2-019 - The Salience of Racial-Ethnic Climate in School for Minority Youth: Contributions to Adolescent Psychosocial Outcomes

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Empirical studies have documented the importance of school context, or the broader sociocultural milieu of the school, to the relative success of students of color across important dimensions such as teacher support, sense of belonging, and academic and social climate (Graham, 2018). In particular, the racial-ethnic climate of the school- including experiences of discrimination or feelings of vulnerability- have been identified as salient dimensions of students’ daily experiences and psychological adjustment (Benner & Graham, 2013; Juvonen, Kogachi, & Graham, 2017; Niwa, Way, & Hughes, 2014). In this paper symposium, we examine both the salience and impact of school racial-ethnic context and climate on critical domains of psychosocial functioning among racial-ethnic minority students across the middle and high school years, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The first paper examines the influence of cross-race friendships on trajectories of psychological well-being among Asian American adolescents, and how these might vary by school contextual factors such as racial climate and racial marginalization, using a nationally representative sample. The second paper investigates the mediating and moderating roles of ethnic context and climate on the important link between school belonging and ethnic identity among Latino middle school students. Finally, the third paper explores early adolescent students’ perceptions of their schools’ racial-ethnic climate in a small but ethnically diverse sample of immigrant students who have varying years of schooling in the continental U.S., using qualitative, in-depth interviews. A prominent scholar of the impact of ethnic and racial processes in youth development will serve as our Discussant.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chair

• Tina M Durand, Boston University

Discussant

• Deborah Rivas-Drake, University of Michigan

Individual Presentations

• Cross-race Friendships and Psychological Well-being Among Asian Americans: The Moderating Effects of School Contexts - Presenting Author: Shizhu Liu, Michigan State University; Non-Presenting Author: Yijie Wang, Michigan State University; Non-Presenting Author: Amy K Nuttall, Michigan State University

• The Role of Ethnic Context on Latinos' Ethnic Identity and School Belonging - Presenting Author: Jessica Morales-Chicas, California State University, Los Angeles; Non-Presenting Author: Manpreet Dhillon Brar, UCLA

• Immigrant Students’ Perceptions of School Racial-Ethnic Climate: Variations by Years of Experience in U.S. Schools - Presenting Author: Tina M Durand, Boston University