Diversity protects: The role of school and classroom racial/ethnic diversity on the experience of peer victimization during the middle school years.

The effects of school and classroom racial/ethnic diversity on peer victimization, self-blame, and perceived school safety were examined in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of students followed over the three years of middle school. Sixth grade students (N = 5,991, 52% female; M = 11.63 years) were recruited from 26 urban middle schools that systematically varied in racial/ethnic diversity. Based on student self-report, the sample was 31.6% Latino/Mexican, 19.6% White, 17.4%, Multiethnic/Biracial, 13% East/Southeast Asian, 10.9% Black, and 6.9% Other very small racial/ethnic groups. Each school had a structural diversity score based on the number and size of racial/ethnic groups enrolled. Using a novel method based on course schedules and class rosters, each student's individual exposure to diversity in their classes was assessed to capture dynamic diversity. Latent growth modeling showed that structural school diversity and dynamic classroom diversity were both related to less victimization at the start of middle school and a decrease over time. Dynamic classroom diversity buffered the associations between victimization and self-blame and between victimization and perceiving school as unsafe. Dynamic classroom diversity was more protective than structural school diversity. Implications for practice, intervention and policies to promote school racial/ethnic diversity were discussed.

Racial/ethnic discrimination, cultural mistrust, and psychological maladjustment among Asian American and Latino adolescent language brokers.

OBJECTIVE: Past studies on language brokering have examined how various individual and contextual factors influence the association between language brokering and mental health outcomes, but few studies have assessed how racial/ethnic discrimination or perceptions of how society treats one's racial/ethnic group (i.e., cultural mistrust) affects mental health outcomes. The goal of this study was to examine how reports of racial/ethnic discrimination and perceptions of cultural mistrust influence mental health outcomes for adolescent language brokers. METHOD: Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the moderating role of racial/ethnic discrimination and cultural mistrust on the associations between language brokering frequency and depressive and social anxiety symptoms in 1,044 Latino and Asian American adolescents (57.5% female, Mage = 15.12 years, SD = 0.41). RESULTS: Findings indicated that brokering more frequently was associated with more depressive and social anxiety symptoms for youth who reported racial/ethnic discrimination from adults in school and more depressive symptoms for youth who had high levels of cultural mistrust. Differences in racial/ethnic groups were also explored. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that reports of racial/ethnic discrimination and perceptions of cultural mistrust exacerbate psychological challenges among Latino and Asian American adolescent language brokers and highlight the importance of further examining how discrimination influences the psychosocial development of brokering youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Young Adult Adaptability to the Social Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Protective Role of Friendships.

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic enables assessment of the adaptability of young adults to non-normative stressors threatening their social-emotional wellbeing. Focusing specifically on a developmentally critical social challenge of restricted in-person contact, the goal of the current study was to examine the role of friendships in alleviating social-emotional problems. Data were collected via online surveys from an ethnically diverse sample (n = 1557) of 20 to 24-year-olds (62% cisgender female, 31% male, 7% gender diverse or gender questioning) in spring of 2021. Longitudinal data from an earlier time point involving an age-normative social challenge (transition out of high school) were used as a comparison. The comparisons between the transition from high school and the pandemic showed that whereas social anxiety and depressive symptoms increased, loneliness decreased. Participants also reported having slightly more friends and rated the overall quality of their friendships as somewhat higher. Regression analyses revealed that a greater number of friends over time and greater satisfaction with friend electronic communication during the pandemic were most robustly related to lower social and generalized anxiety as well as depressive symptoms, over and above earlier social-emotional wellbeing and a number of relevant correlates. Loneliness was protected by higher quality of friendships, greater contact with friends, as well as more frequent and satisfying electronic communication with friends. The results suggest that although young adults are facing emotional challenges during the continued pandemic, they are also able to adapt by keeping in touch with friends to decrease subjective sense of isolation. The findings have novel intervention implications to reduce loneliness.

School police officers' roles: The influence of social, developmental and historical contexts.

Amid national protests over police brutality, debates over law enforcement in schools have been reignited. Though research has focused on the consequences of police presence in schools, few studies have investigated the roles of school police officers (SPOs) and whether the larger contexts influence them. Using a bioecological framework (Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 2006), we examined how historical, social and developmental contexts shape SPOs' views of their roles and the challenges and opportunities they encounter. Nineteen 90-min focus groups with 45 SPOs from one large school police department were conducted. Analysis revealed that SPOs perceived their roles as multifaceted, encompassing both formal (e.g., law enforcer, educator) and informal (e.g., confidante, counselor) roles. These roles were enacted differently depending on the school level and neighborhood context. Furthermore, the challenges and opportunities SPOs reported were also contextualized emerging from changes in school policies, the rise in technology and social media and increased professionalization of their police department. Implications for theory and research as well as for training and policy are discussed.

Numerical Minority Status in Middle School and Racial/Ethnic Segregation in Academic Classes.

This study examined the effects of racial/ethnic segregation (i.e., overrepresentation) in academic classes on belonging, fairness, intergroup attitudes, and achievement across middle school (n = 4,361; MageT1 = 11.33 years), and whether effects depended on numerical minority status in school and race/ethnicity. Latent growth curve models revealed that experiencing more segregation than usual predicted less belonging and fairness than usual for all youth in the numerical minority, and greater in-group preference for numerical minority Whites. Academic classroom segregation throughout middle school predicted less steep declines in in-group preference for adolescents in the numerical minority, and declines in achievement for African American numerical minority youth. Results highlight the need to treat the racial/ethnic context as a structural and dynamic construct.

Meeting in the Middle: The Role of Mutual Biracial Friends in Cross-Race Friendships.

Social network analysis was used to examine the role of having a mutual biracial friend on cross-race friendship nominations among monoracial sixth-grade students (Mage  = 10.56 years) in two racially diverse middle schools (n = 385; n = 351). Monoracial youth were most likely to choose same-race peers as friends but more likely to choose biracial than different-race peers as friends, suggesting that racial homophily may operate in an incremental way to influence friendships. Monoracial different-race youth were also more likely to be friends if they had a mutual biracial friend. The findings shed light on the unique role that biracial youth play in diverse friendship networks. Implications for including biracial youth in studies of cross-race friendship are discussed.

Ethnicity, Peers, and Academic Achievement: Who Wants to be Friends with the Smart Kids?

Ethnic differences in peer reactions to academic achievement during adolescence has been a widely discussed but controversial issue in developmental and education research. Do peers respond positively or negatively to classmates of different ethnic groups who get good grades in school? The current study addressed this question by examining the linkage between academic achievement and friendship nominations received in an ethnically diverse sample of 4501 sixth grade students (Mage = 11.3 years; 51% female; 41.3% Latino, 25.1% White, 19.3% Asian, and 14.3% Black). The results of mediated moderation analyses showed that for Asians and Whites, higher academic achievement was associated with more same-ethnic friendships, whereas for Blacks and Latinos, higher academic achievement was associated with more cross-ethnic friendships. In addition, ethnic differences in the linkage between academic achievement and friendships were partly explained by classroom ethnic composition. Implications for promoting friendships of high achieving students both within and across ethnic boundaries were discussed.

Too tough at the top: Using latent class growth analysis to assess cool status during middle school.

INTRODUCTION: Obtaining and maintaining high social status in one's peer group is often a critical developmental goal during adolescence. The present study investigated factors that predict trajectories of cool status for middle school adolescents as well as how different cool status trajectories affect depressive symptoms. METHODS: The participants were 5,991 adolescents (52% girls) from 26 urban middle schools in California. Using latent class growth analysis, baseline assessment occurred in the fall of sixth grade, and repeated assessments occurred in the spring of sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. RESULTS: Three cool status trajectories were identified: (1) a high ascending cool status group (5% of the sample); (2) a decreasing cool status group (25%); and (3) a maintaining low cool status group (70%). Differences in the three groups were explained by GPA and having a reputation as aggressive at the beginning of middle school and the level of depression at the end of middle school. Those in the high ascending cool status group experienced the most depressive symptoms at the end of 8th grade. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest the need for a more nuanced perspective on maintaining cool status during adolescence that considers both its risks and benefits.

Multiracial in Middle School: The Influence of Classmates and Friends on Changes in Racial Self-Identification.

In the present research, the influence of racial diversity among classmates and friends on changes in racial self-identification among multiracial youth was examined (n = 5,209; Mage  = 10.56 years at the beginning of sixth grade). A novel individual-level measure of diversity among classmates based on participants' course schedules was utilized. The findings revealed that although there was some fluidity in multiracial identification at the beginning of middle school, changes in multiracial identification were more evident later in middle school. In addition, although diversity among classmates and friends both increased the likelihood of multiracial identification in the beginning of middle school, only diversity among friends mattered later in middle school, when fluidity in multiracial identification was at its peak.

When and How Do Students Benefit From Ethnic Diversity in Middle School?

The effects of school-based ethnic diversity on student well-being and race-related views were examined during the first year in middle school. To capture the dynamic nature of ethnic exposure, diversity was assessed both at the school-level (n = 26) and based on academic course enrollments of African American, Asian, Latino, and White students (n = 4,302; M = 11.33 years). Across all four pan-ethnic groups, school-level ethnic diversity was associated with lower sense of vulnerability (i.e., feeling safer, less victimized, and less lonely) as well as perceptions of teachers' fair and equal treatment of ethnic groups and lower out-group distance. Underscoring the role of individual experiences, exposure to diversity in academic classes moderated the association between school-level diversity and the two aforementioned race-related views.

Defending Victims of Bullying in Early Adolescence: A Multilevel Analysis.

Adolescents' defending behaviors in school bullying situations is likely determined by individual characteristics, social status variables, and classroom/school contextual factors operating simultaneously in the peer ecology. However, there is little research on defending behavior that utilizes this multilevel approach. This study investigated how students' willingness to defend victims of bullying was affected by feelings of empathy, perceived popularity, and classroom-level perceived prosocial norms. Participants were 1373 adolescents (40% girls, Mage: 14 yrs) from 54 classrooms in six middle schools in South Korea. These youth reported on their feelings of empathy and how prosocial they perceived their classmates to be. Peer-ratings and peer nominations were used to estimate defending behaviors and which students were perceived as popular. Multilevel analyses showed that participants were more likely to defend victims when they had greater empathy and perceived popularity and when classroom-level prosocial norms were higher. The findings have implications for interventions to reduce school bullying and for studying defending behavior in multiple cultural contexts.

Friends in Activities, School-related Affect, and Academic Outcomes in Diverse Middle Schools.

Participating in school-based activities is linked to positive academic engagement and achievement, but less is known about how peer relationships within activities affect these outcomes. The current study examined friends in extracurricular activities as a predictor of academic outcomes in multiethnic middle schools in California. Specifically, the mediating role of school belonging, and interactions by ethnicity and type of activity, were examined in a sample including African American or Black, East or Southeast Asian, White, and Latino youth in extracurricular activities (N = 2268; Mage = 13.36 in eighth grade; 54% female). The results of multilevel mediational models suggested that school belonging mediated the link between friends in activities and academic outcomes, and these findings replicated across groups based on ethnicity and the type of activity in which one was involved in general. These results are discussed in terms of how activities can be structured to promote positive peer relations in ways that are linked with academic engagement and achievement.

Mismatches in Self-Reported and Meta-Perceived Ethnic Identification across the High School Years.

Ethnic identification (i.e., one's self-reported ethnicity) is a social construction and therefore subject to misperceptions by others. When adolescents' self-views and others' perceptions are not aligned, adolescents may experience adjustment challenges. The present study examined mismatches between adolescents' ethnic identification (i.e., self-reported ethnicity) and meta-perceptions (i.e., what ethnicity they believed their schoolmates presumed them to be), as well as longitudinal associations between mismatches and adjustment across the high school years. Participants (Mage = 14.5; 57% girls) were an ethnically diverse sample of 1151 low-income high school students who had participated in an earlier longitudinal study during middle school. Although ethnic identification was largely consistent across the high school years, many students (46%) experienced at least occasional mismatches between their self-reported ethnic identification and meta-perceptions, with students who ever identified as multiethnic experiencing more mismatches than their monoethnic counterparts. Experiencing a mismatch was associated with more depressive symptoms, physical symptoms, and lower self-worth.

Same-Ethnic, Interethnic, and Interracial Friendships Among Asian Early Adolescents.

This study examined the psychological functions of three friendship types (i.e., same ethnic, interethnic, and interracial) in a sample of 785 sixth-grade Asian students (Mage  = 11.5 years). Participants listed their friends in sixth grade and whether each nominated friend was the same or a different ethnic group. They also reported on their ethnic identity, intergroup relations, and perceived school safety. Results showed that same-ethnic friendships were related to stronger ethnic identity and interracial friendships were uniquely related to school safety. Interethnic friendships (an Asian friend from a different country of origin) when perceived as same ethnic functioned similarly to same-ethnic friendships, whereas interethnic friendships perceived as from a different ethnic group, like interracial friendships, were associated with better intergroup relations. Implications for studying friendships in ethnically diverse samples are discussed.

Latinos' Changing Ethnic Group Representation From Elementary to Middle School: Perceived Belonging and Academic Achievement.

This study examined the association between change in ethnic group representation from elementary to middle school and Latino students' school belonging and achievement. The ethnic diversity of students' middle school was examined as a moderator. Participants were 1,825 Latino sixth graders from 26 ethnically diverse urban middle schools. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that a change in ethnic representation toward fewer Latinos in middle school than elementary school was related to less perceived belonging and lower achievement in schools with low ethnic diversity. There were no mean differences as a function of declining representation in more diverse middle schools, suggesting that greater school diversity was protective. Findings highlight the importance of examining school ethnic context, especially across the middle school transition.

Commentary: The Role of Race/Ethnicity in a Developmental Science of Equity and Justice.

This commentary makes a case for the role of school racial/ethnic diversity in a new developmental science of equity and justice with a focus on intergroup attitudes, discrimination, and social exclusion. Creative ways to conceptualize and measure ethnic diversity as a multifaceted, dynamic, and fluid construct that changes across time and space are discussed. The commentary concludes with policy implications of this approach for improving the lives of children growing up in an increasingly multiracial/multiethnic society.

Bullying Prevention: a Summary of the Report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine : Committee on the Biological and Psychosocial Effects of Peer Victimization: Lessons for Bullying Prevention.

Long tolerated as a rite of passage into adulthood, bullying is now recognized as a major and preventable public health problem. The consequences of bullying-for those who are bullied, the perpetrators of bullying, and the witnesses-include poor physical health, anxiety, depression, increased risk for suicide, poor school performance, and future delinquent and aggressive behavior. Despite ongoing efforts to address bullying at the law, policy, and programmatic levels, there is still much to learn about the consequences of bullying and the effectiveness of various responses. In 2016, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine published a report entitled Preventing Bullying Through Science, Policy and Practice, which examined the evidence on bullying, its impact, and responses to date. This article summarizes the report's key findings and recommendations related to bullying prevention.

For Better or Worse: Friendship Choices and Peer Victimization Among Ethnically Diverse Youth in the First Year of Middle School.

As children approach early adolescence, the risk of peer victimization often increases. Many children experience some form of peer victimization during this time, but children who experience chronic victimization may be particularly vulnerable to adjustment difficulties. Thus, identifying risk and protective factors associated with chronic victimization continues to be an important area of research. This study examined the effect of change in the victimization of friends on change in children's own victimization, taking into account the ethnic group representation of children in their classes. Over 3000 6th grade students (52 % female; M = 11.33 years) were drawn from 19 middle schools varying in ethnic composition. Friendships were distinguished by type-reciprocal, desired, and undesired-and a novel methodology for measuring ethnic group representation at the individual level was employed. Multilevel modeling indicated that change in friends' victimization from fall to spring of 6th grade had a differential impact on children's own victimization by friendship type and that the benefits and consequences of change in friends' victimization were especially pronounced for children in the numerical ethnic majority. The findings underscore the role of friendship choices in peer victimization, even if those choices are not reciprocated, and highlight the unique social risks associated with being in the numerical ethnic majority.

Bullying in schools: the power of bullies and the plight of victims.

Bullying is a pervasive problem affecting school-age children. Reviewing the latest findings on bullying perpetration and victimization, we highlight the social dominance function of bullying, the inflated self-views of bullies, and the effects of their behaviors on victims. Illuminating the plight of the victim, we review evidence on the cyclical processes between the risk factors and consequences of victimization and the mechanisms that can account for elevated emotional distress and health problems. Placing bullying in context, we consider the unique features of electronic communication that give rise to cyberbullying and the specific characteristics of schools that affect the rates and consequences of victimization. We then offer a critique of the main intervention approaches designed to reduce school bullying and its harmful effects. Finally, we discuss future directions that underscore the need to consider victimization a social stigma, conduct longitudinal research on protective factors, identify school context factors that shape the experience of victimization, and take a more nuanced approach to school-based interventions.