Poster #27 - The effect of Diversity-Related Interactions on Recognition of Online Racial Discrimination of In-Group and Out-Group Others

• In Event: Poster Session 02

Abstract

Online racial discrimination (ORD) is salient in online spaces, raising concerns about the impact of ORD on youth (Tynes et al., 2015). ORD may be psychologically harmful to children and adolescents (Tynes et al., 2020). Further, exposure to prejudicial attitudes by others can lead to youth adapting prejudicial attitudes and engaging in bullying behavior (Huang & Cornell, 2019). Youth are online “almost constantly” (Vogels et al., 2022), increasing their likelihood of exposure to ORD and content that could foster hostile racial attitudes and cause psychological harm (Dunn et al., 2022; Tynes et al., 2020). As such, it is important for youth to learn how to discern ORD content to mitigate its effects. One potential avenue for youth to learn how to recognize ORD is through engaging in diversity-related discussions with other youth, which may facilitate recognition of ORD targeting one’s ingroup and/or? Outgroup (Karata et al., 2022). In this study we examined the relationship between youths’ diversity-related discussions with peers and reported experiences of ORD.

Participants were 1331 racially/ethnically diverse 6th-8th graders from urban schools. The sample included girls (n = 666), boys (n = 665) and those who identified as Black, Hispanic, Asian, White, and Mutlirace/ethnicity.. Participants were on average 12.44 years old (SD = .98, range = 10-15). C

The Diversity-Related Interactions (Bowman, 2013) questionnaire asked participants about whether they engaged in interactions such as having meaningful and honest discussions about issues related to social justice with diverse students on a scale from 1-5, α = .79.
The Online Racial/Ethnic Discrimination (Tynes et al., 2008) questionnaire assessed perceptions of vicarious discrimination experiences of one’s own and others’ racial/ethnic groups on a scale from 0-3, ingroup α = .95, outgroup α = .93.

According to path analyses, racial/ethnic minority youth reported more ORD directed at their ingroup (β = .12, p < .001) and outgroup (β = .12, p < .001), as did girls (β = -. 06, p < .05, β = -.08, p < .01, respectively). Those who reported more diversity-related interactions reported more ORD directed at their ingroup (β = .37, p < .001) and outgroup (β = .40, p < .001). We tested whether the associations between diversity-related interactions and each form of ORD differed significantly, but they did not.

This study provides insight into how early adolescents’ diversity-related interactions relate to experiences with ORD. Our hypothesis was supported; engagement in diversity-related interactions is related to recognition of among early adolescents (Karata et al., 2022). However, this data is cross-sectional, and there is the possibility that youth exposed to more ORD may engage in more diversity-related interactions as an early form of anti-racist behavior (Hazelbaker et al., 2022). Given the harmful impact of ORD exposure (Tynes et al., 2020), youth might also turn to peers to discuss racial issues as a coping mechanism in response to exposure to ORD. Longitudinal research could help elucidate the directionality between diversity-related interactions and ORD and the function of those interactions in early adolescence.

Authors

• Jesiah Salazar, Utah State University
  Presenting Author

• Diana Meter, Utah State University

• Alysha Ramirez Hall, University of California, Davis

• Tyler Renshaw