Dr. Adam Hoffman
Title: Explaining the Link between Ethnic-Racial Identity and School Belonging:
Social Competencies as Mediating Mechanisms

Abstract:
Adolescence is theorized to represent an important time for ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). Empirical evidence has consistently revealed positive associations between having a clearer and more positive ERI and academic, psychosocial, and health outcomes (Rivas-Drake et al., 2014). Although relations between ERI and these outcomes have been investigated, little is known about the mechanisms that can explain them.

In alignment with ecological development frameworks (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1989), scholars have indicated that friends and school are important to the relation between ERI and adolescent outcomes (Rivas-Drake & Umaña-Taylor, 2019). It is possible that youth with greater ERI resolution (i.e., the sense of clarity about the meaning of one’s ethnic-racial group membership) are likely to have greater social competencies and be friends with greater social competencies, subsequently youth with greater social competencies and who are in networks of friends with greater social competences are more likely to feel that they belong in their school. The study that will be presented advances new knowledge regarding the role of social competencies as a mediating mechanism in the link between ERI resolution and students' school belonging.

Michael Medina

Title: What’s in a friend? The role of friend group characteristics on the link
between ethnic-racial identity and academic adjustment.

Abstract:
Adolescence is a time of significant ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development—the meaning ascribed to one’s ethnic-racial groups and how it is maintained over time. For youth of color, this process has been found to be developmentally normative and linked to academic outcomes, such as school belonging. Little is known, however, of the extent to which social contexts shape this relationship over time. This presentation examines the role of one such highly salient context, school friend groups, which serve as significant sources of socioemotional and academic support throughout adolescence. Projects drawing from two longitudinal school-based studies will be presented that consider the potential role of three distinct friend group characteristics: aggregate ERI beliefs, ethnic-racial diversity, and relationship quality. Results indicate a promotive role of particular friend group characteristics, encouraging the consideration of youth’s developmental contexts in future research on positive ERI development and academic adjustment.