This research tests how perceived school and peer norms predict interethnic experiences among ethnic minority and majority youth. With studies in Chile (654 nonindigenous and 244 Mapuche students, M = 11.20 and 11.31 years) and the United States (468 non-Hispanic White and 126 Latino students, M = 11.66 and 11.68 years), cross-sectional results…

This research examines the complex patterns by which distinct dimensions of critical consciousness may lead marginalized adolescents toward distinct forms of political action. Structural equation modeling was applied to nationally representative data from the Civic Education Study (2,811 ninth graders; M[subscript age] = 14.6), first establishing…

The authors explored trajectories of perceived discrimination over a 6-year period (five assessments in 6th-11th grade) in relation to academic, behavioral, and psychological adjustment in 8th and 11th grades. They distinguished discrimination from adults versus peers in addition to overt versus covert discrimination from peers. The sample…

Because ethnicity is a basis for defining peer crowds in ethnically diverse American high schools, some may question whether crowds foster discrimination and stereotyping or affirm minority youths' positive ties to their ethnic background. Through examination of both self- and peer ratings of crowd affiliation among 2,465 high school youth aged…

The high school transition was examined in an ethnically diverse, urban sample of 1,979 adolescents, followed from 7th to 10th grade (M[subscript age] = 14.6, SD = 0.37 in 7th grade). Twice annually, data were gathered on adolescents' perceptions of school climate, psychological functioning, and academic behaviors. Piecewise growth modeling…

Examined National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data on four versions of HOME-Short Form for four major ethnic groups. Found differences for majority of items between poor and non-poor families. Magnitude of effect for poverty was greater than for ethnicity. For every item at every age, effects of poverty were proportional across European American,…

Low-income parents completed a social map and measures of self-esteem and child-rearing practices. Results indicated that American Indians had an interconnected web of kin; Hispanics, close-knit social networks; and Anglos, diffuse but supportive networks. Affective dimensions of social networks were related to parenting. Parental self-efficacy…

Results indicated that the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales II, one subscale of the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale, and all but one subscale of the Children's Report of Parental Behavior Inventory produced equivalent measures of an English-speaking Hispanic sample and an Anglo-American sample. (BC)

Three aspects of racial-ethnic identity (REI)--feeling connected to one's racial-ethnic group (Connectedness), being aware that others may not value the in-group (Awareness of Racism), and feeling that one's in-group is characterized by academic attainment (Embedded Achievement)--were hypothesized to promote academic achievement. Youth randomly…

Examined contemporaneous and predictive relations between parenting styles, adolescents' attributions, and educational outcomes. Found that adolescents who perceived their parents as nonauthoritative were more likely than peers to attribute achievement outcomes to external causes or low ability. The higher the proportion of dysfunctional…