Explaining the Link Between Ethnic-Racial Identity and School Belonging: Social Competencies as Mediating Mechanisms

• In Event: 2-180 - Links Between Ethnic-Racial Identity, Intergroup Relations, & Academic Adjustment: Explanations From Social Network Perspectives

Integrative Statement

Background. Adolescence is theorized to represent an important time for ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). Empirical evidence has consistently revealed positive associations between having a clearer and more positive ERI and academic, psychosocial, and health outcomes (Rivas-Drake et al., 2014). Although relations between ERI and these outcomes have been investigated, little is known about the mechanisms that can explain them.
In alignment with ecological development frameworks (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1989), scholars have indicated that friends and school are important to the relation between ERI and adolescent outcomes (Rivas-Drake & Umaña-Taylor, in press). It is possible that youth with greater ERI resolution (i.e., the sense of clarity about the meaning of one’s ethnic-racial group membership) are likely to have greater social competencies with friends, subsequently youth with greater social competencies are more likely to feel that they belong in their school.
The current study advances new knowledge regarding the role of social competencies that may potentially explain the link between ERI resolution and students' school belonging. We hypothesized that youth with greater ERI resolution would exhibit greater social competence and school belonging and that they would also have more socially competent friends. Finally, we posited that such individual- and friend-level social competence would mediate the association between ERI resolution and school belonging.
Method. Data were collected in an ethnically/racially diverse, suburban high school in the U.S. Midwest (N = 1055; 500 girls, 555 boys). Adolescents completed surveys with measures of ERI resolution (Douglass & Umaña-Taylor, 2015; ⍺ = .88), two aspects of social competence; intergroup contact attitudes (Phinney, 1992; ⍺ = .76) and perceived social competence (Harter, 2012; ⍺ = .83), and school belonging (McNeely, Nonnemaker, & Blum, 2002; ⍺ = .83). Youth were also asked to nominate up to 10 of their closest friends enrolled in the school. Models controlled for gender, grade level, ethnicity/race, and a network autocorrelation of friends’ school belonging that was estimated to account for the dependence between individuals’ and friends’ school belonging.
Results. Four different social network mediation models were estimated (i.e., one for each mediation variable). Across all models the direct effect of ERI resolution and school belonging was significant and positive. The direct effect of ERI resolution on levels of individual competence and friends’ intergroup competence was significant and positive. Significant positive network autocorrelations were observed between individuals’ and friends’ school belonging for all models. Positive indirect mediation effects were observed with individuals’ social competency and intergroup contact attitudes and friends’ intergroup contact attitudes. No mediation effect was observed for friends’ social competence (see Figure 1 for all estimates).
Discussion. Results supported hypothesized associations between ERI resolution and individual and friend-level social competence and intergroup contact attitudes as well as their individual-level school belonging. Mediation hypotheses were partially supported, given the positive indirect effect of ERI resolution to school belonging via individual and peers’ intergroup contact attitudes, but not friends' social competence levels. These novel insights demonstrate the importance of peer context for explaining the relation between ERI and school belonging.

Authors

• Adam J. Hoffman, University of Michigan
  Presenting Author

• Deborah Rivas-Drake, University of Michigan
  Non-Presenting Author

• Adriana Umaña-Taylor, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elana R. McDermott, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author

• David R. Schaefer, University of California, Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Allison M. Ryan, University of Michigan
  Non-Presenting Author