Eccles, 2009; Perez, Cromely, & Kaplan, 2014; Wigfield & Eccles, 2000) also suggests that youth’s perception of values (e.g., cultural, independent versus interdependent values) and social identities (ethnic identity) influence the formulation of student identity. In addition, academic achievement is directly influenced by youth’s student identity, which is shaped by these broader social identities (Perez, Cromely, & Kaplan, 2014; Seaton et al., 2013). Guided by SIT and EVT, the current study will explore how White and Latino youth’s social identities (ethnic identity exploration, ethnic identity centrality) and cultural values (independent, interdependent) influence academic effort and engagement and how student identity mediates this association.

The current study included N = 133, 8th grade students from a middle school in northern California. Approximately 50% (n = 66) of youth were female and 60% were Latino (n = 76). Preliminary SEM models, which controlled for youth’s generational status and gender, revealed that the overall model had a good fit to the data (CFI=.99, TLI= .96; RMSEA= .04; 〖 χ〗^2(4) = 5.07 p=.28). Findings revealed that youth’s ethnic identity exploration predicted student identity (ß= .37; S.E. =.14; p=.01) and academic engagement (ß= -.30; S.E. =.14; p=.03). Youth’s independent values predicted both student’s academic engagement (ß= .29; S.E. =.08; p=.001) and academic effort (ß= .22; S.E. =.08; p=.006). Lastly, student identity predicted academic engagement (ß= .38; S.E. =.08; p=.000) and academic effort (ß= .31; S.E. =.08; p=.000). The direct effect results revealed that only the associations between independent values and academic engagement (ß= .27; S.E. =.09; p=.002) and independent values and academic effort (ß= .22; S.E. =.08; p=.01) were significant.

The study revealed the significance of independent values and student identity for promoting academic engagement and effort; and a significant mediation by student identity, in the association between ethnic identity exploration and academic engagement. Findings suggest two important outcomes 1) the importance of social identities and independent values for both White and Latino students’ achievement and 2) the significance of student identity in meditating the association between youth’s ethnic identity exploration and academic engagement. Overall the current study suggests the need to consider students’ identities and values in understanding trajectories of academic achievement. Follow-up analyses will examine group differences between White and Latino youth.

Authors