Black Adolescents' Peer Relationships: Examining Ethnic Identity, Discrimination, Likability, and Peer Victimization

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Social Relationships

Abstract

Prior research examining peer relationships often has neglected the unique experiences of Black and African American youth in the US. When African American students are a numerical minority in a predominantly (i.e., often White) social context, peer nominations often underestimate African American’s peer experiences; many may receive a majority of nominations from African American peers, but still appear to receive low numbers of nominations within their entire grade given the tendency for White peers to predominantly nominate other White peers. As a result, little is known regarding the predictors of peer acceptance/rejection or peer victimization among African Americans.
This study examined African American adolescents’ peer experiences by calculating peer sociometric scores based on nominations from their entire grade (i.e., as is traditional done) and based on nominations from only African American nominators, to capture peer experiences among others from the same ethnic group. Two predictors were examined. First, acknowledging that African American adolescent report higher rates of racial discrimination from peers than do other racial and ethnic minority groups in the US, and that these experiences may be well known within the peer context, we examined discrimination experiences as predictors of acceptance/rejection, and peer victimization (overt and relational forms). Second, ethnic identity was examined to determine whether reports of centrality (i.e., identification with one’s ethnic group as central to a sense of self) might moderate the effects of acceptance on peer victimization or the effects of discrimination on acceptance/rejection. Each hypothesis was examined for grade-wide and only African American nominations.
From a larger sample of 399 youth participating in a longitudinal study on adolescent peer relationships, data were available for 47 9th grade African American adolescents (Mage = 14.78, SD = 2.36, 62% male). Adolescents completed self-report measures of ethnic identity, racial discrimination, and completed peer nominations to assess peer acceptance/rejection (i.e., “Who do you like most/least?”) and overt/relational victimization (i.e., “Who gets threatened or physically hurt by others?”,” Who gets left out of activities, ignored by others because one of their friends is mad at them, gossiped about, or has mean things said behind their backs?”).
Results suggested that ethnic identity moderated the association between peer acceptance/rejection and both forms of peer victimization. At low levels of ethnic identity, peer rejection among all grademates and solely African American grademates was associated with peer victimization; however, peer rejection was not associated with victimization at higher levels of ethnic identity. Results also suggested that ethnic identity moderated the association between racial discrimination and peer acceptance/rejection with significant effects among those with low but not high levels of ethnic identity when rated by all grademates and just African American grademates. Implications for the study of ethnic minority adolescents’ peer relationships will be discussed.

Authors

• Ariana Davis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Presenting Author

• Mitchell J Prinstein, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author