Family & Consumer Sciences, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA.
J Sch Health. 2011 Nov;81(11):688-95. doi: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2011.00645.x.
Multiculturalism has been purported to be supportive of positive youth development and outcomes. This study examined the relationship between perceived school multiculturalism-whether youth felt and thought that their school and teachers supported and provided activities for diverse intergroup interactions-and serious interpersonal violence, and explored whether this relation was mediated by civic engagement, ethnic identity, ethnocultural empathy, and positive peers.
An ethnically diverse sample of 324 middle-school youth (mean age: 12.5 years; range: 11-15 years; sex: 50% female) from a city in northern California participated in the study. Analyses consisted of structural equation modeling with bootstrapping.
The results revealed a negative association between school multiculturalism and interpersonal violence that was fully mediated by positive peers and civic engagement. Although school multiculturalism was positively associated with ethnic identity, ethnic identity, in turn, was not significantly associated with interpersonal violence.
School multiculturalism is an important protective factor against youth violence by facilitating positive peer relationships and community engagement among youth. Teachers, administrators, and health officials need to consider the ways in which they can facilitate and encourage greater understanding, openness, and respect for diversity, and promote harmonious interactions among different groups at schools. Greater institutional support for school multiculturalism through implementation of tolerance curriculum and activities, for example, could in turn facilitate favorable youth outcomes.
多元文化主义被认为有助于促进青年的积极发展和良好结果。本研究探讨了感知到的学校多元文化主义（青年是否感到和认为他们的学校和教师支持并提供了多元化的群体间互动活动）与严重人际暴力之间的关系，并探讨了这种关系是否通过公民参与、民族认同、民族文化同理心和积极的同伴关系来调节。
本研究纳入了来自加利福尼亚州北部一个城市的 324 名（平均年龄：12.5 岁；范围：11-15 岁；性别：50%女性）具有不同种族背景的中学生。分析包括带有 bootstrap 法的结构方程建模。
结果表明，学校多元文化主义与人际暴力呈负相关，这种关系完全由积极的同伴关系和公民参与来调节。尽管学校多元文化主义与民族认同呈正相关，但民族认同与人际暴力之间没有显著关联。
学校多元文化主义是预防青年暴力的一个重要保护因素，它通过促进青年之间积极的同伴关系和社区参与来发挥作用。教师、管理人员和卫生官员需要考虑他们可以通过哪些方式促进和鼓励更多地理解、开放和尊重多样性，并促进学校不同群体之间的和谐互动。例如，通过实施宽容课程和活动来加强学校的多元文化主义，可能会进一步促进青年的良好结果。
