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

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Having a stronger and more positive ethnic-racial identity (ERI) and more positive intergroup relations (friendships) may result in a host of positive academic outcomes for adolescents (Rivas-Drake et al., 2014; Graham, Mussiksma, & Juvonen, 2014). Given the increased importance and socialization influence of peers and friends in adolescence (Brown & Larson, 2008), it is likely that the relation between these ethnic-racial factors and academic adjustment is shaped by adolescents’ relationships (Rivas-Drake & Umaña-Taylor, in press). However, little research has investigated these processes with consideration for adolescents’ embeddedness within broader social contexts. The current symposium aims to fill this gap by employing social network perspectives to examine the relations between ERI, intergroup relations, and academic adjustment among American middle and high school samples. Paper 1 reveals that being more central in a friend network moderated the relation between ERI and perceptions of school climate, such that the relation was significant for youth who had high levels of network centrality. In the second paper, researchers found that the relation between ERI and school belonging was mediated by the individuals’ and friends’ intergroup competence, controlling for the network effect of peers’ school belonging. Results from the third paper revealed differing importance in cross- and same-race friendships on academic achievement for youth of color. Taken together, these studies illuminate the various way in which friendship networks and ethnic-racial factors work together to inform adolescent youth’s academic adjustment and advance the field by accounting for adolescents’ interdependence with their social contexts.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chair

• Adam J. Hoffman, University of Michigan

Discussant

• Tiffany Yip, Fordham University

Individual Presentations

• Ethnic Identity, Network Centrality, and School Climate - Presenting Author: Haley E Johnson, University of Virginia - Curry School of Education; Non-Presenting Author: Miray D. Seward, University of Virginia; Non-Presenting Author: Joanna Williams, University of Virginia

• Explaining the Link Between Ethnic-Racial Identity and School Belonging: Social Competencies as Mediating Mechanisms - Presenting Author: Adam J. Hoffman, University of Michigan; Non-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

• Who Lifts Me Up (and Brings Me Down)? The Influence of Same- and Cross-Race Friends on Academic Achievement in Middle School - Presenting Author: Leslie Echols, Missouri State University; Non-Presenting Author: Sandra Graham, University of California, Los Angeles