School-Based Discrimination and SEL among Latinx Youth: The Moderating Role of School Commitment to DEI

• In Event: Understanding and Mitigating the Effects of Discrimination During Adolescence

Abstract

Social-emotional learning (SEL) has been identified as instrumental for positive youth development (Domitrovich et al., 2017). However, the social and structural inequities that exist within U.S. society may negatively affect the SEL development of Latinx youth, who experience stressors such as school-based discrimination (Reyes & Elias, 2011). The negative impact of discrimination may be particularly salient for Latinx youth who are additionally marginalized by other identities, such as their gender and sexual orientation (Delgado et al., 2019; Schmitz et al., 2020). Fortunately, school environments that center diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in their practices (e.g., staff consider student cultural needs) may mitigate the negative impact of school-based discrimination on Latinx youth’s SEL (Bellmore et al., 2012; Berg et al., 2017). The current study examined the association between experiences of school-based discrimination and SEL for Latinx youth and the potential protective role of school commitment to DEI. Moreover, we considered whether these associations differed based on Latinx youth’s gender identity and sexual orientation.

The sample included 2,017 Latinx youth (ages 11 - 21; 49% girls) who were recruited from 26 middle schools and high schools across the U.S. (see Table 1 for descriptives). Measures included survey data on students’ experiences of school-based discrimination, their perceptions of their school’s commitment to DEI, and their SEL based on the five competencies outlined in the CASEL framework (e.g., self-awareness; CASEL, 2020). We conducted a series of path analyses to test the association between youth’s school-based discrimination and SEL and whether commitment to DEI moderated this association.. Multigroup analyses were used to assess whether these relationships differed based on youth’s gender identity and sexual orientation. All models controlled for grade level, family financial status, English language learning (ELL) services, and individualized education plan (IEP) services.

Findings showed that school-based discrimination was negatively associated with greater SEL (β = -.13, SE = .06, p < .05), and that commitment to DEI buffered the negative impact of discrimination on SEL (see Figure 1). Multigroup analyses showed that commitment to DEI was more strongly associated with SEL among boys (β = 0.53, p < .001) than girls (β = 0.41, p < .001), and that school-based discrimination was negatively associated with SEL among students who identified as part of a sexual minority group (β = -.11, p < .01), but unrelated among students who identified as heterosexual (β = -.02, p > .05).

Our findings suggest that despite the detrimental influence of school-based discrimination on SEL, implementing DEI practices in schools is a viable strategy for supporting the SEL development of Latinx youth. Lastly, the group differences that we find in this study highlight the importance of considering how intersectional identities among Latinx youth may uniquely shape their development.

Authors

• Perla Ramos Carranza, University of California - Irvine
  Presenting Author

• Ashley Boat, SEARCH Institute

• Ta-yang Hsieh, Search Institute