Longitudinal Links Between Perceived Group Mistreatment and Civic Engagement Among Diverse High Schoolers

• In Event: Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Topic -Diversity, Equity & Social Justice

Abstract

Based on the vast field of youth civic engagement (YCE) one conclusion is clear: YCE is beneficial for individuals and influences young people’s psychosocial and sociopolitical developmental pathways (Mahatmya et al., 2012; Christens & Kirshner, 2011; Strobel, Osberg, & Mclaughlin, 2006; Watts & Guessous, 2006). What is less clearly defined by the research on YCE that has proliferated over the last few decades are the longitudinal predictors of multidimensional civic engagement during adolescence. I examined one potential predictor of YCE for identity-diverse youth in order to provide a cohesive developmental framework to understand engagement across high school. For ethnic minority youth, experiences with discrimination and unfair treatment are reported to increase during the adolescent years, while the relationship between YCE and discrimination during adolescence is unclear. By examining the complex role of perceived mistreatment as a predictor of YCE during high school, this study provided some guidance towards addressing the theoretical divide in the existing literature about whether discrimination is a barrier to civic participation or a motivator of engagement. Two contrasting theoretical positions suggest (1) that discrimination creates a barrier to civic participation or (2) that discrimination motivates civic engagement. The current study set out to examine an exploratory hypothesis to unpack the direction of the relationship between perceived ethnic-group mistreatment and civic behaviors during the adolescent years.
Drawing on a subset of youth (n=3078) from a large and ethnically diverse sample that was initially recruited from 26 middle schools across Northern and Southern California, the current study answered the research question: What is the direction of the relationship between self-perceived ethnic-racial discrimination and perceived group mistreatment, separately, with civic behaviors across ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades in high school? Youth in the larger study were recruited first as sixth graders and then re-recruited as high schoolers to continue their participation in once-a-year surveys about their experiences in and out of school throughout one year post high school. The survey included comprehensive measures of civic engagement and asked youth at each grade year to report (1) the behaviors they engaged in over the last 12 months not for school credit and (2) their aspirations for engaging in civic actions in the future as adults.
Using cross-lagged path analysis, it was found that perceiving mistreatment towards one’s racial/ethnic group can compel youth to be more civically engaged in the following year, even though no cross-sectional differences were found. Specifically, this study examined the directionality of mistreatment to engagement amongst urban youth from ethnically diverse backgrounds, furthering the literature on discrimination and civic engagement in a meaningful way. Therefore, experiences with discrimination may lead youth to withdraw from civic participation as they may feel alienated from society (Flanagan et al., 2009; Padilla, 2008 as cited in Ballard, 2016). On the other hand, civic engagement may serve as a coping strategy towards systems of inequality (Hope & Spencer, 2017) and this may be especially true if the perceived mistreatment is toward one’s larger racial/ethnic group rather than oneself.

Author

• Manpreet Dhillon Brar, California State University - San Bernardino
  Presenting Author