Medina Michael, Sigal Marika, Vang Tseng, Bellmore Amy, Witkow Melissa, Nishina Adrienne
Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
J Youth Adolesc. 2025 Sep 10. doi: 10.1007/s10964-025-02241-5.
School interethnic climate has interpersonal and intrapersonal implications for adolescent development, but little is known of how it influences their psychological adjustment over time, let alone what drives this influence. This study examined whether two components of identity-school belonging perceptions and ethnic-racial identity beliefs-mediate the association between 10th grade perceptions of school interethnic climate and 12th grade psychological adjustment. The analytic sample includes 849 students (50% girls; 30% Latinx, 27% White, 16% Asian/Pacific Islander, 18% Multiethnic, 6% African American/Black, 3% Other). Data were collected across three grade levels (Grade 10 age = 15.4 [0.52], Grade 11 age = 16.4 [0.52], Grade 12 age = 17.4 [0.52]) in three public high schools in two U.S. states. Findings indicated that school belonging, but not ethnic-racial identity, in 11th grade fully mediated the relation between school interethnic climate and later psychological adjustment. These pathways did not significantly differ between Asian American/Pacific Islander, Latinx, Multiethnic, and White students. This work highlights school belonging and ethnic-racial identity as distinct and beneficial developmental mechanisms in this context, as well as provides pragmatic school-centered implications for practice.
学校的跨种族氛围对青少年发展具有人际和个人层面的影响，但对于其如何随时间影响青少年的心理调适，我们所知甚少，更不用说这种影响背后的驱动因素了。本研究考察了身份认同的两个组成部分——学校归属感认知和种族认同信念——是否在十年级时对学校跨种族氛围的认知与十二年级时的心理调适之间的关联中起中介作用。分析样本包括849名学生（50%为女生；30%为拉丁裔，27%为白人，16%为亚裔/太平洋岛民，18%为多民族，6%为非裔美国人/黑人，3%为其他）。数据是在美国两个州的三所公立高中的三个年级（十年级年龄 = 15.4 [0.52]，十一年级年龄 = 16.4 [0.52]，十二年级年龄 = 17.4 [0.52]）收集的。研究结果表明，十一年级时的学校归属感而非种族认同，完全中介了学校跨种族氛围与后期心理调适之间的关系。这些路径在亚裔/太平洋岛民、拉丁裔、多民族和白人学生之间没有显著差异。这项研究突出了在这种背景下学校归属感和种族认同是独特且有益的发展机制，同时也为以学校为中心的实践提供了务实的启示。
