Ethnic pride, self-esteem, and school belonging: A reciprocal analysis over time

What Fosters School Connectedness? The Roles of Classroom Interactions and Parental Support

Although research has identified the impact of school connectedness on a variety of outcomes for adolescents, much less work has focused on identifying its precursors. This study examined the relative influences of classroom interactions and parental support on elements of school connectedness among a sample of 4838 students (Mage = 15.84, SD = 0.29; 49.1% female) in the United States from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 data. The results showed that three domains of classroom interactions (i.e., classroom management, instructional support, and emotional support) and parental support played unique roles in predicting school connectedness (i.e., teacher support and school belonging). Specifically, classroom management positively predicted both teacher support and school belonging; instructional support, especially directed instruction, positively predicted teacher support; emotional support was unrelated to teacher support and school belonging. Parental support positively predicted school belonging, but not teacher support. Overall, these findings highlight the roles of both teachers and parents in providing developmentally appropriate support to facilitate school connectedness.

Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Problematic Social Media Use Amongst Chinese College Students: A Longitudinal Study

Purpose

Numerous cross-sectional investigations have delved into the association between the self-esteem of college students and problematic social media use (PSMU). Nevertheless, the debated causal sequence between the two factors persists, and their unclear developmental connection over time prevails.

Methods

We used a questionnaire method to follow 321 students in Chinese college over a period of 18 months and three times, of which 137 are male and 184 are female, with an average age of 18.42 years (SD = 0.78) at time 1. Descriptive statistics were used to present the general characteristics of the study participants. Moreover, the latent growth model was used to explore the developmental trajectory of self-esteem and PSMU and to explore the interplay between the two factors from a developmental perspective. On this basis, a cross-lagged model was used to verify the causal relationship between self-esteem and PSMU.

Results

In China, (a) the self-esteem levels of college students continuously decline during their academic years, whilst PSMU levels steadily increase. (b) The self-esteem of Chinese college students significantly negatively predicts PSMU. (c) The initial level of self-esteem amongst Chinese college students can significantly negatively predict the initial level of PSMU. Additionally, the rate of decline in self-esteem amongst Chinese college students can negatively predict the rate of increase in PSMU.

Conclusion

Obtained results serve as a valuable resource for researchers and educators, enabling strategic intervention in addressing issues related to PSMU amongst college students from a developmental perspective.

Daily agreeableness and acculturation processes in ethnic/racial minority freshmen: The role of inter-ethnic contact and perceived discrimination

OBJECTIVES

Having higher levels of mainstream cultural orientation (MCO), an important component of acculturation attitudes and behaviors, is beneficial for ethnic/racial minority students during the transitions into university. Scant research has investigated MCO at a micro daily timescale. This study examined how personality (agreeableness) functions in conjunction with interpersonal processes (inter-ethnic contact and perceived discrimination) to influence MCO as daily within-person processes.

METHODS

Multi-level structural equation modeling were used to analyze month-long daily diary data from 209 ethnic/racial minority freshmen (69% female).

RESULTS

There was a positive indirect association between agreeableness and MCO through inter-ethnic contact at both within- and between-person levels. At the within-person level, on days with lower (vs. higher) levels of ethnic/racial discrimination, higher levels of agreeableness were associated with higher levels of MCO.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the contributions of intensive longitudinal data in elucidating ethnic/racial minority students' personality and acculturation processes in daily life involving protective and risk factors on micro timescales.

Longitudinal links between maternal cultural socialization, peer ethnic-racial discrimination, and ethnic-racial pride in Mexican American youth

This paper used cross-lagged panel models to test the longitudinal interplay between maternal cultural socialization, peer ethnic-racial discrimination, and ethnic-racial pride across 5th to 11th grade among Mexican American youth (N = 674, M_age  = 10.86; 72% born in the United States; 50% girls; Wave 1 collected 2006-2008). Maternal cultural socialization predicted increases in subsequent youth ethnic-racial pride, and youth ethnic-racial pride prompted greater maternal cultural socialization. However, peer ethnic-racial discrimination was associated with subsequent decreases in ethnic-racial pride. The magnitude of these associations was consistent across 5th to 11th grades suggesting that maternal cultural socialization messages are necessary to maintain ethnic-racial pride across adolescence, thus families must continually support the development of ethnic-racial pride in their youth to counter the effects of discrimination.

Stress and Health Outcomes in Midwestern Latinx Youth: The Moderating Role of Ethnic Pride

BACKGROUND

Stress has been linked to numerous health outcomes, including internalizing and externalizing behaviors, self-esteem, and physical health. Culture has also been linked to stress and health. This study examined the links between stress and health, and the potential moderating role of Latinx ethnic pride (LEP).

METHODS

The sample consisted of 119 Latinx youth from the Midwestern U.S. Mothers and youth completed surveys. Variables included the Multicultural Events Scale for Adolescents (MESA), parent and home stressors/risks (PHSR), LEP, depressive symptoms, aggression, frustration, and self-esteem. Research assistants measured child heights and weights and calculated BMI percentiles.

RESULTS

LEP was negatively related to MESA, depressive symptoms, aggression, and frustration, and positively related to self-esteem. MESA and PHSR were associated with depressive symptoms, aggression, frustration, and self-esteem, but not with BMI percentile. In adjusted regression analyses, LEP moderated the effects MESA had on frustration and self-esteem, marginally moderated the link between MESA and depressive symptoms, and was not related to aggression or BMI percentile. LEP did not moderate the relationship between PHSR with any health outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Stressors were generally related to child mental health. LEP may play an important role in protecting against some of the effects of stressful events on mental health outcomes.

Self-Support and Loneliness Among Chinese Primary School Students: A Moderated Mediation Model

This study examined the effect of self-support on loneliness, the mediation effect of school belonging, and the moderation effect of self-esteem using a sample comprising 1,126 Chinese mainland primary school students, 621 are boys and 505 are girls, and their mean age was 10.51 years (SD = 1.63, range 8–13). Participants completed questionnaires regarding self-support, loneliness, school belonging and self-esteem. In the model hypothesis, self-support is an independent variable, loneliness is an outcome variable, school belonging is a mediating variable, and self-esteem is a regulatory variable. After controlling the demographic variables, the data were analyzed, and the results showed that: (1) self-support had a significantly negative predictive effect on loneliness; (2) the relation between self-support and loneliness was mediated by school belonging; and (3) the relation between school belonging and loneliness was moderated by self-esteem, supporting the moderated mediation model. Moderated mediation analysis further indicated that the mediated path make loneliness weaker for pupils with higher levels of self-esteem. These results revealed the formation mechanism of loneliness in primary school students and have certain enlightenment significance for the intervention of loneliness in primary school students. These results revealed the formation mechanism of loneliness among primary school students and have significant implications for interventions against loneliness in the primary school context.

Latinx Adolescents' Assets, Risks, and Developmental Pathways: A Decade in Review and Looking Ahead

I selectively review the last decade of theory and research on Latinx adolescents and emerging adults' development. After briefly reviewing the changing demographics of US Latinx families, I address: (1) asset-based theories of Latinx youth's development; (2) the literature on the educational pathways of US Latinx youth; (3) how close relationships, ethnic/racial (ERI) identity, and family, school, and community context promote or constrain Latinx youth's educational and positive development and provide examples of successful interventions to promote ERI and academic adjustment. I conclude with suggestions for scholarship in the next decade, including applying intersectional, interdisciplinary, biopsychosocial, and international lenses to studying Latinx youth, researching father involvement, and addressing between- and within-country of origin variations in Latinx youth's education and development.

Developmental antecedents of adolescent optimism in rural midwestern U.S. Latinx youth

AIMS

Decades of scientific research have found optimism to have wide-ranging effects on individuals' health and well-being. Researchers have largely examined optimism in adults, but have begun addressing the benefits of optimism in adolescents. Challenges and stressors in adolescence can threaten youths' subjective well-being; therefore, identifying factors that contribute to the growth of optimism could have important health implications. However, researchers have more often examined the effect of optimism on youth outcomes rather than factors that might positively or negatively contribute to the development of optimism.

METHODS

We assessed how salient developmental tasks (resilience, ethnic pride, and school attachment), family stress, and depressive problems individually contribute to Latinx youths' optimism at two time points (N = 123, 58.8% female, M age = 11.54 years).

RESULTS

We found support for associations between both resilience and school attachment and optimism, but findings were weaker across time and with stressors included in the model. Depressive problems also appeared to weaken optimism across time.

CONCLUSION

Given the established links between optimism and health, it will be important for researchers to continue to identify factors that contribute to the development of youth optimism, and assess whether they could be used in interventions to foster optimism.

The Development of Ethnic Identity From Late Childhood to Young Adulthood: Findings From a 10-Year Longitudinal Study of Mexican-Origin Youth

Ethnic identity is a crucial developmental task for ethnic minority youth. The present study investigated the development of ethnic identity in a large sample of Mexican-origin youth ( N = 674) assessed biennially from age 10 to 19. Latent growth curve modeling was used to examine the trajectory of ethnic identity and its two facets: exploration (efforts to explore one’s ethnic group) and affirmation (positive connection to one’s ethnic group). Results showed a linear decline over time for ethnic identity and both facets; exploration declined more rapidly than affirmation. Using multigroup modeling, we tested whether the trajectories differ across gender and nativity. Compared to boys, girls’ ethnic identity, exploration, and affirmation decreased less. The trajectories did not differ for youth born in Mexico versus the United States. Discussion considers the impact of developmental, acculturative, and social–contextual processes on ethnic identity development as well unique features of our ethnic identity measure.

Becoming more egalitarian: A longitudinal examination of Mexican-origin adolescents' gender role attitudes

The current study examined the trajectory of gender role attitudes of 471 Mexican-origin adolescents (236 girls, 235 boys) from 5th grade (Mage = 10.86 years) to 11th grade (Mage = 16.75 years), investigating how situating identities (i.e., gender, nativity, SES), ethnic identity (i.e., ethnic pride), and familial context (i.e., parents' attitudes) contributed to adolescents' gender role attitudes across time. Participant interviews were conducted every other year, resulting in 4 waves of data. Most parents (96%) were Mexico natives, with an average immigration age of 18.16 years for fathers and 14.01 years for mothers. Results revealed linear and quadratic trends in gender attitude traditionality for all adolescents, characterized by a linear decline through age 16 years that leveled off through age 18 years. Although both girls and boys trended toward egalitarian gender role attitudes across adolescence, girls endorsed more egalitarian attitudes than did boys. Adolescents from higher-SES backgrounds endorsed more egalitarian attitudes than those from lower-SES backgrounds. Significant within-person effects of ethnic pride surfaced, such that children with higher levels of ethnic pride at any given time also reported more traditional gender role attitudes. Significant between-person effects of mothers' and fathers' attitudes were found, such that parents with more traditional gender role attitudes tended to have children with relatively more traditional gender role attitudes. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of studying gender development in conjunction with situating identities, cultural identities, and the broader context, particularly when children are embedded in multiple cultures with contrasting gender role expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).