Directionality explored: Black Adolescents' awareness of systemic racism and race-based experiences.

Increases in conversations about race and racial discrimination experiences during adolescence make this a critical developmental period to investigate adolescents' awareness of racism. We examined bidirectional associations between race-based experiences and awareness of systemic racism-operationalized as understanding systemic causes of racial disparities in education. Adolescents who self-identified as African American/Black were surveyed in Grade 6 (n = 317; Mage = 11.12; 48% girls) and Grade 8 (n = 247; Mage = 13.15; 56% girls). Cross-lagged panel analyses revealed that racial barrier messages, but not racial discrimination experiences, in Grade 6 positively predicted awareness of systemic racism in Grade 8. Adolescents' awareness of systemic racism in Grade 6 did not predict racial socialization or racial discrimination experiences in Grade 8.

The Effect of Mindfulness Programs on Collegiate Test Anxiety.

Objectives: Affecting approximately one-fifth of college students, test anxiety is a source of academic failure that leads to worse exam performance and academic retention. The present study assessed the efficacy of online mindfulness-based interventions at reducing collegiate test anxiety. Methods: Undergraduate college students (N = 71) were randomly assigned to a six-week mindfulness condition (n = 24), a three-week mindfulness condition (n = 21), or a six-week sham mindfulness active control condition (n = 26). Participants in each condition were assigned five weekly meditations and written reflections. Responses to online surveys captured participants' reported levels of test anxiety and mindfulness pre- and post-intervention. Results: Increases in mindfulness were associated with decreased reports of test anxiety, r(69) = - .48. Across all conditions, self-reported mindfulness increased, and self-reported test anxiety decreased from pre- to post-test, F(1, 68) = 19.5 and 28.9, p's < .001, η 2 = .06 and .05 respectively. Conclusions: Changes in the primary variables did not differ by condition, offering no empirical support for greater efficacy of a six-week as compared to a three-week intervention. The sham mindfulness control group also reported increases in mindfulness and decreases in test anxiety, raising questions about what intervention benefits are specific to mindfulness trainings. These findings suggest that online interventions are effective at reducing test anxiety in college students, though more research will inform how intervention length and content lead to changes in test anxiety and mindfulness. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-022-02002-6.

Ethnic Identity in Arab Americans: Gender, Religious Upbringing, and Age Differences.

Arab Americans constitute a diverse, sizeable ethnic minority in the United States. However, limited research has examined the content of Arab American ethnic identity and whether this ethnic identity differs by demographic factors. In the present study, we developed measures of Arab American ethnic identity and cultural practice, and assessed differences in those variables by gender, religious affiliation (Muslim, Christian), and age. Arab American adults recruited online from Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 391) completed an adaptation of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity and a measure of cultural practice that was created for this study based on pre-existing scales. Items loaded onto dimensions of identity (ethnic centrality, private regard, public regard), and subscales showed invariance across gender and religious upbringing. When examining group differences in ethnic identity, we found that attitudes regarding being Arab American varied by gender, such that Arab American women reported higher private regard and lower public regard than men. In turn, participants raised in Muslim households reported higher ethnic centrality and cultural practice than those raised in Christian households, potentially related to Muslims' status as a religious minority in the United Status. Finally, young adults were lower in centrality and private regard than older adults, suggesting either that ethnic identity may develop into adulthood or that young adults' ethnic identity may be influenced by growing up in American society post-9/11. Taken together, findings illustrate the heterogeneity in the ethnic identity of Arab Americans; further research is needed to understand individual differences in Arab Americans' ethnic identity.

Race differences in Black and white adolescents' academic gender stereotypes across middle and late adolescence.

Objectives: We examined race differences in adolescents' beliefs about boys' and girls' English, math, and science abilities, testing the hypothesis that Black adolescents would rate girls' abilities more favorably than boys' across all domains. In contrast, we expected that White adolescents would report traditional stereotypes favoring boys in math and science and favoring girls in English, and that developmental change would reflect increasing endorsement of traditional stereotypes for both Black and White adolescents. Methods: 654 Black and White adolescents (Mage = 16.3; SD = 0.67) completed surveys rating girls' and boys' competence in each academic domain in Grade 10 and in Grade 12. Results: Across Grade 10 and Grade 12, Black and White adolescents of both genders showed strong endorsement of stereotypes favoring girls in verbal domains. Traditional stereotypes favoring boys in math were endorsed by White adolescents but not Black adolescents and increased across time. Black youth (with scores averaged across grades) and 10th graders (with scores averaged across race) reported that girls were more competent than boys in science. In contrast, girls and boys were viewed as equally competent in science by White adolescents (with scores averaged across time) and by 12th graders (with scores averaged across race). Conclusions: These findings show that Black and White youth differ in their endorsement of stereotypes about gender differences in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) abilities. The results extend prior research with children and early adolescents showing that traditional STEM gender stereotypes become more pronounced in later adolescence and that verbal gender stereotypes are robust. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Ethnic-racial identity, gender identity, and well-being in Cherokee early adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: We examined ethnic-racial and gender identities and their relations to self-esteem and well-being among Cherokee early adolescents. We also explored gender differences in the significance to boys and girls of ethnic-racial and gender identities. METHOD: The sample consisted of 212 Cherokee 6th, 7th, and 8th grade girls and boys (Mage = 12.7 years). Adolescents completed survey measures of gender and ethnic-racial centrality, gender private regard, ethnic-racial private regard, ethnic-racial public regard, self-esteem, and three measures of well-being. RESULTS: Both genders reported high levels of the importance of being Cherokee to their identity (i.e., centrality), and strong positive attitudes toward being Cherokee (i.e., ethnic-racial private regard). Boys perceived gender as more important and more positive than girls. Among girls, ethnic-racial identity was more central and was viewed more positively than their gender identity. Mean levels of ethnic-racial and gender centrality did not differ for boys, nor did their reports of ethnic-racial and gender private regard. Youth's perceptions that others hold Cherokees in high regard (public regard) decreased across the grade levels. For both boys and girls, gender identity dimensions had stronger relations than ethnic-racial identity to psychosocial outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: For this sample of Cherokee adolescents, ethnic-racial identity held more prominence for girls than for boys, although aspects of gender identity were more strongly related to well-being for both genders. Results of the study indicate the significance of considering multiple identities in understanding identity development in American Indian adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Longitudinal relations between skin tone and self-esteem in African American girls.

We examined developmental changes in self-esteem from late childhood to late adolescence in African American girls (N = 124), comparing skin tone groups. Girls completed a measure of self-esteem when they were in Grades 5, 7, 10, and 12, and in Grade 12 their skin tone was rated on a 3-point scale (1 = Light, 2 = Medium, 3 = Dark). Girls with lighter skin reported higher self-esteem than dark and medium-toned girls in Grades 5 and 7, and their self-esteem remained high across the seven years of the study. The self-esteem of dark- and medium-skinned girls increased in high school such that at Grade 12, medium-skinned girls had higher self-esteem than dark-skinned girls, who did not differ from light-skinned girls. The results are discussed in terms of theory-building on the topic of colorism. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Math and language gender stereotypes: Age and gender differences in implicit biases and explicit beliefs.

In a cross-sectional study of youth ages 8-15, we examined implicit and explicit gender stereotypes regarding math and language abilities. We investigated how implicit and explicit stereotypes differ across age and gender groups and whether they are consistent with cultural stereotypes. Participants (N = 270) completed the Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP) and a survey of explicit beliefs. Across all ages, boys showed neither math nor language implicit gender biases, whereas girls implicitly favored girls in both domains. These findings are counter to cultural stereotypes, which favor boys in math. On the explicit measure, both boys' and girls' primary tendency was to favor girls in math and language ability, with the exception of elementary school boys, who rated genders equally. We conclude that objective gender differences in academic success guide differences in children's explicit reports and implicit biases.

The development of academic and nonacademic race stereotypes in African American adolescents.

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine developmental change and gender differences in the Black-White race stereotype endorsement of African American adolescents. In Grades 7, 10, and 12, African American students (N = 563; 313 girls) reported their perceptions of the competence of Blacks and Whites in academic, music, and sports domains. Multilevel growth modeling (MLM) was used to assess change from Grade 7 to Grade 12. Separate models tested academic (English, math, science) and nonacademic (music and sports) stereotypes. Across time points, students reported higher competence for Whites than Blacks in English, math, and science and higher competence for Blacks in music and sports. Academic stereotype endorsement increased between Grades 7 and 10, and students' endorsement of music and sports stereotypes decreased over time. Girls endorsed race stereotypes favoring Whites in math and science more strongly than boys. Boys reported stronger sports stereotypes than girls. Results highlight the value of intersectional approaches to studying stereotypes, as factors linked to gender identity may play a role in Black youths' race stereotype endorsement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Black Adolescents' Critical Reflection Development: Parents' Racial Socialization and Attributions About Race Achievement Gaps.

This research explored the development of Black adolescents' (N = 454) critical reflection, conceived as individual (i.e., blaming Black people) and structural (i.e., blaming systemic racism) attributions for race achievement gaps. In this longitudinal study, adolescents and their parents reported their individual and structural attributions for race achievement gaps and parents' racial socialization. Adolescents' structural attributions increased from Grade 10 to Grade 12. Average levels of individual attributions did not change. Adolescents' reports of parental racial socialization and parents' structural attributions when youth were in Grade 10 predicted increases in adolescents' structural attributions. Findings are applied to future research and efforts to increase adolescent critical reflection.

Development of Gender Typicality and Felt Pressure in European French and North African French Adolescents.

Trajectories of gender identity were examined from Grade 6 (Mage  = 11.9 years) to Grade 9 in European French (n = 570) and North African French (n = 534) adolescents, and gender and ethnic group differences were assessed in these trajectories. In Grade 6, boys of both ethnic groups reported higher levels of gender typicality and felt pressure for gender conformity than girls. European French girls and boys and North African French girls reported decreasing gender typicality from Grade 6 to Grade 9, whereas North African French boys did not change. Felt pressure decreased among girls, did not change in European French boys, and increased in North African French boys. Ethnic and gender differences in gender identity development are discussed.

Bidirectional influence between African American mothers' and children's racial centrality from elementary through high school.

For many African Americans, racial identity is an important aspect of their individual identity. We explored developmental change and stability of individual differences in the racial centrality of African American youths and their mothers as well as the relation between maternal and child racial centrality across time. African American youths (N = 380) and mothers completed surveys when youths were in grades 5, 7, 10, and 12. Mean levels of youths' racial centrality did not increase or decrease across the 7 years of the study. The stability of individual differences in youths' racial centrality increased across time, reaching adult levels by high school. Cross-lagged panel analyses showed relations between mothers' and children's racial centrality in middle adolescence but not in early and late adolescence. Results document that the importance of race to the personal identities of African American youths does not show normative developmental change across adolescence, and only minimal change is linked to maternal influence. (PsycINFO Database Record

Framing black boys: parent, teacher, and student narratives of the academic lives of black boys.

The discourse on Black boys tends to suggest that Black boys are in complete peril. We begin with evidence that Black boys are excelling in certain contexts (i.e., in certain states, in certain schools, and in certain courses). We then discuss the ways in which the narratives used by parents, teachers, and Black boys themselves may serve to further reinforce views that Black boys are beyond hope. Research on Black parents suggests that they tend to view their sons as vulnerable and have lower expectations for sons than for daughters. Studies of teachers show that they tend to view Black boys as unteachable, as social problems, and as scary. Research on Black boys shows that they are sometimes complicit in supporting these narratives by engaging in negative or ste reotypical behavior. We also include recent research that includes counter-narratives of Black boys. We end with suggestions for future research.

Self Views of African American Youth are Related to the Gender Stereotypes and Academic Attributions of Their Mothers.

We examined relations among African American mothers' (N = 392) stereotypes about gender differences in mathematics, science, and reading performance, parents' attributions about their children's academic successes and failures, and their seventh and eighth grade children's academic self-views (domain-specific ability attributions and self-concept). Parents' stereotypes about gender differences in abilities were related to their ability attributions for their children's successes and failures within academic domains. Mothers' attributions, in turn, were related to children's attributions, particularly among girls. Mothers' attributions of their children's successes to domain-specific ability were related to the self-concepts of daughters, and failure attributions were related to domain-specific self-concepts of sons. The influences of parents' beliefs on young adolescents' identity beliefs are discussed.

Age and Race Differences in Racial Stereotype Awareness and Endorsement.

Age and race differences in race stereotype awareness and endorsement were examined in 382 Black and White fourth, sixth, and eighth graders. Youth reported their own beliefs and their perceptions of adults' beliefs about racial differences in ability in two domains: academics and sports. Children's own endorsement of race stereotypes was highly correlated with their perceptions of adults' race stereotypes. Blacks reported stronger traditional sports stereotypes than Whites, and fourth- and sixth-grade Blacks reported roughly egalitarian academic stereotypes. At every grade level, Whites reported academic stereotypes that favored Whites, and sixth and eighth grade Whites reported sports stereotypes that favored Blacks. Results support the tenets of status theory and have implications for identity development and achievement motivation in adolescents.

A longitudinal examination of African American adolescents' attributions about achievement outcomes.

Developmental, gender, and academic domain differences in causal attributions and the influence of attributions on classroom engagement were explored longitudinally in 115 African American adolescents. In Grades 8 and 11, adolescents reported attributions for success and failure in math, English and writing, and science. In Grade 11, English and mathematics teachers rated students' classroom engagement. Boys were more likely than girls to attribute math successes to high ability and to attribute English failures to low ability. Both genders' ability attributions for math became more negative from eighth to eleventh grades. Grade 8 attributions of math failure to lack of ability were negatively related to Grade 11 math classroom engagement. Results illustrate the gendered nature of motivational beliefs among Black youth.

Gender differences in motivational pathways to college for middle class African American youths.

Using a sample of predominantly middle-class African American adolescents and parents (N = 424), the authors tested a path model linking parental expectations for children's future educational attainment, youths' motivation during Grade 11, and youths' subsequent on-time postsecondary educational progress. Parents' expectations were positively related to adolescents' educational attainment aspirations, attainment expectations, utility values (i.e., beliefs about the usefulness of education), and perceptions of racial barriers to upward mobility. Relationships between parents' expectations and youths' aspirations and expectations were mediated by youths' perceptions of parents' expectations. For boys, but not girls, Grade 11 educational expectations and utility values each uniquely predicted college attendance 1 year after high school graduation. In addition, boys' perceptions of racial barriers were negatively related to subsequent postsecondary progress through their influence on values. Findings underscore the importance of academic achievement motivation as a developmental resource for African American boys and suggest that boys are especially likely to benefit from interventions promoting positive motivational beliefs.

Academic Self-Concept in Black Adolescents: Do Race and Gender Stereotypes Matter?

We examined the relation between race- and gender-group competence ratings and academic self-concept in 252 Black seventh- and eighth-graders. On average, youth reported traditional race stereotypes, whereas gender stereotypes were traditional about verbal abilities and were nontraditional regarding math/science abilities. Among boys, in-group gender and in-group race-based competence ratings (i.e. ratings of boys and Blacks) were related to math/science and verbal self-concepts. However, only gender-based ratings (i.e. ratings of girls' abilities for reading/writing) were related to girls' self-concepts. These findings suggest that the influence of race stereotypes on Black adolescents' academic self-concepts is different for girls than boys. Whereas self-relevant gender groups were associated with both Black girls' and boys' academic self-concept, race-based competence ratings were only relevant for the academic self-views of Black boys.

Gender and racial favouritism in black and white preschool girls.

The authors examined gender and racial preferential behaviour in 108 3- and 5-year-old Black and White girls. Children set up a birthday party for dolls that differed in gender and racial physical characteristics. Whereas White girls showed favouritism towards the doll most closely resembling themselves in both gender and race, Black girls showed most favouritism towards the White girl doll. Black girls were more likely to show preference based on gender rather than race, whereas White girls were equally likely to show race- or gender-based favouritism. Among White 5-year-olds, greater prior interaction with Blacks was positively associated with race-related favouritism (i.e., secondary preference to the White boy doll rather than the Black girl doll). Interracial contact was unrelated to racial favouritism among the other three groups. Results demonstrate the salience of gender identity during the preschool years, and indicate that majority/minority status and intergroup contact shape the development of collective identity and social behaviour.

Emotional availability and psychosocial correlates among mothers in substance-abuse treatment and their young infants.

Emotional availability (EA) was investigated among low-income mothers enrolled in substance-abuse treatment and their young infants (n = 21) compared with a demographically matched group of mother-infant pairs who, by self-report, were not at risk for substance abuse (n = 27). The mother-infant dyads in the treatment group generally demonstrated poorer EA functioning than those in the comparison group, but few differences between the groups on individual dimensions of EA were significant. This finding was notable considering that mothers in treatment reported significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms and psychological stress. Treatment effects may have buffered the negative impact of depression and psychological stress on mothers' EA scores. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed as they relate to substance-abuse-treatment services for pregnant and parenting women.

Academic Race Stereotypes, Academic Self-Concept, and Racial Centrality in African American Youth.

The relation between academic race stereotype endorsement and academic self-concept was examined in two studies of seventh- and eighth-grade African Americans. Based on expectancy-value theory, the authors hypothesized that academic race stereotype endorsement would be negatively related to self-perceptions. Furthermore, it was anticipated that the relation between stereotype endorsement and self-perceptions would be moderated by racial centrality. The hypothesis was supported in two independent samples. Among students with high racial centrality, endorsement of traditional race stereotypes was linked to lower self-perceptions of academic competence. The stereotype/self-concept relation was nonsignificant among youth for whom race was less central to their identities. These results confirm the supposition of expectancy-value theory and illustrate the interweaving of group and individual identity with motivational beliefs.