Sociocultural Factors and School Engagement Among African American Youth: The Roles of Racial Discrimination, Racial Socialization, and Ethnic Identity

“Lastly, among African American girls (6th–12th graders) who experienced discrimination, lower levels of ethnic affirmation and belonging were associated with decreased school bonding (Dotterer et al., 2009).”

“This would help explain the inconsistent findings on the relation between preparation for bias and pro-social and pro-achievement outcomes in the broader literature (Dotterer et al., 2009; Neblett et al., 2006; Smith et al., 2003).”

“For marginalized youth, school engagement may provide one of the few spaces in their lives where they experience connections that contribute to positive developmental outcomes like a sense of self-worth, attachment to adults and self-efficacy (Dotterer et al. 2009).”

“ment (Dotterer et al. 2009; Shernoff and Schmidt 2008).”

“For example, lack of racial tension is associated with greater feelings of belonging (Byrd & Chavous, 2011; Dotterer et al., 2009), and equal status is associated with higher grades (Mattison & Aber, 2007).”

“In one study, Black students who reported that teachers and other students held prejudiced views felt less connected to others at school (Dotterer et al., 2009), while in a qualitative study, Black students in predominantly White schools that attempted to acknowledge their culture reported feeling more comfortable (Da…”

“This measure has been used in previous research and has established retest reliability of .61 (Hare, 1996) and reported alpha reliability ranging from .76 to .80 (Cunningham, Hurley, Foney, & Hayes, 2002; Dotterer et al., 2009).”

“Also, despite prior research suggesting that racial discrimination is associated with more negative academic outcomes (Chavous et al. 2008; Dotterer et al. 2009; Neblett et al. 2006), the current investigation, did not demonstrate an association between adolescents’ perceptions of racial…”

“Dotterer et al. (2009) found—analyzing a cross-sectional survey— that discrimination from teachers (and peers) was related to lower school self-esteem and school bonding.”

“Experiencing ethnic discrimination has been associated with a range of adverse physiological, physical, psychological, and behavioural outcomes among adult and adolescent populations including: poor self-reported overall health status [4,11-14]; depression, somatic complaints, anxiety and psychosis [3,7,12-21]; and ri…”

“2003), school bonding (Dotterer et al. 2009), self-esteem (Greene et al.”

“…less loneliness and depressive symptoms (McHale et al. 2006; Polo and Steven 2009); they also exhibit better adjustment at school, such as higher levels of school engagement and belonging as well as greater involvement with peers (Dotterer et al. 2009; Tran and Lee 2011; Wang and James 2012).”

“Parents may be able to mitigate some of the negative effects of discrimination through their ethnic-racial socialization practices (Bynum et al. 2007; Dotterer et al. 2009; White-Johnson et al. 2010), which include discussions aimed at helping youth to negotiate a stigmatized identity.”

“Prior research reports gender variation in African American adolescents’ racial discrimination, with boys reporting experiencing personal racial discrimination more frequently than do girls (e.g., Cogburn et al. 2011; Dotterer et al. 2009; Harnois and Ifatunji 2011).”

“More study is needed to understand within group variation of school bonding and subsequent correlates among African American youth (Dotterer et al. 2009).”

“Racial differences in connectedness might also reflect the perception among students of color that the cultural ecology of their school is not inclusive, or that adults are racially discriminatory (Bingham & Okagaki, 2012; Dotterer et al., 2009; Smalls et al., 2007).”

“In terms of the second question, a number of studies (e.g., Dotterer et al., 2009; Sellers et al., 2006; Wong et. al., 2003) reported that a positive ethnic or racial identity moderated the effects of perceived racial discrimination on the psychological and social functioning of community-based…”

“Still others have found that racial barrier socialization is associated with positive psychological well-being and school adjustment among African American youth (Bowman & Howard, 1985; Dotterer et al., 2009; Fischer & Shaw, 1999; Sanders, 1997; Scott, 2003, 2004; Stevenson, Reed, Bodison, & Bishop, 1997).”

“There is also substantial cross-sectional research on the negative associations between discrimination and academic and psychological outcomes among adolescents (e.g., Cogburn et al., 2011; Dotterer et al., 2009; Forrest-Bank & Jenson, 2015; Mroczkowski & S anchez, 2015); however, the longer term influences of discrim…”

“The current study adds to a body of literature on ethnic identity and affirmation by highlighting how school experiences may contribute to the development of positive ethnic regard among Mexican American boys (Dotterer et al., 2009; Rivas-Drake, Seaton, et al., 2014).”

“…given the number of studies demonstrating the deleterious impact of discrimination by adults in school on African American youths’ educational outcomes (Brown & Jones, 2004; Chavous et al., 2008; Dotterer et al., 2009; Neblett et al., 2006; Smalls et al., 2007; Wang, Willett, & Eccles, 2011).”

“Dotterer et al. (2009) tried to avoid these problems in their investigation of the effect of racial discrimination, racial socialization, and ethnic identity on student relationships, school bonding, and school self-esteem (pride in one’s school accomplishments).”

“…some scholars have explored disparities and experiences of tracking, unfair discipline, perceptions of lower levels of intelligence, or receiving less academic praise and reinforcement than their white counterparts (Benner & Kim, 2009; Dotterer et al., 2009; Cogburn, Chavous, & Griffin, 2011).”

“Previous research has revealed significant associations between African American adolescents’ perceived racial discrimination at school and declines in grades, academic self-concept, school engagement, selfesteem, and increases in depression and anger (Chavous et al. 2008; Dotterer et al. 2009).”

“The majority of the racial socialization research has centered on the intergenerational transmission of race related messages from parents to their children (Cooper and Smalls 2010; Dotterer et al. 2009; Hughes et al. 2009; Neblett et al. 2006).”

“Though perception of discrimination appears to be negatively associated with student engagement, this relationship is possibly moderated by ethnic identity (Dotterer, McHale, and Crouter 2009).”

“Studies have not explored SRS and school engagement, but research with both African American and Latinx adolescents have found that racial/ethnic discrimination is negatively associated with school engagement (Banerjee et al., 2018; Benner et al., 2018; Byrd & Carter Andrews, 2016; Dotterer et al., 2009; Leath et al.,…”

“This othering can take many forms, from bullying and overt discrimination (Assari & Caldwell, 2018; Dotterer et al., 2009; Espelage et al., 2015; Russell et al., 2014) to exclusionary discipline and tracking policies (Bottiani et al., 2017; He & Fischer, 2020; Morrison et al., 2005; Owens &…”

“…that positive racial identities reduce the effects of discrimination on mental health, stress, and well-being (e.g., Neblett et al. 2009; Sellers et al. 2006); academic self-concept and achievement (Wong et al. 2003); self-esteem (Greene et al. 2006); and school bonding (Dotterer et al. 2009).”

“Racial identity has been noted to function as a protective factor for African American adolescent’s psychosocial adjustment (Dotterer et al., 2009; Neblett, Banks, Cooper, & Smalls-Glover, 2013; RivasDrake et al., 2014).”

“Reports of discrimination experience are widespread among both minority adults and adolescents (Dotterer et al. 2009; DuBois et al. 2002; Harris 2004; Kessler et al. 1999; Sellers and Shelton 2003; Swim et al. 2003; Stainback and Irvin 2012).”

“Racial centrality and private regard are important aspects of the self that can mitigate negative effects of racial discrimination and promote positive adjustment and academic outcomes for Black students (Dotterer et al., 2009; Perry, 2008; Smalls et al., 2007).”

“…parental messages about race and race relations, is not only a central aspect of parenting among African American families (Coard & Sellers, 2005), but also positively linked to some dimensions of adolescents’ school engagement such as school self-esteem and school bonding (Dotterer et al., 2009b).”

“Adolescent-reported racial discrimination did not influence mothers’ racial socialization messaging as we had hypothesized based on prior literature (Drotter et al., 2009; Gerrard et al., 2019; Hughes & Johnson, 2001; Wang & Huguley, 2012).”

“…measures to assess African American adolescents’ experience racial discrimination has found similarly low mean levels (e.g., Brody et al. 2006; Dotterer et al. 2009; Neblett et al. 2006), there is growing evidence that the available self report measures may underestimate African American…”

“1999), and positive academic outcomes (Chavous et al. 2003; Dotterer et al. 2009; Hughes et al. 2009b; Umaña-Taylor et al. 2014).”

“…to buffer the effects of perceived racial discrimination on various academic outcomes, such as classroom grades, academic self-concept, school importance, and school engagement, among Black adolescents (e.g., Chavous et al., 2008; Dotterer et al., 2009; Thomas et al., 2009; Wong et al., 2003).”

“Discriminatory experiences in school are related to lower performance and sense of belonging (e.g., Dotterer et al., 2009; Roche & Kuperminc, 2012; Wong et al., 2004), and punitive consequences for transgressors may not lead to any discernable change in school culture to protect the targets of such…”

“Sixty percent of African-American adolescents interviewed by Dotterer et al. (2009) reported experiencing discrimination in school from peers and teachers.”

“Indeed, when students of color perceive the school environment to be racially hostile, they are likely to experience poorer academic performance and discipline outcomes (Byrd, 2015; Dotterer et al., 2009; Mattison & Aber, 2007; Smalls et al., 2007).”

“Similarly, Dotterer, McHale, and Crouter (2009) analyzed a sample of Black adolescents from working and middle-class two-parent families and found that adolescents who experienced racial discrimination by peers or teachers at school reported lower school self-esteem and lower school attachment.”

“…color, who reported educational and peer discrimination, were more likely to experience lower levels of self-esteem, school bonding, lower student-teacher attachment, and higher levels of cultural mistrust (Dotterer et al., 2009; Fisher et al., 2000; Cooper & Sanchez, 2016; Unnever et al., 2016).”

“Finally, the current study is further distinguished by examining the consequences of discrimination on multiple dimensions of school engagement, as restricting the focus on one sphere of school engagement may provide an incomplete picture of school experiences (Dotterer et al., 2009 ).”

“Several additional studies mirror the above findings (e.g., Dotterer et al., 2009; Wittrup et al., 2019).”

“…concert with positive evaluations of one's racial and ethnic groups is associated with more behavioral engagement and school- related self- esteem (Dotterer et al., 2009; Smalls & Cooper, 2012) and buffers against the effects of peer discrimination on youth's perceptions of their academic skills…”

“When parents of 6th to 12th grade African American students reported sending more PBM, their children reported a stronger sense of school belonging and confidence in their academic abilities (Dotterer et al., 2009).”