Family and School Belongingness: Protective Factors for Immigrant Youth Against Bias-Based Bullying in the U.S.

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Topic - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Abstract

The anti-immigrant and racist rhetoric that defined the 2016 U.S. election has continued to inspire increased hate crimes specifically targeting Latinx and Muslim communities (Hassan, 2019) and has resulted in increased victimization of immigrant and cultural minority youth and bias-based discrimination (BBD) and violence in schools (Brenick & Halgunseth, 2017). BBD is a strong and consistent risk factor for negative social-emotional outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety, distress) among minority youth (Weeks & Sullivan, 2019) and has been studied through the lens of the phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST; Spencer, Dupree, & Hartmann, 1997). PVEST examines the relation of not just risk factors, but also protective factors to the coping strategies and outcomes of minority youth within a larger ecological context (Brenick, Schachner, & Jugert, 2018). One protective factor of particular importance to immigrant youth is the cultural orientation of family in terms of cohesion, support, and belongingness (Neblett, Drake, & Umaña-Taylor, 2012). When examining BBD in school settings, school belongingness may serve as an additional potential protective factor that buffers against the negative consequences of BBD experienced by immigrant youth. Thus, this cross-sectional study examined the role of school and family belongingness as moderators between the relation of BBD experiences and social-emotional outcomes for immigrant and non-immigrant youth.

409 U.S. middle-school students (49% female; 32% immigrant background; 36% ethnic minority; Mage=13.28 (0.87)) completed self-report questionnaires. Bullying experiences were assessed with the School Climate Bullying Survey (α=0.93; Cornell, 2011). Items were adapted to address specific ways that immigrants may be bullied (e.g., because I speak with an accent). School belongingness was measured with the Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale (α=0.91; Goodenow, 1993). Family belongingness was measured using the Family Environment Scale (α=0.77; Moos & Moos, 1994); the family cohesion subscale reflects support and commitment within the family. Socioemotional well-being was assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 2010) using difficulties (internalizing, externalizing) and prosocial behaviors factors as suggested for low-risk populations (α=0.83/0.79).

Two step-wise linear regressions were conducted with SDQ difficulties and prosocial behaviors as the outcome variables. For the difficulties outcome, the third step was the highest significant model; significant coefficients indicated that for both immigrant and non-immigrant youth, participants who reported a greater sense of school belongingness and fewer bullying experiences also reported fewer socioemotional difficulties (Table 1). The lack of relation between bullying victimization and negative outcomes among immigrant youth may be related to the protective association that also emerged in the results. For the prosocial outcome, the sixth step was the highest significant model. Lower order effects were all qualified by a family cohesion X school belongingness X bullying victimization X immigrant background interaction (Table 1). For immigrant youth, high school and family belongingness helped to not just mitigate bias-based bullying, but also to turn these experiences into more frequent prosocial behaviors (Table 2).

In line with ecological theory, practitioners should consider the influence of both the family and feelings of school belongingness when seeking to promote the well-being of immigrant youth.

Authors

• Minjung Choi, University of Connecticut
  Presenting Author

• Sameena Shah, University of Connecticut
  Non-Presenting Author

• Michelle Miller, University of Connecticut
  Non-Presenting Author

• Vanessa Esquivel, University of Connecticut
  Non-Presenting Author

• Linda C. Halgunseth, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Alaina Brenick, University of Connecticut
  Non-Presenting Author