EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PERCEIVED DISCRIMINATION, PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT, ETHNIC IDENTITY, CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT IN ADOLESCENTS by MICHAEL EDWARD BUCKLE A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2017 ii DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Michael Edward Buckle Title: Exploring the Relationships between Perceived Discrimination, Perceived Social Support, Ethnic Identity, Critical Consciousness, and Psychological Distress and School Engagement in Adolescents This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services by: Dr. Ellen Hawley McWhirter Chairperson Dr. Benedict McWhirter Core Member Dr. Atika Khurana Core Member Dr. Christopher Murray Institutional Representative and Scott L. Pratt Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded September 2017 iii © 2017 Michael Edward Buckle iv DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Michael Edward Buckle Doctor of Philosophy Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services September 2017 Title: Exploring the Relationships between Perceived Discrimination, Perceived Social Support, Ethnic Identity, Critical Consciousness, and Psychological Distress and School Engagement in Adolescents The purpose of this study was to explore mechanisms through which high school students experience and cope with perceived discrimination and how discrimination and coping mechanisms relate to psychological distress and school engagement. Framed within transactional stress and coping and sociopolitical development theories, I tested a multiple mediation model with an ethnically diverse sample of public high school students (N = 979) and a subsample of Latina/o students (n = 433) to examine the mediating effects of three coping mechanisms (perceived social support, ethnic identity, and critical consciousness) on the relationship between perceived discrimination and the outcomes of psychological distress and school engagement. Additionally, psychological distress was examined as a mediator in the link between perceived discrimination and school engagement. Measurement and structural models were tested and demonstrated an adequate fit to the data. The hypothesized structural model accounts for 54% of the variance in school engagement and 31.2% of the variance in psychological distress in the full sample. The same model accounts for 63.4% of the variance in school engagement and 26.7% of the variance in psychological distress in the Latina/o subsample. A bootstrap analysis revealed that critical consciousness and perceived social support mediate the v relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress in the full sample. Further, critical consciousness, ethnic identity, perceived social support, and psychological distress mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and school engagement. A bootstrap analysis in the Latina/o subsample indicated that critical consciousness and psychological distress mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and school engagement. While there are associated risks, the results highlight critical consciousness development as a protective racism-related coping mechanism for ethnically diverse adolescents and Latina/o youth in particular. Strengths, limitations, and implications of the study are discussed. vi CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Michael Edward Buckle GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene San Francisco State University, San Francisco DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, Counseling Psychology, 2017, University of Oregon Master of Science, Kinesiology, 2010, San Francisco State University Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, 2005, San Francisco State University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Social Justice, Social Identity, and Critical Consciousness Evidence-Based Approaches to Stress and Coping, Emotion Regulation, Trauma, and Psychosocial Adjustment in Diverse Populations Psychological Skills for Performance Enhancement and Stress Management in Sports, and the Performing Arts PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Psychology Intern, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California, 2016-2017 Psychology Extern, San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, California, 2014-2015 Practicum Intern, University of Oregon Child and Family Center, Eugene, Oregon, 2013-2014 Field Internship Supervisor, University of Oregon Department of Family and Human Services, Eugene, Oregon, 2011-2013 Practicum Intern, University of Oregon Counseling and Testing Center, Eugene, Oregon, 2012-2013 Sport Psychology Extern, University of Oregon Department of Athletics, Eugene, Oregon, 2013-2014 vii GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: César Chávez Research Award, University of Oregon College of Education, 2016 Clare Wilkins Chamberlin Memorial Award, University of Oregon College of Education, 2016 Rose Gross Scholarship, University of Oregon College of Education, 2015 General University Scholarship, University of Oregon, 2015 Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, 2011-2014 Master’s Hood Scholar, San Francisco State University, 2010 PUBLICATIONS: Buckle, M. E. (2016). Sports, responsibility, and gangs: Strategies for reconnection. Active and Healthy Magazine. 23(2/3), 34-37. Buckle, M. E., Walsh, D.S. (2013). Teaching Responsibility to Gang Affiliated Youths. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 84(2), 53- 58. Sachs, M.L., Schweighardt, S.L., & Buckle, M.E. (2011). Exercise and Sport Psychology and Peace Psychology. In D. Christie (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Peace Psychology. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are a number of important people who inspired me to undertake and complete this project. First, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my chair and faculty advisor, Dr. Ellen Hawley McWhirter, who tirelessly supported, guided, and encouraged me at every step of this process. Ellen helped ignite and stoke my passion for critical thinking and social justice and I hope that passion is reflected in this project. I am sincerely grateful to Drs. Benedict McWhirter, Atika Khurana, and Christopher Murray for graciously agreeing to serve on my dissertation committee and providing invaluable support, insight and feedback. I wish to acknowledge and thank Eric Garcia, Bryan Rojas-Araúz, and Sylvia Shaykis for their generosity in providing timely translation assistance. I want to give special thanks to Drs. Alvin Alvarez and Jeff Cookston for their incredible assistance with conceptualization, research design, and statistical analysis. I am grateful for the assistance provided by Shannon McGill and the Oregon Research Institute in helping with data management and production of the survey materials for this project and. I thank the University of Oregon College of Education for helping to fund this study through the César Chávez Research, Rose Gross, and Clare Wilkins Chamberlin Memorial Awards. I am forever indebted to the administrators, teachers, and students from James Logan, Aragon, Westmoor, San Mateo, and Terra Nova High Schools for trusting in the importance of this study. To the members of my University of Oregon CPSY and Palo Alto VA internship cohorts, I thank you for your amazing support. You provided me with the motivation I needed when this project felt overwhelming. I thank my mother (Cindy Buckle) and ix brother (John Buckle) for their lifelong love and encouragement. Finally, I wish to thank my partner and love of my life, Dr. Edna Esnil, for your unwavering love, support, and inspiration. I could not have made it without you. x TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. RATIONALE ........................................................................................................... 1 Racism, Perceived Discrimination, and Psychological Health .............................. 4 Perceived Discrimination and Latina/o Adolescent Psychological Health ............ 6 Perceived Discrimination and School Engagement ............................................... 10 Perceived Discrimination, Stress, and Coping ....................................................... 13 Coping with Discrimination in Adolescence ......................................................... 16 Ethnic Identity .................................................................................................. 17 Ethnic Identity and Coping .............................................................................. 18 Ethnic Identity and Academic Outcomes ........................................................ 21 Social Support .................................................................................................. 21 Social Support and Coping .............................................................................. 22 Social Support and Academic Outcomes ......................................................... 24 Sociopolitical Development Theory ...................................................................... 26 Critical Consciousness and Coping ....................................................................... 27 Critical Consciousness and Psychological Health ................................................. 28 Critical Consciousness and Vocational and Academic Outcomes ........................ 30 Critical Consciousness, Ethnic Identity, and Social Support ................................. 31 Measuring Critical Consciousness ................................................................... 33 Purpose of the Study .............................................................................................. 35 Hypothesized Variables Relationships .................................................................. 35 xi Chapter Page II. METHODS .............................................................................................................. 37 Participants ............................................................................................................. 37 Procedure ............................................................................................................... 37 Measures ................................................................................................................ 38 Demographic Questionnaire ............................................................................ 38 Adolescent Discrimination Distress Index ....................................................... 38 Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure – Revised ............................................... 40 Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support ...................................... 41 Measure of Adolescent Critical Consciousness ............................................... 42 Psychological Distress ..................................................................................... 43 Depression – Patient Health Questionnaire - 2 .......................................... 43 Anxiety – Generalized Anxiety Disorder - 2 ............................................. 44 Somatization – Somatic Symptom Scale - 8 .............................................. 44 School Engagement Questionnaire .................................................................. 45 III. RESULTS .............................................................................................................. 47 Plan of Analysis ..................................................................................................... 47 Preliminary Analyses ............................................................................................. 48 Measurement Model .............................................................................................. 51 Hypothesized Structural Model ............................................................................. 53 Mediation Analyses (Full Sample) ........................................................................ 56 Mediation Analyses (Latina/o subsample) ............................................................. 59 xii Chapter Page Post Hoc Analysis ................................................................................................. 60 IV. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 61 Effects of Perceived Discrimination on Psychological Distress and School Engagement ............................................................................................... 63 Perceived Discrimination and Coping ................................................................... 65 Coping and Psychological Distress ........................................................................ 72 Coping and School Engagement ............................................................................ 76 Mediating Effects of Coping Responses ................................................................ 80 Implications for Theory ......................................................................................... 84 Implications for Practice ........................................................................................ 86 Limitations and Future Directions ......................................................................... 88 Strengths of the Study ............................................................................................ 91 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 92 APPENDIX: SURVEY MATERIALS ........................................................................ 93 REFERENCES CITED ................................................................................................ 99 xiii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Contextual, biopsychosocial model of stress and coping ...................................... 15 2. Hypothesized structural model. ............................................................................. 36 3. Final confirmatory factor analytic model .............................................................. 52 4. Final structural model for the full sample (N = 979). ............................................ 54 5. Final structural model for the Latina/o participants (n = 433) ............................... 56 xiv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Variable means, standard deviations, and range .................................................... 49 2. Correlation matrix of study variables for the full sample (N = 979) and Latina/o subsample (n = 433) .......................................................................... 50 3. Standardized estimates of direct effects of perceived discrimination on coping and outcome variables and coping on outcome variables ...................................... 55 4. Indirect effects of perceived discrimination on distress and school engagement through coping ....................................................................................................... 57 5. Means and standard deviations for discrimination distress indicators by ethnicity .................................................................................................................. 60 1 CHAPTER I RATIONALE Latina/os represent the largest and second fastest growing minority group in the U.S. accounting for over 53 million people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013). Since 1970, the Latina/o population in the U.S. has experienced a six-fold increase and has accounted for over half of the U.S. population growth since 2000 (Pew Research Center, 2014). Although Latina/os are diverse in terms of country of origin, Mexican and Mexican- origin people account for 64% of the Latina/o population in the U.S. Further, Mexicans are the youngest Latina/o subgroup and are younger than the overall U.S. population with a median age of 17 years (Pew Research Center, 2015). Latina/o youth disproportionately encounter sociopolitical, cultural, and ecological risks associated with the development of psychological distress and academic disengagement. Indeed, Latina/o youth report the highest rates of internalizing symptoms and school dropout relative to other ethnic groups in the U.S. (McClaughlin, Hilt, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2007; National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2015; Varela, Weems, Berman, Hensley, Rodriguez de Bernal, 2007). Compelling evidence points to racism and its derivatives (i.e., ethnic discrimination) as robust predictors of psychological and academic disparities in Latina/o adolescents (Arellano-Morales et al., 2015; Garcia & Lindgren, 2009). Adolescence is a particularly sensitive developmental period in the etiology of racism-related stress, coping, and psychological distress (Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Garcia Coll et al., 1996; Gee, Walsemann, & Brondolo, 2010). During this time, Latina/o adolescents increasingly interact with social-political systems (i.e., school, healthcare, work) exposing them to varying degrees of risk, severity, frequency, and intensity of 2 racism-related maltreatment and stress. Perceived ethnic discrimination is a commonly reported experience of Latina/o adolescents, often resulting in heightened stress and sustained mobilization of coping resources (Clark, Anderson, Clark, & Williams, 1999; Priest et al., 2013; Brondolo, Brady ver Halen, Pencille, Beatty, & Contrada, 2009). For some Latina/o adolescents, constant management of coping responses can overburden cognitive processing capacity and reduce cognitive flexibility, resulting in vulnerabilities to various affective, cognitive, or behavioral problems (Brondolo et al., 2009). Many other Latina/o adolescents, however, adapt well in the face of racism-related stress (Alvarado & Ricard, 2013; Kuperminc, Wilkins, Roche, & Alvarez-Jimenez, 2009). The ways that Latina/o adolescents adaptively cope with perceived ethnic discrimination are understudied and not well understood. Understanding and supporting coping strategies Latina/o youth mobilize to resist and overcome racism-related stress is critical to supporting the health and welfare of a growing segment of our nation’s youth. The limited research on racism-related coping in Latina/o youth has primarily focused on individual-level strategies aimed at protecting the self-concept, controlling or containing the stress reaction, and/or psychologically detaching from the emotional pain of rejection. Individual or collective-level strategies that serve to confront or end racism and social inequities have seldom been the focus of inquiry (Harrell, 2000; Mellor, 2004). As such, the knowledge of pathways and mechanisms involved in racism-related coping is scant. Thus, based on existing empirical and conceptual literature, the purpose of this study is to test a model of the pathways by which forms of coping influence the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress and school engagement in Latina/o adolescents. The hypothesized model examines the influence of 3 two previously identified racism-related coping mechanisms, ethnic identity development and perceived social support, on the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress and school engagement in Latina/o high school students. I introduce an additional variable, critical consciousness, and explore its additive effects as a coping resource. This study uses a quantitative descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational research design. Consistent with theory, mediating effects of coping variables will be explored. The study is framed in ecological and transactional racism- related stress and coping theories. The terms Hispanic and Latina/o are used interchangeably throughout the literature reviewed. These two ethnic labels have different historical roots. The term Hispanic emerged in the 1970’s as an ethnic group designator imposed by governmental agencies. Hispanic refers to people of Latin American or Spanish descent (Oboler, 1995). The term Latino is considered a progressive alternative to the state imposed designator of Hispanic. Further, Latina/os are a richly diverse population of any race that geographically descend from Mexico, Central and South America, Brazil, the Caribbean, or Puerto Rico. For the purpose of clarity and consistency, the terms Latino, Latina, or Latina/o will be used in this literature review. Search term parameters used for the literature review included: racism, perceived ethnic discrimination, Latina/o adolescents, Hispanic, teens, youth, stress, coping, psychological distress, mental health, social identity, ethnic identity, perceived social support, school engagement, sociopolitical development, critical consciousness, and activism. In the following sections, I provide definitions of racism and perceived racial/ethnic discrimination. I then describe the risks to Latina/o adolescent psychological 4 and academic outcomes posed by perceived discrimination. Next, I outline racism-related stress and coping theories that provide the conceptual and theoretical foundation for this study. Adaptive coping variables hypothesized to mediate the relationship between perceived discrimination and outcome variables are then discussed. Next, I introduce the construct of critical consciousness and provide a rationale for its inclusion as an emerging, and as of yet, understudied form of adaptive coping in the face of racism- related stress. After a brief summary of the literature, the study aims are presented followed by the study hypotheses and one hypothesized structural model to be tested. This model is tested using structural equation modeling. Racism, Perceived Discrimination, and Psychological Health Racism is a deeply embedded feature of American society associated with health, economic, and educational disparities (Williams & Mohammed, 2009). Clark, et al. (1999) define racism as “beliefs, attitudes, institutional arrangements, and acts that tend to denigrate individuals or groups because of phenotypic characteristics or ethnic group affiliation” (p. 805). Most conceptualizations of racism include attitudinal and behavioral categories of denigration or differential treatment. Attitudinal racism may include ethnic prejudice, stereotypes, and biases. Behavioral racism involves racial/ethnic discrimination (Clark et al., 1999). Perceived racial/ethnic discrimination is one subcategory of racism and refers to directly perceived unfair or inequitable treatment of members of a subordinated racial/ethnic group, which adversely affects members of the subordinated group and benefits members of the majority group (Krieger, 2014). It is the perception of discrimination and not some “objective” indicator of discrimination that is the key mechanism of interest. This notion will be elaborated when I present Clark et 5 al.’s (1999) biopsychosocial racism-related model of stress and coping in a later section. The focus of the current study is on perceived racial/ethnic discrimination, which hereafter will be referred to as perceived discrimination. A large body of research has charted associations between perceived discrimination and mental health outcomes (Pascoe & Smart Richman, 2009; Priest et al., 2013). For instance, Priest et al. (2013) conducted a systematic review of 121 studies that examined a total of 461 associations between perceived discrimination and health-related outcomes in youth. A majority of studies used cross-sectional designs with African Americans between the ages of 12-18. Twenty-nine percent of the studies included Latina/o populations and 85% included high school aged teens. The highest proportions of significant associations between exposure to perceived discrimination and health outcomes occurred in studies including Latina/o, Eastern European, and Turkish youth. Results revealed strong and consistent positive associations between perceived discrimination and negative mental health outcomes with depression and anxiety most commonly reported. In fact, 76% of the 461 associations examined reported positive associations between perceived discrimination and depression, anxiety, and negative self- esteem. Of the remaining associations, 4% reported conditional associations and 21% reported no association. These results provide strong evidence that perceived discrimination is a robust predictor of negative psychological health in Latina/o adolescents and should be addressed by developmental research. The inconsistent results, however, highlight the complexity of the phenomenon and the need for more conceptual clarity and methodological rigor in future studies. 6 In the following section, I will review relevant literature related to the associations between perceived discrimination and Latina/o adolescent psychological health with a focus on relevant studies attempting to explain “causal” pathways and mechanisms. I will also introduce the concept of psychological distress and its applicability in stress and coping research. Perceived Discrimination and Latina/o Adolescent Psychological health Many cross-sectional studies link perceived discrimination with negative mental health outcomes in minority youth. The Priest et al. (2013) study previously reviewed also documented a number of mediators in the relationship between discrimination and health outcomes, such as perceived threat, emotions, cognitions, behaviors, cultural orientation, and social support. Still, the pathways and mediator mechanisms that explain these relationships require further elucidation (Priest et al., 2013; Smith & Silva, 2011). In the last decade, a number of studies have attempted to explain mechanisms in pathways between perceived discrimination and psychological health in Latina/o adolescents using more powerful statistical techniques and study designs. Aspects related to internalizing symptoms, individuals’ self-concept, and the environmental context have been most explored and reported. Umaña-Taylor and Updegraff (2007) examined interrelations between perceived discrimination, ethnic identity, cultural orientation, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms in Latina/o adolescents from five high schools. Path analyses revealed that perceived discrimination significantly predicted depressive symptoms similarly for boys and girls. Self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms such that as teens reported more perceived discrimination, they also 7 reported lower self-esteem and more depressive symptoms. Gender differences were found in terms of the moderating affect of acculturation on self-esteem. For boys scoring high on acculturation, high levels of discrimination were related to low levels of self- esteem and higher scores on depression. This moderating effect was not found for girls. Additionally, girls reported higher levels of depression than boys and higher levels of depression were associated with higher discrimination regardless of acculturation status. In a recent report, Basáñez, Unger, Soto, Crano, and Baezconde-Garbanadi (2013) used longitudinal data to assess the relationship between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms in a large sample of Latina/o high school students. The authors also tested the moderating effects of neighborhood ethnic composition on discrimination and depressive symptoms. After controlling for SES, gender, and acculturation, perceived discrimination in 9th grade predicted depressive symptoms in 11th grade. Neighborhood ethnic composition did not moderate the relationship between discrimination and depression. Zeiders, Umaña-Taylor, and Derlan (2013) found that for Latina/o high school students, self-esteem increased throughout high school for both boys and girls. Female students evidenced a decline in depressive symptoms across high school while males remained constant. Perceived discrimination was a significant predictor of depressive symptoms in early high school, however, it was not associated with changes in depressive symptoms over time. Similarly, other research using latent growth curve modeling demonstrated that for some Latina/o adolescents, internalizing symptoms related to perceived discrimination decreased as they progressed through high school despite levels of discrimination remaining constant (Sirin et al., 2015). 8 An emerging body of literature suggests that social contexts marked by repetitive exposures to perceived discrimination can be traumatizing and evoke race-related traumatic stress injury in those targeted (Bryant-Davis & Ocampo, 2005; Carter, 2007). Flores, Tshann, Dimas, Pasch, and de Groat (2010) examined the relationship between perceived discrimination, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (i.e., avoidance, numbing, re-experiencing, and hyperarousal), and health behaviors in Latina/o adolescents. Results revealed that youth who perceived more discrimination also reported worse PTSD symptoms. Heightened PTSD symptoms then mediated the relationship between discrimination and higher alcohol and drug use, involvement in fights, and higher reported number of sexual partners. In some cases, reactions to racism-related stress can manifest as a global sense of psychological distress. Psychological distress is characterized by suffering from stress- related symptoms of anxiety and depression and may also manifest as somatization (Drapeau, Marchand, & Beaulieu-Prévost, 2011). Somatization refers to the expression of physical complaints that serve to mask psychosocial stress or disorders (Haftgoli et al., 2010). In many Latina/o populations, somatization is a culturally sanctioned form of expressing psychosocial stress (Angel & Guarnaccia, 1989; Hulme, 1996). Psychological distress is a preferred indicator of psychological well-being in studies using stress and coping frameworks (Drapeau et al., 2011). A small number of studies have examined racism-related psychological distress in Latina/o students. Hwang and Goto (2009) found that among a sample of Latina/o and Asian American college students, perceived discrimination was significantly associated with higher psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation similarly in 9 both groups. Latina/os were more likely to appraise experiences of discrimination as stressful than were Asian Americans. Fisher, Wallace, and Fenton (2000) examined relationships between racial discrimination and distress across three contexts (educational, peer, institutional) in a sample of Latina/o, African American, East Asian, South Asian, and White high school students. Latina/o, African American, and Asian students experienced significantly more discrimination-related distress in institutional and educational contexts than White students. Latina/o and African American youth were significantly more distressed by institutional racism than Asians. Further, Latina/o and Asian students scored significantly higher on peer discrimination than African American and White students. Indicators of psychological distress (i.e., depression, suicidal ideation) have been shown to be significantly associated with school disengagement, self-perceived academic competence, and dropout (Quiroga, Janosz, Bisset, & Morin, 2013; Li & Lerner, 2011). Li and Lerner (2011) used longitudinal data in a large sample of early adolescents to demonstrate growth trajectories of both engagement and disengagement from school. Youth who demonstrated decreasing emotional and behavioral engagement also had the lowest grades, the highest rates of delinquency, and were the most depressed. Relative to other ethnic groups, this pattern was most pronounced in Latina/o youth (Li & Lerner, 2011). As the literature review thus far demonstrates, perceived discrimination is a strong predictor of psychological distress in Latina/o youth. Many of the studies linked exposure to perceived discrimination with internalizing symptoms, aspects of self-concept, and the high school environment. In the following section, I discuss Latina/o educational trends, 10 the importance of school contexts as a protective factor in the etiology of racism-related stress, and the threat that perceived discrimination poses to school engagement. Perceived Discrimination and School Engagement Data from a recent survey suggests that Latina/os place a high value on education. In response to questions exploring political issues important to Latina/os, 92% rated education as the most important issue that should be discussed during midterm U.S. elections (Lopez, Gonzalez-Barrera, & Krogstad, 2014). Recent educational statistics demonstrate positive trends in Latina/o academic engagement. From 2000-2011, a record number of Latina/os enrolled in U.S. public schools pre-K through 12th grade (Fry & Lopez, 2012). For the first time in history, the rate of Latina/o high school graduates enrolling in college the fall of 2012 was higher than that of White students (Fry & Taylor, 2013). High school completion rates have reached the highest level ever recorded (76%) (Lopez, 2009). Despite positive trends, educational attainment gaps persist. Latina/os continue to have the highest dropout rates of all ethnic groups in the U.S. (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2015). Among public school students, higher percentages of Latinas/os (37%) attend high-poverty schools than Asians (12%) and Whites (6%). Further, Latina/o youth are less likely to be enrolled in school than all U.S. youths, less likely than Whites to enroll in four-year colleges, and less likely to complete a bachelor’s degree (Fry & Taylor, 2013). While a number of factors likely contribute to these mixed trends, the school context plays a key role in facilitating adolescents’ academic engagement and social- emotional development (Roeser, Eccles, & Sameroff, 2000). Adolescence is a developmental period marked by changes to social/ethnic identity, psychological 11 functioning, peer affiliations, self-concept, and basic psychological needs. As youth spend most of their structured time within the school environment, social interactions, curricular features, and classroom climates directly impact developmental outcomes (Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Eccles & Roeser, 2011; Roeser et al., 2000). For minority youth, the school environment also represents a context whereby social inequities, such as discrimination (Rosenbloom & Way, 2004), socioeconomic disadvantage (Castillo & Hill, 2004), segregation/tracking (Solorzano & Ornelas, 2004; Valenzuela, 1999), and perceived barriers to academic engagement (McWhirter, Luginbuhl, & Brown, 2013) may be exacerbated or mitigated. Latina/o students’ experiences within the educational environment may be critical to accessing resources that mitigate the stress associated with social inequity. Specifically, school environments perceived as caring, mastery-oriented, safe, and providing of equitable access to college preparatory resources, materials, teaching continuity, and active learning strategies, are more likely to enhance positive developmental outcomes for Latina/o youth (Eccles, 2004; Reyes & Elias, 2011). Further, schools in which experiences of ethnic discrimination are minimized and teacher-student relationships are strong are better suited to support academic engagement. School engagement is a multifaceted construct with agentic, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components that is regarded as a potential antidote to dropout and declining academic motivation and achievement (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004; Reeve, 2013). Agentic engagement involves a student’s unilateral contributions to the flow of instruction whereby the student engages in proactive, transactional behaviors to promote a more motivationally supportive learning environment (Reeve, 2013). Cognitive engagement is evidenced by constant high effort to master difficult skills and 12 concepts. Emotional engagement refers to positive and negative reactions to others in the school context resulting in connectedness and willingness to do work. Behavioral engagement involves active participation in school extracurricular, club, academic, and social group activities. Importantly, research has confirmed that school engagement is malleable and responsive to school contexts and interactions (Fredricks, et al., 2004). Not surprisingly, a growing number of studies implicate perceived discrimination as a powerful threat to Latina/o adolescent school engagement. In recent work, Benner and Graham (2011) reported that perceptions of discrimination were higher for Latino boys and primary language brokers. Higher levels of perceived discrimination and increases in discrimination over time were related to lower grades and more school absences indirectly through perceptions of school climate. Brown and Chu (2012) highlighted the importance of school context and social interactions in predicting Latina/o children’s perceptions of discrimination and ethnic identity. Across 19 schools, children at schools with more Latina/o students also perceived more teacher, peer, and community discrimination than those at schools with fewer Latina/o students. Further, teachers who valued multiculturalism and diversity in the classrooms also had students who perceived less peer and community discrimination and reported stronger ethnic identities. Finally, positive ethnic identity was found to buffer the negative effects of teacher discrimination on positive academic outcomes for students who were in the minority in their school context (Brown & Chu, 2012). Alfaro, Umaña-Taylor, Gonzales-Backen, Bámaca, and Zeiders, (2009) found that more experiences of discrimination were negatively associated with academic motivation for Latina/o high school boys. Longitudinal data also demonstrated that over time, 13 discrimination was indirectly associated with academic success (i.e., GPA) through academic motivation for boys. These results underscore the risks to academic achievement posed by perceived discrimination, especially for boys. Perceived discrimination is a stressor frequently experienced by Latina/os and other minority youth and is associated with a variety of negative mental health and academic outcomes. Despite considerable risks posed by perceived discrimination, many Latina/o youth demonstrate resilience and thriving across life domains (Alvarado & Ricard, 2013; Zeiders, Umaña-Taylor, & Derlan, 2013). One possible explanation is that there are mediating variables that serve to suppress the negative effects of discrimination on psychological distress and school related outcomes. The ways in which youth perceive, appraise, and cope with racism-related stress has been a fruitful area of research in helping explain these relationships. In the next section, I introduce a transactional theory of stress and coping followed by a transactional model of racism-related stress and coping, which serve as primary theoretical frameworks for this study. Perceived Discrimination, Stress and Coping Perceived discrimination is caustic and often triggers psychological stress responses. Transactional perspectives suggest that as a person interacts with the environment, sociocultural stressors may induce stress reactions (Lazarus, 2006). Stress reactions depend on the degree to which an individual perceives an environmental condition and appraises it as harmful, threatening, or challenging (Compas & Andreotti, 2013; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Cognitive appraisal involves people evaluating an interaction with their environment as relevant to their well-being (primary appraisal) and an evaluation of what resources can be accessed to manage the stressor (secondary 14 appraisal) (Folkman, Lazarus, Dunkel-Schetter, DeLongis, & Gruen, 1986). Appraisal processes directly determine strategies for coping with the antecedent stressor (i.e., discrimination). Lazarus and Folkman define coping as “the person’s constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the person’s resources” (1984, p.141). Coping is a conscious activity that may serve two broad functions: 1) to alter the dysfunctional person-environment relation causing distress (problem-focused coping) and 2) the regulation of stressful emotions (emotion-focused coping) (Folkman et al., 1986). Consistent with transactional perspectives, Clark et al.’s (1999) model of racism- related stress and coping has been well tested in diverse populations and serves as a guiding framework for the current study (Figure 1). Clark et al.’s (1999) contextual, biopsychosocial stress and coping framework models the “causal” pathways and mechanisms from a racist environmental stimulus to health outcomes. According to the model, when an individual perceives an environmental condition as racist, an exaggerated stress response occurs. Constitutional factors (occupational status, personal income, skin tone, family history of hypertension), sociodemographic factors (SES, ethnicity, age, gender), and psychological and behavioral factors (self-esteem, hardiness, anger- expression/suppression, perceived control) moderate the degree to which a stimulus is perceived as racist as well as subsequent coping responses. Coping and psychological stress responses (anxiety, hypervigilance, fear, anger, paranoia, helplessness- hopelessness) then mediate the relationship between racism and negative health outcomes. Specifically, coping responses are postulated to either mitigate sustained 15 psychological stress responses or exacerbate them. Responses that mitigate the stress reaction are considered adaptive while those that sustain the stress reaction are maladaptive. Figure 1. Contextual, biopsychosocial model of stress and coping (Clark et al., 1999). As previously noted, adolescence is a period when exposure to and perception of discrimination are more frequent requiring the development of varied internal and external adaptive coping resources. In the following sections, I briefly discuss general 16 domains of coping with stress and their limitations as related to racism-related stress. Then, I discuss two previously identified forms of coping and their relation to Latina/o adolescents. Coping with Discrimination in Adolescence Although general stress and coping theory has guided racism-related stress and coping research, it has also presented limitations. Coping research has identified nearly 400 ways of coping with universal or general stressors (Skinner, Edge, Altman, & Sherwood, 2003). Most commonly, coping styles are dichotomized to represent adaptive or maladaptive dimensions of engagement or disengagement from the stressor. The three most reported are: 1) problem- vs. emotion-focused, 2) approach vs. avoidance, and 3) cognitive vs. behavioral (Skinner et al., 2003). Although engagement and problem- focused coping have received the most empirical support as adaptive styles (Compas, Connor-Smith, Saltzman, Thomsen, & Wadsworth, 2001; Villegas-Gold & Yoo, 2014), dichotomized coping domains de-contextualize racism-related stressors and limit the usefulness of results (Brondolo et al., 2009; Skinner et al., 2003). For example, Crean (2004) found that “adaptive” coping strategies (problem-solving action, positive reappraisal) in the face of major life stressors were related to better psychological adjustment but not academic adjustment in Latina/o adolescents. Results suggest that the costs associated with certain strategies, such as time taken away from studying to engage in problem-solving, may present more of a risk than benefit. Additionally, researchers have been either unable to fit certain racism-related coping strategies into available rubrics (i.e., spirituality, Africultural), or have inconsistently labeled, assessed, and reported strategies within coping domains (Brondolo et al., 2009). Finally, most studies 17 of racism-related coping ignore collective- and community-levels of coping in favor of individual-level strategies (Brondolo et al., 2009; Harrell, 2000). Minority youth may use a varied array of coping strategies based on the demands of their environment and costs associated with the strategy. Therefore, it may be more helpful to conceptualize forms of racism-related coping along a continuum. Further, coping mechanisms should be assessed by their relevance as protectors of the self/group, strategies to control or contain the stress reaction, and strategies used to confront racism (Mellor, 2004). Most racism-related coping research to date has focused on three forms of coping: 1) ethnic identity development, 2) perceived social support, and 3) anger suppression/expression (Brondolo et al., 2009). While results have been slightly inconsistent, ethnic identity and perceived social support have received ample empirical support as adaptive racism-related coping mechanisms and are discussed next. Ethnic Identity. Rooted in ego (Erikson, 1968), personal (Marcia, 1980), and social (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) identity development theories, ethnic identity development is considered a normative developmental process that emerges in adolescence and changes over time and context (Pahl & Way, 2006; Phinney & Ong, 2007, Quintana, 2007; Rivas-Drake et al., 2014). Ethnic identity refers to a subjective internalized sense of self as an ethnic group member, distinct from ethnic behaviors, and involves processes of exploration and commitment (Phinney & Ong, 2007). Exploration is a process of seeking information and understanding about one’s ethnicity through social interactions, reading, or involvement in cultural activities. Commitment refers to the strength of a 18 person’s investment in and attachment to their ethnic group. Through exploration, a secure and stable sense of self as an ethnic group member may be achieved (Phinney & Ong, 2007). Ethnic Identity and Coping. Correlational and longitudinal studies have identified processes of ethnic identity development that may be protective against perceived discrimination (Brondolo et al., 2009, Neblett, Rivas-Drake, & Umaña-Taylor, 2012; Smith & Silva, 2011). A number of studies have demonstrated the buffering effects of ethnic identity development on racism-related stress, such that a stronger ethnic identity mitigates the negative effects associated with perceived discrimination (Brown & Chu, 2012; Greene, Way & Pahl, 2006; Umaña-Taylor & Updegraff, 2007). A small number of other studies have found the opposite effects. In some cases, those with a strong ethnic identity may view discrimination against the in-group as a direct threat to the core aspect of the self, which results in psychological exhaustion and distress (Yoo & Lee, 2005). For some other minority youth with a stronger sense of ethnic identity, heightened vigilance of environmental cues related to their own ethnic identity and interethnic dynamics may exacerbate susceptibility to heightened levels of distress (Smith & Silva, 2011). Although support generally exists for the positive moderating effects of ethnic identity, this approach is inconsistent with Clark et al.’s (1999) model of racism-related stress and coping, which places coping variables as mediators (Alvarez, Liang, Molinar, & Nguyen, 2015). Consistent with Clark et al.’s model, others have tested ethnic identity development as a mediator mechanism triggered by perceived discrimination. In turn, ethnic identity development serves as a coping mechanism that protects valued aspects of 19 the self, makes meaning of the world, and/or promotes the development of other forms of coping (Neblett, Rivas-Drake, & Umaña-Taylor, 2012). One example is Branscombe, Schmitt, and Harvey’s (1999) rejection-identification model (RIM). The RIM posits that the effects of discrimination depend on the pervasiveness and stability of the maltreatment. Targets of pervasive stable discrimination may attribute this treatment to unalterable, widespread, and systemic bias resulting in feelings of social rejection, self-directed negative affect, hopelessness, and resignation (Branscombe, Fernandez, Gomez, & Cronin, 2012). Individuals may cope with the pain of rejection by psychologically and behaviorally moving away from their social/ethnic group and joining the majority group. When social mobility is not possible, the negative effects of perceiving oneself as a victim of discrimination are mitigated by moving toward identification with the socially devalued group. This stronger positive identification then facilitates social acceptance, belonging, social support, and psychological well-being (Branscombe et al., 1999; Smith & Silva, 2011). The RIM also predicts that stable perceptions of discrimination will be associated with more hostility toward the perpetrating group as their actions are viewed as illegitimate. Branscombe et al. (1999) tested the RIM in African American adults and found stable pervasive perceptions of discrimination had direct negative effects on personal and collective well-being. Results also revealed that pervasive perceptions of discrimination indeed predicted stronger minority group identification. This finding was not bidirectional. In other words, minority group identification did not predict perceptions of discrimination. Perceived discrimination also had an indirect positive effect on well- 20 being when mediated by minority group identification. As hypothesized, perceived discrimination also predicted hostility toward Whites (Branscombe et al., 1999). Existing literature supports the notion that ethnic identity development is triggered by exposure to discrimination and in turn, mediates the relationship between discrimination and psychological health (Brittian, et al., 2015; Cronin, Levin, Branscombe, van Laar, & Tropp, 2012; Greig, 2003; Schmitt, Spears, & Branscombe, 2003; Quintana, 2007). A small number of studies have tested these effects in Latina/o adolescents with conflicting results. A recent study using longitudinal data in Latina/o middle school students demonstrated that exposure to a national immigration debate was associated with increases in stress and movement from an undifferentiated stage of ethnic identity development to an exploration stage in eight grade students over one year (Roehling, Hernandez Jarvis, Sprik, & Campbell, 2010). These relationships were not observed in seventh grade students. The authors note that eighth grade may be a critical developmental period when ethnic identity development begins as no studies have demonstrated that youth enter the exploration stage before eighth grade. Similarly, Pahl and Way (2006) used individual growth modeling to reveal that perceived discrimination by peers predicted accelerated growth in ethnic identity exploration over time in Latina/o and Black adolescents. Armenta and Hunt (2009) reported that perceived discrimination was directly related to ethnic group identification and self-esteem in a sample of Latina/o adolescents. Higher ethnic group identification mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and self-esteem. Romero and Roberts (2003) published slightly divergent results indicating that while perceived discrimination was related to lower self-esteem in a sample of Latina/o middle school 21 students, ethnic identity was negatively related to perceived discrimination. The authors note that effects of perceived discrimination depend on the pervasiveness and stability of the discrimination. This study did not measure the pervasiveness of perceived discrimination. Furthermore, the mean age of this sample was 12.83 indicating that many of the respondents may not yet be in eighth grade, which may have accounted for the discrepant findings. Ethnic Identity and Academic Outcomes. Current evidence suggests that ethnic identity development may also be an important variable associated with academic engagement. For instance, Umaña-Taylor, Tynes, Toomey, Williams and Mitchell (2015) found that ethnic identity exploration and affirmation significantly predicted academic values (achievement motivation) whereas ethnic identity resolution significantly predicted academic values and academic efficacy in Latina/o adolescents. In a separate but similar study, ethnic identity was found to be significantly associated with higher academic self-efficacy and social competence in Latina/o adolescents (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). Fuligni, Witkow, and Garcia (2005) found that ethnic identification was related to positive school identification in U.S. high school students from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds. Further, students who indicated their ethnic background as more central to their self also scored higher on measures of intrinsic interest in school and utility of education and school success. Social Support. As a construct, social support is multidimensional with context specific structural (existence of relationships) and functional (the functions that relationships provide) dimensions (Cohen & Wills, 1985; Williams, Barclay, & Schmied, 2004). Social support serves a number of emotional, instrumental, informational, and 22 appraisal coping functions. Specifically, support received from one’s in-group may facilitate a sense of shared community and connectedness, whereas support from an individual’s out-group can provide a sense of safety, hope, and security through the development of “allies.” Environmental and institutional support may provide the opportunity structure for marginalized groups to have a voice in policy direction and resource allocation (Harrell, 2000). Social Support and Coping. Social support has long been considered an influential external coping mechanism triggered by perceived discrimination (Brondolo et al., 2009; Cohen & Wills, 1985; Harrell, 2000). As racist environmental stimuli are perceived, cognitive appraisals and engagement of available social support resources may be triggered. The availability of social support from family and significant others may be an important mechanism in mitigating stress and enhancing psychological and academic adjustment for many Latina/os (Arellano-Morales, et al., 2015; Basáñez, Molnar, Kawachi, & Subramanian, 2009; Valenzuela & Dornbusch, 1994). In fact, familismo is a traditional Latina/o cultural relational value highly consistent with the concept of social support. Familismo reflects a strong sense of immediate and extended family connectedness through which members derive support, protection, and overall well-being (Ayón, Marsiglia, & Bermudez-Parsai, 2010). Perceived social support has been explored extensively as both a mediator and moderator in coping research. Results from a meta-analysis of 246 studies found small positive effects of social support on well-being in children and adolescents (Chu, Saucier, & Hafner, 2010), however, the results suggest that the protective mechanisms provided by social support appear to be variable. For instance, perceptions of emotional and 23 academic support were found to mediate the relationship between acculturative stress and internalizing symptoms (i.e., depression and anxiety) in first generation immigrant adolescents (Katsiaficas, Suárez-Orozco, Sirin, & Gupta, 2013). For first generation immigrants, higher acculturative stress was related to higher levels of depression and anxiety; however, emotional support and academic support were negatively related to these internalizing symptoms. This pattern of mediation was not found for second generation immigrants. Demaray and Malecki (2002) explored associations between sources of perceived social support and psychological and academic adjustment in low- income Latina/o middle school students. Perceived parent and classmate support were significantly related to lower anxiety, depression, social stress, somatization, and higher locus of control. Only parent and overall support were related to higher self-esteem. Perceived parent and teacher support were related to positive attitudes toward school and teachers. In some contexts, social support seeking may violate cultural norms or values (i.e., machismo) and exacerbate negative emotions. For instance, support seeking and distraction coping strategies for some Latino boys in high family stress contexts has been associated with higher levels of internalizing symptoms (Liu, Gonzales, Fernandez, Millsap, & Dumka, 2011). Similarly, Tummala-Narra (2015) found that support seeking was not associated with depressive symptoms in a sample of U.S.- and foreign-born Latina/o adolescents. In this study, neither the quality nor the degree to which social support aligned with the help needed was measured. Also, types of social support (i.e., emotional, instrumental) were not differentiated. The fact that over 50% of the students in 24 this study reported they never seek help from adults and 75% reported never seeking help from mental health professionals suggests that the behavior of seeking support may not be a culturally sanctioned form of coping for this population. Therefore, assessing perceptions of available social support rather than support seeking behaviors may provide more accurate data in relation to coping. Social Support and Academic Outcomes. Perceived social support, especially in the form of parental, teacher, and friend support, is an influential asset linked to Latina/o academic engagement, motivation, and coping (Alfaro, Umaña-Taylor, & Bámaca, 2006; Brewster & Bowen, 2004). Crean (2004) found that perceived emotional support from parents, teachers, and friends was significantly associated with approach/problem-solving coping strategies and school competencies (i.e., GPA, peer relationships, and conduct) in Latina/o middle school students. Additionally, social support was negatively related to psychological symptoms. In related work, Garcia-Reid, Reid, and Peterson (2005) examined the relationship between social support and school engagement variables in a sample of Latina/o middle school students. Using path analysis, the authors reported significant direct paths from teacher, parent, and friend support, respectively, to school engagement. The effects of perceived social support likely extends into adulthood and across contexts. For example, Schneider and Ward (2003) reported that perceived family and institutional social support significantly predicted college adjustment in a small sample of Latina/o students. Perceived faculty and peer support predicted overall adjustment, social adjustment, and institutional attachment. In this study, ethnic identity was also examined. Findings revealed that ethnic identification significantly predicted 25 both perceived social support and all college adjustment measures. Overall social support mediated the relationship between ethnic identity and college adjustment. Perceived social support may also serve as a protective mechanism against discrimination in the school context. DeGarmo and Martinez (2006) found that combined sources of social support, and parental support in particular, buffered the negative effects of discrimination on academic well-being in Latina/o adolescents. In a similar cross- sectional with Latina/o adolescents, Gonzalez, Stein, Kiang, & Cupito (2014) reported that peer support was associated with higher school connectedness, lower depression and higher efficacy for college going tasks. Adult support at school only predicted school belonging. Perceived discrimination is an aversive ethnicity-based stimuli that may result in heightened stress responses in Latina/o youth. Prolonged activation of cognitive stress responses place Latina/o youth at increased risk for internalizing symptoms and academic disengagement. For some Latina/o adolescents, perceived discrimination triggers coping responses that may suppress its deleterious effects on health and well-being. Specifically, ethnic identity development and perceived social support have been identified in previous research as adaptive forms of coping. In some cases, both ethnic identity and perceived social support have been found to exacerbate the likelihood of reporting internalizing symptoms. Racism-related coping is a complex phenomenon with many causal mechanisms still unknown as evidenced by the inconsistent findings. In the next section, I introduce sociopolitical development theory (SPD) and the construct of critical consciousness. I provide a rationale for considering critical consciousness as a potentially 26 overlooked adaptive coping mechanism that may help explain why some Latina/o youth do not report psychological distress or disengage from school in the face of perceived discrimination. Sociopolitical Development Theory Watts and colleagues used Brazilian educator Paulo Freire’s concept of conscientização, or its English language equivalent critical consciousness, as a cornerstone of an emerging theory of sociopolitical development (Watts, Griffith, Abdul- Adil, 1999; Watts, Williams, & Jagers, 2003; Watts & Guessous, 2006; Watts & Flanagan, 2007). Freire conceptualized critical consciousness as processes of cognitive and behavioral transformation whereby people learn to perceive the objective and subjective mechanisms of oppression, develop a new understanding of their social identity and reality, and through action, change the course of their future (Freire, 1970; Martín-Baró, 1994). Watts, Williams, and Jagers define sociopolitical development, which is used by some authors interchangeably with critical consciousness, as “the process by which individuals acquire the knowledge, analytical skills, emotional faculties, and the capacity for action in political and social systems necessary to interpret and resist oppression” (2003, p. 185). In emerging literature, critical consciousness is described as a potential “antidote” to oppression (Watts, Griffith, & Abdul-Adil, 1999). As such, critical consciousness may be an overlooked and potentially key coping mechanism in pathways between discrimination and youth development (Watts & Guessous, 2006). Critical consciousness has been theorized to develop in five stages (Watts et al. 1999). In the first stage (acritical stage), youth view social inequity as a legitimate 27 reflection of the inferiority of oppressed people or are completely unaware that social inequities exist. Stage two (adaptive stage) is evidenced by an awareness that inequities exist but that systems maintaining inequity are immutable and left unchallenged. Youth remain content with whatever limited social and material resources exist and move to acquire them. In stages three (precritical) and four (critical), complacency develops into a growing awareness of and interest in learning about asymmetry and inequality. Youth learn about the historical, cultural, and political processes that have maintained asymmetry and some are moved to conclude that social change is necessary. The final stage (liberation) involves a strong desire to change and improve social conditions for all, or action to eliminate oppression and inequity (Watts et al., 1999). Recent work on conceptualizing critical consciousness has operationalized three core components: 1) critical reflection, 2) political efficacy, and 3) critical action (Watts, Diemer, & Voight, 2011). Critical reflection involves a social analysis and moral rejection of systemic inequities (social, racial/ethnic, economic, gender), which harm well-being and oppress human agency. Political efficacy refers to the perceived ability to affect positive social and political change through activism (individual/collective). This component of critical consciousness also has been referred to as critical motivation (Diemer, Rapa, Voight, & McWhirter, 2016) and critical agency (McWhirter & McWhirter, 2016). Critical action is the enactment of individual or collective behaviors to change unjust laws, policies, or other aspects of society (Watts, et al., 2011). Critical Consciousness and Coping As the literature on stress and coping illustrates, minority youths’ coping strategies are embedded in historical and sociocultural context. A major factor involved 28 in coping is the person’s sense of agency or beliefs about the controllability of the problem (Compas, Banez, Malcarne, & Worsham, 1991). This may be especially true for low-income youth of color who historically have suffered multiple forms of marginality and become disenfranchised from their polity (Conchas & Vigil, 2010; Gonzales, George, Fernandez, & Huerta, 2005). Critical consciousness is concerned with the development of cognitive and behavioral skills to both accurately appraise and constructively cope with forms of oppression. Adaptive coping involves: 1) becoming aware of power and resource asymmetries, 2) examining, challenging, and adapting belief structures (social change schemas) about the controllability of social problems, and 3) continued growth in the sophistication and accuracy of social change schemas through critical action behaviors (Watts, et al., 2003). Consistent with Mellor’s (2004) conceptualization of racism-related coping, a well-developed critical consciousness may indeed promote minority adolescents’ capacity to resist and end racism-related maltreatment and sociopolitical inequity (Diemer & Hsieh, 2008). Critical Consciousness and Psychological Health Critical consciousness research is still in its infancy. Not much is known about how or when critical consciousness is related to psychological distress or mental health. Most of the studies involving critical consciousness have examined its relationship to variables generally believed to impact development, such as motivation, efficacy beliefs, academic and vocational expectations, and positive self-concept. To date, studies have produced promising results that would suggest youth with more developed critical consciousness, greater self-determined motivation, greater clarity of vocational identity, egalitarian values, sense of empowerment, and stronger attachment to academic 29 endeavors should also experience significantly less psychological distress than youth with less developed critical consciousness. Still, the direct and indirect effects of critical consciousness on psychological distress have yet to be tested. A notable exception involves work that tested the ability of sociopolitical control to buffer the negative effects of helplessness on mental health indicators (self-esteem, anxiety, depression) in African American adolescents over six months (Zimmerman & Ramirez-Valles, 1999). Sociopolitical control is believed to be foundational to critical consciousness. Results from regression analyses indicated that over time, higher levels of sociopolitical control buffered the negative effects of helplessness on mental health outcomes. Other studies have highlighted a nexus between constructs of critical consciousness (i.e., civic and political engagement) and well-being. As Ginwright (2011) asserts, the road to healing, hope, and social justice begins with critical consciousness. Critically analyzing and participating in the political process may be a key mechanism of psychosocial well-being through feelings of benevolence, identification, connectedness, attachment, and personal and social responsibility (Flanagan & Bundick, 2011; Prilleltensky, 2012). Based on a transactional stress-coping framework, Boehnke and Wong (2011) conducted a 21-year longitudinal study of German adolescents involved in peace activism and their associated worry patterns and mental health as compared to non- activists. Latent growth modeling revealed non-activists who appraised the threat of nuclear war as high at the beginning of the study fared worse in mental health (anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms) than activists over time. The authors concluded that youth’s decisions about sociopolitical engagement have potential positive implications on mental 30 health over the life course. Further, youth that can access more socially supportive resources have a better chance of engaging in their polity and increasing their chances at better mental health trajectories (Boehnke & Wong, 2011). Critical Consciousness and Vocational and Academic Outcomes A majority of the critical consciousness literature has focused on vocational and academic engagement. Experimental and cross-sectional studies have demonstrated significant relationships between critical consciousness and markers of healthy development such as career development in battered women (Chronister & McWhirter, 2006), vocational expectations and work salience among multiethnic low-income high school students (Diemer, 2009; Diemer et al., 2010; Diemer & Hsieh, 2008), and greater clarity of future vocational identity among multiethnic urban adolescents (Diemer & Blustein, 2006). Recent works have linked critical consciousness with domains of school and home engagement. For instance, McWhirter and McWhirter (2016) examined the relationship of critical consciousness with behavioral domains of school and non- academic engagement. Specifically, completing homework and class participation, as well as extracurricular activities such participating in school clubs, helping others around the house, and engagement in speaking Spanish were assessed. Findings revealed that higher levels of critical consciousness were related to higher grades, school engagement, and behavioral engagement in non-school activities salient to Latina/o youth. Luginbuhl, McWhirter, and McWhirter (2015) examined the relationship between critical consciousness, self-determined motivation, academic achievement (i.e., grades, behavior referrals), and vocational and academic expectations in a large sample of Latina/o high 31 school students. Results revealed that critical consciousness directly predicted school achievement (higher grades, fewer referrals), education expectations (education level expected) and positive vocational expectations. These effects were partially mediated by domains of self-determined motivation (i.e., basic psychological needs, autonomous motivation). Critical Consciousness, Ethnic Identity, and Social Support It appears that dimensions of critical consciousness may be associated with dimensions of ethnic identity development, perceived social support, and developmental outcomes. A well-developed critical consciousness, strong sense of ethnic identification, and perception that significant others are available to provide support may promote the coping resources to resist social inequity and the agency to affect change. Both ethnic identity and critical consciousness development involve movement toward a healthy self- definition. Critical consciousness is also evidenced by the presence of egalitarian values and motivation to transform sociopolitical inequities. Social support appears to play an intimate role in these processes (Diemer & Li, 2011; Diemer, Kaufman, Koenig, Trahan, & Hsieh, 2006). Diemer, Hsieh, and Pan (2008) found that parental support in the form of frequency of discussions about current events and valuing of children standing up for their beliefs predicted a greater sense of agency, internal control, and empowerment (self- definition) and sociopolitical motivation to transform inequities. School principal support was not predictive of either outcome. Further, positive student racial relationships and support predicted sociopolitical self-definition. O’Connor (1997) used qualitative data collected with six low-income African American high school students to describe how an acute awareness of social inequity 32 (i.e., critical awareness of collective struggle), largely influenced by transactions with significant others, was a key determinant contributing to adaptive academic motivation, agency, and behavioral responses to oppression. The findings suggested that experiences of racial discrimination and heightened awareness of structural barriers to social mobility were related to ethnic identity affirmation. Both a heightened critical awareness and specific qualities of social support seemed to set resilient youth apart from others. Resilient youth experienced supportive family members as willing to directly confront perpetrators of racial discrimination. Further, resilient students experienced caretakers discussing and supporting collective and political action more than less resilient youth. In contrast, less resilient students experienced family members’ expression of anger, resignation, annoyance, frustration, and incredulity without directly challenging perpetrators of racial discrimination. The critical action component of critical consciousness may also be influenced by ethnic identity development and perceived social support. For instance, Cronin, Levin, Branscombe, van Laar, and Tropp (2011) used longitudinal data to test the RIM in Latina/o college students over four years. Findings revealed that perceived discrimination predicted ethnic identity development in both years one and four. Perceived discrimination was also indirectly related to well-being in years one and four through ethnic identity such that ethnic identity suppressed the negative effects of discrimination on well-being. Finally, activism in year one mediated the relationship ethnic identity in year one and ethnic identity in year four such that ethnic identity in year four increased through activism. The results suggest that ethnic identity may be better characterized as a 33 group-level coping strategy. Recently, Outten and Schmitt (2015) compared individual (emotion-focused) and collective (problem-focused) coping strategies in relation to ethnic identity and life satisfaction in Asian Canadians. Only collective coping, which involved beliefs that one’s in-group could work together to better their status, mediated the relationship between ethnic identity and life satisfaction. As with ethnic identity, social support appears to be related to forms of civic and political youth activism. Perez, Espinoza, Ramos, Coronado, and Cortez (2009) examined factors contributing to undocumented Latino high school students’ resilience. Results revealed that combined personal and environmental resources mitigated combined sources of risk and were associated with academic success. Further, social support opportunities in school and engagement in extra-curricular activities and volunteerism (i.e., social service, political activism, functionary work) were most predictive of academic achievement. Larson and Hanson (2005) tested the impact of a strategic thinking and youth activism development program with Latina/o, African American, and Arab adolescents. Through adult and institutional support, youth felt empowered to develop pragmatic forms of reasoning as well as an expanded capacity to exercise agency over their environment. Measuring Critical Consciousness As the review of literature in previous sections highlighted, measurement inconsistency has been a common theme and limitation across fields. The critical consciousness literature is no different. Within the last year, however, three measures of critical consciousness have been published (Diemer, Rapa, Park, & Perry, 2017; McWhirter & McWhirter, 2016; Thomas et al., 2014). More recently, McWhirter and 34 McWhirter (2016) published psychometric results of a new measure of critical consciousness. The 10-item Measure of Adolescent Critical Consciousness (MACC) assesses two dimensions of critical consciousness (critical agency and critical behavior). Of the three new measures, the MACC is the only to have been developed for use with Latina/o adolescents and is available in English and Spanish versions (Diemer, McWhirter, Ozer, & Rapa, 2017). Summary Perceived discrimination is a powerful psychosocial stressor threatening the healthy psychological and academic development of minority youth. Latina/o adolescents are disproportionately exposed to racism-related maltreatment and stress. Still, many Latina/o youth thrive in the face of pervasive racism and discrimination. The mechanisms that help Latina/o youth cope with and adaptively overcome the stress of discrimination are not well understood. It appears that internal and external mechanisms exist and operate when triggered by perceived discrimination. Ethnic identity development and perceived social support are two such mechanisms. Both have been found to suppress the negative effects of perceived discrimination on distress and school engagement in Latina/o youth. In a few cases, both have also been associated with increased psychological distress. Critical consciousness is a developmental process evidenced by heightened awareness of social-political inequities, motivation to end social-political inequality and racism, and engagement in behaviors intended to end social injustice. Egalitarian values, strong self-concept, and feelings of empowerment mark the development of critical consciousness. Critical consciousness may help to explain 35 variation in outcomes in the research linking discrimination, ethnic identity, social support, and psychological and academic adjustment for high school students and Latina/o youth in particular. Purpose of the Study The purpose of the present study is to explore relationships between perceived discrimination, ethnic identity, perceived social support, critical consciousness, and psychological distress and school engagement among high school students within a transactional stress and coping framework. To date, no studies have tested the potential of critical consciousness as an adaptive strategy for coping with racism-related stress. Although critical consciousness has been hailed as an “antidote” to oppression, empirical research on the processes and mechanisms to support this hypothesis has lagged. Further, methodological inconsistencies have left gaps in the existing literature base. Utilizing multidimensional and theoretically grounded measures, this study can help clarify and extend our understanding of the complex interplay between racism-related stress, coping, and academic and psychological outcomes of high school students Latina/o youth in particular. Hypothesized Variable Relationships The study hypotheses are presented in one structural model to be tested (Figure 2). The outcome variables are psychological distress and school engagement. Perceived discrimination will be positively associated with psychological distress and negatively associated with school engagement. Perceived discrimination is also hypothesized to directly predict ethnic identity, perceived social support, and critical consciousness. Next, ethnic identity, perceived social support, and critical consciousness are positively 36 associated with school engagement and negatively associated with psychological distress. Perceived discrimination will then be indirectly associated with each outcome variable through ethnic identity, perceived social support, and critical consciousness. Finally, perceived discrimination will be associated with school engagement indirectly through psychological distress. Figure 2. Hypothesized structural model. Educational = educational discrimination, Institutional = institutional discrimination, Peer = peer discrimination, Exploration = ethnic identity exploration, Commitment = ethnic identity commitment, Social Support = perceived social support, Family = perceived support from family, Friends = perceived support from friends, SO = perceived support from significant others, Depression = severity of depressive symptoms, Anxiety = severity of anxiety symptoms, Somatization = severity of somatic symptoms, Cognitive = cognitive engagement, Behavioral = behavioral engagement, Emotional = emotional engagement, Agentic = agentic engagement, Agency = critical agency, Behavior = critical behavior. 37 CHAPTER II METHODS Participants Participants were 987 public high school students from five schools in Northern California (51.6% female, mean age = 15.65 years, SD = 1.26, range = 13 to 18). Participants were distributed across 9th (n = 381, 38.6%), 10th (n = 230, 23.3%), 11th (n = 147, 14.9%), and 12th (n = 171, 17.3%) grades. 327 (33.1%) of the participants identified as Latina/o only, 116 (11.8%) identified as Latina/o and another ethnicity, 285 (29%) identified as Asian / Asian American, 58 (5.9%) identified as Black / African American, 40 (4.1%) identified as Middle Eastern, 51 (5.2%) identified as Pacific Islander, 190 (19.3%) identified as White / European American, 29 (2.9%) identified as Other, and 4 (.4%) did not identify an ethnicity. In terms of generational status, 132 (13.4%) identified as immigrants, 551 (55.8%) identified as having at least one immigrant parent, 279 (28.3%) identified as both themselves and their parents being born in the U.S., and 15 (1.5%) did not identify a generational status. Procedure I recruited high schools in California to participate in this study by conducting face-to-face meetings with school administrators. These high school districts had a significant number of low-income, Latina/o, and minority students of color enrolled (approximately 65%). Upon Institutional Review Board approval, passive consent was obtained by sending an informational handout home to parents one week before data collection. Three parents / students opted not to participate. Participating students were entered into a drawing to receive a $10 gift card. Students that assented/consented to 38 participate received oral and written instructions before beginning the survey and I was available to answer questions. Participants took a one-time paper-pencil survey during political science or English classes, which lasted approximately 30 minutes. Surveys were available in English and Spanish and were reviewed for readability by school personnel prior to dissemination. Eleven students chose the Spanish version. Measures Demographic Questionnaire. Participants were asked to provide information about their age, gender, ethnicity, school grade level, self-reported grades, nativity status, language(s) they speak, and plans for immediately after high school. Perceived Discrimination. Adolescent Discrimination Distress Index (ADDI - Fisher, Wallace, & Fenton, 2010). The Adolescent Discrimination Distress Index (ADDI) contains 15 items that measure perceived ethnic discrimination along educational (four items), institutional (six items), and peer (five items) dimensions. Participants first indicate if they experienced a particular form of discrimination because of their race or ethnicity by answering “Yes” or “No.” If they select “Yes,” they then indicate how much that experience upset them. Sample items include “You were wrongly disciplined or given after-school detention,” “Others your age did not include you in their activities,” and “You were called racially insulting names.” Response options range from 0 (No) to 5 (Extremely) upsetting. Fisher, Wallace, and Fenton (2010) reported internal consistency reliabilities for subscales as Institutional ( = .72), Educational ( = .60) and Peers ( = .60) among a sample of 177 diverse (African American, Hispanic, East Asian, South Asian, White) adolescents. 39 Distress from institutional and educational ethnic discrimination was related to reports of racial bias preparation while lower self-esteem was correlated to higher peer and educational discrimination, providing evidence of construct validity. A number of researchers have used the ADDI to form a composite discrimination score from the entire measure (El-Sheikh, Tu, Saini, Fuller-Rowell, & Buckhalt, 2015; French, Tran & Chavez, 2010; Harris-Britt, Valrie, Kurtz-Costes, & Rowley, 2007). Bellmore, Nishina, You, and Ma (2012) used a slightly modified version of the Peer subscale in a large ethnically diverse (54% Latina/o, N = 576) sample of high school students and reported acceptable reliabilities across four waves ( = .73, .73, .61, .61) as well as construct validity; peer discrimination was significantly correlated with depression and lower self-worth. In the present study, items were averaged to create subscales with higher scores representing higher levels of perceived ethnic discrimination. Internal consistency alpha coefficients in the present sample were Total ( = .81), Institutional ( = .71), Educational ( = .59) and Peers ( = .56). When assessing internal consistency reliability, relying on coefficient alphas alone may not be enough to determine whether scale items assess a single underlying construct. A more useful and straightforward index of internal consistency than coefficient alpha is the average inter-item correlation. Mean inter-item correlations should fall within the range of .15 .50. Additionally, all inter-item correlations should fall somewhere within this range to ensure unidimensionality (Clark & Watson, 1995). The mean inter-item correlations for all subscales demonstrated unidimensionality: Institutional (.27), Educational (.25), Peers (.25). 40 Ethnic Identity. Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure – Revised (MEIM-R, Phinney & Ong, 2007). Ethnic identity was assessed with a 6-item revised version of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (Phinney, 1992). The MEIM-R is a theoretically grounded multidimensional scale that assesses dimensions of ethnic identity exploration (three items) and commitment (three items). The MEIM-R is suitable for measuring exploration and commitment as distinct processes or as an overall latent representation of ethnic identity (Phinney & Ong, 2007). Participants were asked to rate the degree they agree or disagree with the sample items. Examples of sample items included “I have spent time trying to find out more about my ethnic group, such as its history, traditions, and customs,” “I have a strong sense of belonging to my own ethnic group,” and “I feel a strong attachment towards my own ethnic group.” Response options ranged from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). The underlying factor structure of this measure was tested with an ethnically diverse sample of college students (51% Latina/o) and found to be reliable. Internal consistency for the MEIM-R subscales has been reported as Exploration ( = .76) and Commitment ( = .78), and .81 in the overall scale (Phinney & Ong, 2007). Romero and Roberts (2006) reported acceptable internal consistency ( = .67) in a large sample of Latina/o adolescents. Items were averaged to create subscales with higher scores representing higher levels of ethnic identity development. Internal consistency alpha coefficients in the present sample were Total ( = .89), Exploration ( = .83) and Commitment ( = .87). Roberts et al. (1999) reported MEIM items were positively associated with indicators of ethnic salience, self-esteem, sense of mastery, and optimism as evidence of validity. 41 Perceived Social Support. Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS, Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support is a 12- item multidimensional measure of perceived social support. The MSPSS has a three- factor structure and assesses perceived Family (four items), Significant Other (four items), and Friend (four items) support. Youth indicate the degree they agree with each statement on a 7-point Likert scale with responses ranging from 1 (Very Strongly Disagree) to 7 (Very Strongly Agree). Sample items include “There is a special person who is around when I am in need,” “I get the emotional help and support I need from my family,” and “ I can count on my friends when things go wrong.” The MSPSS has been validated with Latina/o and diverse adolescents (Edwards, 2004; Canty-Mitchell & Zimet, 2000). Family, Friends, and Significant Other subscales of the MSPSS were significantly correlated with the Adolescent Family Caring Scale (AFCS) demonstrating discriminant and construct validity (Canty-Mitchell & Zimet, 2000). Internal consistency has been reported for the overall measure ( = .93, Canty-Mitchell & Zimet, 2000). Cronbach’s alphas for each subscale have been reported as Family ( = .88 - .91), Friends ( = .90 - .89), and Significant Other ( = .61 - .91) (Edwards, 2004; Canty- Mitchell & Zimet, 2000). Items were averaged to create subscales with higher scores representing higher levels of perceived social support. Internal consistency alpha coefficients in the present sample were Total ( = .92), Significant Other ( = .92), Friends ( = .91), and Family ( = .93). 42 Critical Consciousness. Measure of Adolescent Critical Consciousness (MACC, McWhirter & McWhirter, 2016). Critical consciousness will be measured by the MACC and modeled as a latent variable in SEM. The MACC is a recently developed 10-item measure that assesses domains of critical consciousness. Earlier conceptualizations of critical consciousness have included three components including critical awareness, political efficacy, and critical action (Watts et al., 2011) and critical reflection, critical action, and critical motivation, also called critical agency (Deimer et al., 2016; McWhirter & McWhirter, 2016). Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the MACC revealed a two-factor structure (McWhirter & McWhirter, 2016). Two of the items originally conceptualized as indicators of critical awareness did not load on a distinct factor, but instead loaded together with critical agency items. Thus, the resultant measure assesses dimensions of critical agency (seven items) and critical behavior (three items). Critical agency reflects the combination of efficacy beliefs for and commitment to ending social and economic inequality. Critical behavior reflects proactive engagement in actions to promote social justice and end racism and discrimination. Sample items include “I am motivated to try and end racism and discrimination,” “There are ways that I can contribute to my community, and “I am involved in activities or groups that promote equality and justice.” Response options range from 1 (Strongly agree) to 4 (Strongly disagree). The underlying factor structure for this measure was tested with a large sample of Latina/o high school students attending a leadership conference in the Pacific Northwest. Critical agency and critical behavior subscales have been found to be significantly correlated with postsecondary plans, vocational outcome expectations, and 43 school engagement, providing evidence of construct validity (McWhirter & McWhirter, 2015). Internal consistency for the subscales was reported as Critical Agency = .89) and Critical Behavior ( = .69) (McWhirter & McWhirter, 2016). Items were averaged to create subscales with higher scores representing higher levels of critical consciousness. Internal consistency alpha coefficients in the present sample were Total ( = .85), Agency ( = .83) and Behavior ( = .75). Psychological Distress. Psychological Distress. Psychological distress was measured by three indicators (depression, anxiety, somatization) and modeled as a latent variable in SEM. Depression was measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2, Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2003). The PHQ-2 is a brief 2-item depression screener in the public domain, which uses the first two questions from the PHQ-9. The PHQ-9 has been found valid and reliable in adolescent populations with strong sensitivity (89.5%) and specificity (77.5%) of detecting adolescents meeting criteria for major depression (Richardson et al., 2010). This measure has been widely used in adolescent populations with strong internal consistency reported ( = .89) (Brawner, Gomes, Jemmott, Deatrick, & Coleman, 2012). Sample items on the PHQ-2 include “Little interest or pleasure in doing things,” and “Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless.” Responses range from 0 (Not at all) to 3 (Nearly every day). Total scores on this measure range from 0 – 6 with higher scores indicating higher severity of depression. PHQ-2 scores of have demonstrated a sensitivity of 74% and specificity of 75% for detecting adolescents meeting criteria for major depression and a sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 82% for detecting adolescents who 44 met criteria for probable major depression on the PHQ-9 (Richardson et al., 2010). In the present study, items were averaged and internal consistency alpha was .67. Anxiety was measured with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2, Spitzer, Kroenke, & Williams, & Löwe, 2006). The GAD-2 is a brief 2-item measure of severity of symptoms consistent with DSM IV criteria for generalized anxiety disorder. Items consist of the first two items from the GAD-7, which has been normed in large diverse adolescent samples with good internal consistency reliability ( = .89) (Löwe et al., 2008). The GAD-2 has been used with diverse adolescents with good internal consistency reliability ( = .82) (Seo & Park, 2015). With a cutoff score of 1, the GAD-2 had a sensitivity of 84.4% and a specificity of 72.8%. Total scores on the GAD-2 range from 0- 6 with higher scores indicating higher symptom severity. Respondents are asked to rate the frequency that they have been bothered by symptoms over the last two weeks. Sample items include “Feeling nervous, anxious or on edge,” and “Not being able to stop or control worrying.” Responses range from 0 (Not at all) to 3 (Nearly every day). In the present study, items were averaged with internal consistency alpha of .84. Somatization was measured with the Somatic Symptom Scale-8 (SSS-8, Gierk et al., 2014). The SSS-8 is an abbreviated version of the PHQ-15. The PHQ-15 is a validated and widely used measure of 15 symptoms that account for 90% of symptoms seen in primary care (Kroenke et al., 2010). The SSS-8 is a brief measure of somatic symptom burden with good reliability ( = .81). Gierk et al. (2014) reported that the SSS-8 was significantly related to depression, general health status, and health care demonstrating strong evidence of construct validity. Respondents rate the frequency that they have been bothered by symptoms over the last seven days. Sample items include 45 “Stomach or bowel problems,” “Headaches,” and “Dizziness.” Responses range from 0 (Not at all) to 2 (Very much). Items were averaged and the measure demonstrated good internal consistency in the present sample ( = .81). School Engagement. The School Engagement Questionnaire (Reeve, 2013). School engagement was measured by a 17-item measure developed by Reeve (2013b). The measure was created to assess levels of agentic, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional school engagement. Agentic engagement (five items) refers to student-initiated actions to construct the learning environment to make academic progress. A sample item is “During class, I express my preferences and opinions.” This scale has shown good internal consistency ( = .84). The agentic engagement subscale demonstrated construct validity and positively correlated with autonomous motivation and negatively with controlled motivation (Reeve, 2013b). Further, the agentic subscale has demonstrated predictive validity and correlated significantly with course achievement (i.e., final course grades) (Reeve, 2013b). Cognitive engagement (four items) is assessed by the degree to which students carry out sophisticated mental learning strategies. The cognitive engagement subscale is based on four items taken from the Metacognitive Strategies Questionnaire (Wolters, 2004). The cognitive engagement subscale has been shown to predict course grades demonstrating construct validity (Reeve & Tseng, 2011; Wolters, 2004). A sample item is “When I study for class, I try to connect what I am learning with my own experiences.” Cronbach’s alpha has been reported as = .72. Behavioral engagement (four items) assesses a more teacher-initiated form of engagement in which students invest effort to make progress. A sample item is “I pay attention in class.” The behavioral engagement 46 subscale has shown good internal consistency ( = .87). Emotional engagement reflects students’ enhanced positive emotions through school activities. A sample item is “When I am in class, I feel good.” Cronbach’s alpha has been reported as = .91. Response options for all subscales range from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree). Both the behavioral and emotional subscales were taken from the Engagement Versus Disaffection with Learning measure (Skinner, Kindermann, & Furrer, 2009). Both subscales have demonstrated construct validity and been shown to predict course grades (Skinner, Kindermann, & Furrer, 2009). In the present study, items were averaged with higher scores representing higher levels of school engagement. Internal consistency alpha coefficients were Total ( = .87), Agentic ( = .78), Behavioral ( = .83), Emotional ( = .70), and Cognitive ( = .70). 47 CHAPTER III RESULTS In this section, I describe the plan of analysis, results of the preliminary analyses, examination of the measurement and structural models, and mediation analyses. Preliminary analyses outline patterns of missing values and procedures for handling missing data, testing of model assumptions, and descriptive statistics, standard deviations, and correlations among study variables. Results from the measurement model show the fit of indicators to their latent constructs. Next, I present results from analyses of the structural model and hypothesized relationships among latent variables. Finally, I present results of the mediation analyses. Plan of Analysis Data analyses occurred in several steps. First, I screened the data for missing values and model assumptions. Second, descriptive statistics, standard deviations, and correlations among study variables were examined. Third, I tested a measurement model using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to determine the fit of indicators to their latent constructs. Fourth, I tested the hypothesized structural model using latent variable path analysis in structural equation modeling (SEM). Finally, I examined whether ethnic identity, social support, and critical consciousness mediate the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress and school engagement. Testing indirect effects of latent variables with SEM is recommended to control for measurement error and increase power (Cheung & Lau, 2008). All statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS 23.0 or Mplus 7.4 for MAC (Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2015). 48 Preliminary Analyses Descriptive statistics, standard deviations, and correlations among study variables are presented in Tables 1 and 2. Missing values on items was low ranging from 0 to 2.1%. Of the 987 participants, 80.4% had no missing data. Eight participants left the perceived discrimination measure (ADDI) completely blank and were removed from subsequent SEM analyses. Data were determined to be missing completely at random based on Little’s MCAR test, χ2 (279) = 259.57, p = .792. Multivariate outlier analyses of Mahalanobis distance, Cook’s D, and DFBETAS values were conducted to identify influential outliers (Kline, 2011; Pedhazur, 1997). None were identified. All study variables were examined for normality by examining histograms and normal curves, skew and kurtosis. No variables approached or exceeded cutoffs for skewness (> 3) or kurtosis (> 10) suggesting normality was tenable (Weston & Gore, 2006). Examination of the tolerance values (none < .10) and variance inflation factors (none > 10) (Kline, 2011) indicated that multicollinearity was not a problem. Due to the low percentage of missing data, tenability of model assumptions, and pattern of missingness being MCAR, Full Information Maximum Likelihood (FIML) was used to estimate missing values in the analyses. Correlational analysis between the demographic variables of age, gender, and generational status and other study variables revealed several significant (p < .05) relationships. Specifically, older age was related to lower behavioral school engagement (r = .18), higher depression (r = .13), anxiety (r = .08), and somatization (r = .10) scores. In terms of gender, female participants had significantly higher behavioral school engagement (r = .11), critical agency (r = .24), critical behavior (r = .11), perceived 49 social support from significant others (r = .09), perceived social support from friends (r = .08), depression (r = .17), anxiety (r = .23), and somatization (r = .30) scores. Females also had lower scores on perceived social support from family (r = .10). Table 1 Variable Means, Standard Deviations, and Range Variable M SD Range 1. Educational 1.02 (0.95) 1.08 (1.01) 0-5 2. Institutional 0.61 (0.68) .84 (.88) 0-5 3. Peer 0.57 (0.55) .76 (.74) 0-5 4. Family 5.14 (5.29) 1.43 (1.44) 1-7 5. Friends 5.34 (5.42) 1.33 (1.37) 1-7 6. Other 5.49 (5.59) 1.41 (1.39) 1-7 7. Agency 3.10 (3.10) .47 (.47) 1-4 8. Behavior 2.36 (2.32) .62 (.60) 1-4 9. Exploration 3.29 (3.35) .93 (.89) 1-5 10. Commitment 3.56 (3.68) .91 (.87) 1-5 11. Agentic 3.35 (3.35) .72 (.74) 1-5 12. Cognitive 3.46 (3.47) .68 (.67) 1-5 13. Behavioral 3.71 (3.83) .71 (.81) 1-5 14. Emotional 3.28 (3.33) .71 (.72) 1-5 15. Depression 0.90 (0.86) .83 (.79) 0-3 16. Anxiety 1.10 (1.02) .97 (.97) 0-3 17. Somatization 1.11 (1.01) .83 (.82) 0-4 Note: Numbers in parentheses represent the Latina/o subsample. 50 51 Gender and age were added as covariates in subsequent SEM analyses; however, the addition of age did not change the results in a meaningful way and was ultimately removed. Measurement Model All models were estimated using maximum likelihood estimation (ML). Model fit was evaluated using a combination of incremental and absolute fit indices as recommended by Martens (2005). I include the commonly reported chi-square statistic for descriptive purposes only. For sample sizes > 400, chi-square is almost always significant. Also, the chi-square statistic is overly sensitive to model complexity and sizes of correlations among variables (Kenny, 2011). Incremental fit indices used were the comparative fit index (CFI) and the Tucker-Lewis index (TLI). Models with CFI and TLI values .95 suggest an excellent fit, values between .94 and .90 index an adequate fit, and values < .90 suggest poor fit. Absolute fit indices included the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) with 90% confidence intervals and the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR). RMSEA values of .10 index an adequate fit while values of .06 suggest a good fit. SRMR values .08 suggest adequate fit whereas values of .05 are considered an excellent fit (Hu & Bentler, 1999; Weston & Gore, 2006, Vandenberg & Lance, 2000). To assess the strength and direction of correlations between variables, standardized path coefficients were examined. I examined the squared multiple correlations (SMC) to assess the proportion of variance explained by the models in question. I first tested a measurement model using CFA with the full sample to explore the fit of indicators to their latent constructs (Figure 3). Six latent constructs and their 52 respective indicators were modeled and included: Perceived Ethnic Discrimination (Educational, Institutional, Peer), Perceived Social Support (Family, Friends, Significant Other), Critical Consciousness (Critical Agency, Critical Behavior), Ethnic Identity Development (Exploration, Commitment), Psychological Distress (Depression, Anxiety, Somatization), and School Engagement (Agentic, Emotional, Cognitive, Behavioral). Figure 3. Final confirmatory factor analytic model. ED = educational discrimination, INST = institutional discrimination, PEER = peer discrimination, AGEN = critical agency, BEH = critical behavior. FAM = perceived family support, FRI = perceived friends support, OTH = perceived significant other support, EXP = ethnic identity exploration, COM = ethnic identity commitment, AGTC = agentic engagement, EMO = emotional engagement, BEH = behavioral engagement, COG = cognitive engagement, DEP = severity of depressive symptoms, ANX = severity of anxiety symptoms, SOM = severity of somatic symptoms. Note: *** p < .001, * p < .05. 53 All latent constructs were allowed to correlate. The model demonstrated adequate fit χ2 (115) = 509.138, p = < .001, CFI = .93, TLI = .91, RMSEA = .06 (90% CI) [.054, .065], SRMR = .05. All indicators were positively and significantly related to their latent constructs. Hypothesized Structural Model The structural models were tested using data from the full sample (Figure 4, N = 979) followed by testing of data from Latina/o participants (Figure 5, n = 433). Participants identifying as Latina/o and Latina/o and other were included in the Latina/o subsample. Results of the hypothesized structural model with the full sample are shown in Figure 4 in the form of standardized beta path coefficients. The specified model adequately fit the data χ2 (115) = 518.520, p = < .001, CFI = .93, TLI = .91, RMSEA = .06 (90% CI) [.055, .065], SRMR = .05. In general, the hypothesized relationships between variables were supported. Contrary to my hypotheses, higher levels of perceived discrimination did not directly predict lower levels of school engagement. Also, higher scores on ethnic identity did not predict lower levels of distress. Finally, higher levels of critical consciousness were associated with higher distress scores, which was unexpected. The model accounted for 54% of the variance in school engagement and 31.2% of the variance in psychological distress. Next, I tested the hypothesized structural model with the data from the Latina/o participants (n = 433). The results of the model are shown in Figure 5. 54 Figure 4. Final structural model for the full sample (N = 979). All paths are standardized. Dashed lines represent non-significant paths. The measurement model and covariates are omitted for clarity. Note: *** p < .001, ** p < .01. The specified model yielded an adequate fit χ2 (115) = 289.112, p = < .001, CFI = .93, TLI = .91, RMSEA = .06 (90% CI) [.051, .068], SRMR = .05. Hypothesized variable relationships were generally supported with several exceptions. Although the paths between perceived discrimination and perceived social support and school engagement were in the hypothesized direction, they were not significant. Additionally, the paths linking perceived social support, critical consciousness, and ethnic identity to distress were not significant. Finally, higher ethnic identity scores did not significantly predict higher levels of school engagement. The model accounted for 63.4% of the variance in 55 school engagement and 26.7% of the variance in psychological distress. A summary of the results of all direct effects is presented in Table 3. Table 3 Standardized Estimates of Direct Effects of Perceived Discrimination on Coping and Outcome Variables and Coping on Outcome Variables Path Estimate SE Perceived Discrimination Psychological Distress .36*** (.35***) .04 (.04) School Engagement -.02 (-.06) .04 (.10) Social Support -.17*** (-.11) .03 (.09) Ethnic Identity .14*** (.21***) .04 (.06) Critical Consciousness .17*** (.16***) .02 (.04) Social Support Psychological Distress -.22*** (-.18) .07 (.10) School Engagement .25*** (.21**) .04 (.08) Ethnic Identity Psychological Distress -.08 (-.04) .05 (.11) School Engagement .15*** (.03) .02 (.09) Critical Consciousness Psychological Distress .14** (.08) .04 (.09) School Engagement .51*** (.65***) .03 (.13) Psychological Distress School Engagement -.19*** (-.21***) .03 (.05) Note: *** p < .001, ** p < .01. Numbers in parentheses are estimates for the Latina/o subsample. 56 Figure 5. Final structural model for the Latina/o participants (n = 433). All paths are standardized. Dashed lines represent non-significant paths. The measurement model and covariate are omitted for clarity. Note: *** p < .001, ** p < .01. Mediation Analyses (Full Sample) Modern approaches to testing mediation suggest that constituent paths of the model do not need to be significant for indirect effects to be significantly different from zero (Hayes, 2009). Quantifying indirect effects in one step rather than inferring their existence based on multiple tests of constituent paths (i.e., the causal steps approach) is recommended to increase power and improve the ability to detect the effects (Hayes, 2009). I used bootstrapping analyses based on 5,000 bootstrap samples to construct 95% 57 bias-corrected confidence intervals for the indirect effects (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). Indirect effects are considered significant if 0 is not included in the confidence interval. Results from the full sample (Figure 4) revealed that the total indirect effects of perceived discrimination on psychological distress through critical consciousness, perceived social support, and ethnic identity were significant ([unstandardized] total indirect effect = .05; SE = .03, 95% CI [.03, .09]). The results suggest that higher levels of discrimination were related to higher levels of distress as mediated by the three coping variables. A summary of results of all indirect effects is presented in Table 4. Tests of specific indirect effects revealed that discrimination was indirectly related to distress through both critical consciousness ([unstandardized] mean indirect effect = .02; SE = .01, 95% CI [.02, .03]) and perceived social support ([unstandardized] mean indirect effect = .04; SE = .02, 95% CI [.02, .07]). The results support the idea that higher levels of distress are associated with higher perceived discrimination through lower levels of perceived social support. An unexpected finding suggests that higher levels of perceived discrimination are related to higher distress through higher levels of critical consciousness. Ethnic identity did not mediate the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress in the full sample. A test of total indirect effects of perceived discrimination on school engagement through critical consciousness, perceived social support, ethnic identity, and psychological distress was not significant. Preacher and Hayes (2008) argue that effects of mediators in multiple mediation models can cancel each other out through mediation or suppression effects resulting in non-significant total indirect effects. Therefore, testing of specific indirect effects is recommended. Tests of specific indirect effects of perceived 58 discrimination on school engagement through critical consciousness ([unstandardized] mean indirect effect = .07; SE = .01, 95% CI [.07, .08]), ethnic identity ([unstandardized] mean indirect effect = .02; SE = .003, 95% CI [.01, .02]), and perceived social support ([unstandardized] mean indirect effect = .04; SE = .01, 95% CI [ .04, .03]) were all significant. Table 4 Indirect Effects of Perceived Discrimination on Distress and School Engagement Through Coping Note: Numbers in parentheses are standardized estimates. A fourth mediator, psychological distress ([unstandardized] mean indirect effect = .06; SE = .01, 95% CI [ .07, .05]), was also found to mediate the perceived discrimination and school engagement link. 59 Results from tests of specific indirect effects from the full sample are consistent with the notion that higher levels of perceived discrimination are related to higher levels of school engagement through the protective effects of higher levels of critical consciousness and ethnic identity. Further, higher perceived discrimination levels are related to lower school engagement scores through lower levels of perceived social support. Finally, higher levels of perceived discrimination are related to lower levels of school engagement through higher psychological distress. Mediation Analyses (Latina/o subsample) Mediation analyses of the data from Latina/o participants (Figure 5) revealed several differences from the full sample. The total indirect effects of perceived discrimination on psychological distress through critical consciousness, perceived social support, and ethnic identity were not significant. Follow up testing of specific indirect effects (Preacher & Hayes, 2008) also revealed that none of the coping variables mediated the perceived discrimination and psychological distress link. Tests of the total indirect effects of perceived discrimination on school engagement through critical consciousness, perceived social support, ethnic identity, and psychological distress were also not significant (Table 3). Only critical consciousness ([unstandardized] mean indirect effect = .08; SE = .03, 95% CI [.03, .09]) and psychological distress ([unstandardized] mean indirect effect = .06; SE = .02, 95% CI [ .09, .03]) emerged as significant mediators of the perceived discrimination and school engagement link. These results suggested that higher levels of perceived discrimination were related to higher levels of school engagement through higher critical 60 consciousness. Furthermore, higher perceived discrimination was related to lower school engagement through higher levels of psychological distress. Post Hoc Analysis Although some subsample sizes by ethnicity were not large enough to conduct certain statistical tests, I conducted a post hoc analysis to explore mean differences in endorsement of discrimination-related distress indicators among Asian, Black, Latina/o, and White students. For descriptive purposes, the results are presented in Table 5 and will be discussed in the next chapter. Table 5 Means and Standard Deviations for Discrimination Distress Indicators by Ethnicity Note: Educational, Institutional, and Peer represent subscales of the ADDI and items range from 0-5. 61 CHAPTER IV DISCUSSION As Latina/o and ethnic minority communities rapidly grow and access the educational system in the U.S., it is imperative for developmental research to keep pace. Understanding psychosocial factors that imperil ethnic minority adolescents’ well-being, and more importantly, factors that facilitate resilience is critical to supporting optimal psychological and educational development. Tragically, racism and ethnic discrimination continue to be deeply rooted in American society placing ethnic minorities at risk for a host of biopsychosocial problems. Children and adolescents may be at significantly higher risk of racism-related distress as they are increasingly exposed to social-political systems in which experiences of racism are commonly reported (e.g., schools, healthcare). Some youth, however, adapt well in the face of chronic ethnic discrimination and racism. The purpose of the current study was to investigate mechanisms through which adolescents experience and cope with perceived discrimination. Grounded in emerging literature, three coping variables were identified and examined as potentially adaptive responses to racism-related stress. Specifically, perceived social support, ethnic identity, and critical consciousness were tested as mediators in the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress and school engagement. This study extends the adolescent psychosocial development and stress and coping literature in a number of ways. First, to my knowledge, no other studies have explored critical consciousness as an adaptive coping strategy within a stress and coping framework. Second, recent developments in the measurement of critical consciousness allowed for a more complex 62 and precise assessment of the construct. Third, this is the first study to examine the direct and indirect effects of critical consciousness on psychological distress. Finally, the large diverse sample enabled me to test multiple competing coping variables simultaneously within the same hypothesized model using latent variable path analysis in SEM. In this chapter, I discuss the results of the present study within the context of current literature. First, I briefly summarize the results. Then I discuss the study results from a racism-related stress and coping perspective, with a focus on the main study hypotheses: (a) perceived discrimination will be positively associated with psychological distress and negatively associated with school engagement, (b) perceived discrimination will predict ethnic identity, perceived social support, and critical consciousness, (c) perceived social support, ethnic identity, and critical consciousness are negatively associated with psychological distress and positively associated with school engagement, (d) perceived discrimination will be indirectly associated with psychological distress and school engagement through perceived social support, ethnic identity, and critical consciousness, and (e) perceived discrimination will be associated with school engagement indirectly through psychological distress. Next, I discuss implications of the findings on theory and practice followed by a discussion of the study’s limitations and strengths. Finally, I provide a summarizing conclusion. The results from the current study were generally consistent with current literature with several notable exceptions. Results are consistent with the idea that perceived discrimination triggers a stress response and subsequent coping strategies to manage the stress. In turn, coping responses mediate the effects of discrimination on health and educational outcomes. The measurement and hypothesized structural models represented 63 theoretically grounded latent constructs and the relationships between them. Both adequately fit the data. The hypothesized structural model accounted for a significant amount of variance in psychological distress (31.2% full sample, 26.7% Latina/o subsample) and school engagement (54% full sample, 63.4% Latina/o subsample). While model fit was similar in both the full sample and Latina/o subsample, there were some differences, which I discuss in subsequent sections. Next I discuss results of the tests of the main study hypotheses. Effects of Perceived Discrimination on Psychological Distress and School Engagement As predicted, results from the current study demonstrated a clear pathway from adolescents’ experiences of discrimination to their levels of psychological distress. In both the full sample and the Latina/o subsample, participants that perceived higher levels of discrimination also endorsed higher levels of psychological distress. This finding is consistent with an extant body of research linking perceived discrimination to markers of psychological distress in Latina/o and ethnic minority adolescents (Pascoe & Smart Richman, 2009; Priest et al., 2013; Sanchez, Whittaker, Hamilton, & Zayas, 2015; Schmitt, Branscombe, Postmes, & Garcia, 2014). Overall, perceptions of discrimination were common, with 80% of the respondents indicating on at least one item that they had been targets of ethnic discrimination. Of the three forms of discrimination, experiences of educational discrimination were most distressing for every ethnic group except African Americans (Table 5). African American students endorsed institutional discrimination as the most distressing form, followed by educational discrimination. White participants perceived 64 the least discrimination of all ethnic groups. The pattern of perceived discrimination in the present study is consistent with other studies assessing multiethnic and Latina/o adolescent samples (Fisher et al., 2000; Harris-Britt, et al., 2007; Sanchez et al., 2015). These results provide additional evidence that adolescence is a sensitive developmental period during which age-patterned exposures to and perceptions of discrimination are common (Gee, Walsemann, & Brandolo, 2010). Youth in this study were not only able to differentiate discriminatory contexts, but most identified the educational system as most distressing. A key determinant of finding these effects in the present study was the inclusion of a measure that assesses discrimination in the school context (ADDI) and a measure that assesses somatization (SSS-8). Gee et al.’s (2010) life course perspective of racism and health inequity highlights the importance of tailoring instrumentation to capture perceptions of discrimination in contexts where youth spend the majority of their time. The ADDI contains four questions that assess distress related to perceptions of discrimination within the school context. I chose the ADDI specifically for this reason in addition to the fact that it was designed to capture racism-related distress from a stress and coping perspective. The SSS-8 captures somatic symptom burden. Most studies to date exploring the relationship between ethnic discrimination and psychological distress typically include measures of depression and anxiety. For some, endorsing symptoms of depression or anxiety related to stress is not culturally appropriate. Instead, endorsing somatic symptoms is a more culturally sanctioned form of expressing distress. This may be particularly true for some Latina/os (Angel & Guarnaccia, 1989; Hulme, 1996). 65 Perceived discrimination did not directly predict school engagement as hypothesized. Although the direction of the association was consistent with previous research (Alfaro, et al., 2009; DeGarmo & Martinez, 2006; Neblett, Philip, Cogburn, & Sellers, 2006), the relationship was not significant. One explanation for this finding may be due to social desirability bias. Nearly one third of the participants, predominantly Latina/os, were enrolled in a program created to prepare educationally disadvantaged students for college success through accelerated instruction, intensive academic counseling, and leadership opportunities. Classroom contexts in this program are designed to be open to multiculturalism and diversity and teachers generally have a strong, supportive relationship with their students. Although participants were assured that their survey responses were anonymous, it is possible that some responded to the school engagement questionnaire in a way they assumed would be viewed favorably by their teacher. It is also possible that the contexts created by the participating teachers (e.g., open to diversity and multiculturalism) buffered the negative effects of discrimination and strengthened students’ engagement in school. Future studies may attempt to control for cognitive biases and take the school context into account when exploring the effects of discrimination in the educational setting. Alternatively, based on the prevalence of discrimination reported by the participants in the current study, it is likely that the effects of discrimination on school engagement were fully mediated by the coping variables, which I will discuss in greater detail later. Perceived Discrimination and Coping A guiding framework for the current study is Clark et al.’s (1999) biopsychosocial model of racism-related stress coping, which postulates that as a person perceives an 66 environmental condition as discriminatory, an exaggerated stress reaction is triggered. In turn, a host of coping strategies may be employed to regulate the stress response. Therefore, I hypothesized that higher levels of perceived discrimination would be directly related to levels of perceived social support, ethnic identity, and critical consciousness. Generally, this hypothesis was supported. Social Support. In the full sample, students that perceived higher levels of discrimination were more likely to perceive fewer sources of social support. Although levels of perceived social support were similar across the three indicators, perceived family support had the lowest mean (Table 1). This finding is consistent with a number of studies spanning three decades, which demonstrated that stress and stressful events may deteriorate the perception of available social supports (Barrera, 1986). This process is termed social support deterioration. In a longitudinal study that looked at the stability of stress-support relationships in depressed patients over time, Mitchell and Moos (1984) demonstrated that even after controlling for sociodemographic variables and depressive symptoms, chronic stressors deteriorate the supportiveness of a person’s social networks and in particular, family support. Other studies related to interpersonal violence and partner abuse (Thompson, et al., 2000) and socioeconomic stress (Gjesfield, Greeno, Kim, & Anderson, 2010) have demonstrated findings consistent with the social support deterioration model. Surprisingly few studies have explored this process in relation to racism. A notable exception is Prelow, Mosher, and Bowman’s (2006) cross-sectional study that compared three models of social support (e.g., support buffering, support mobilization, support deterioration) in relation to perceived discrimination and psychological adjustment in African American college students. The authors tested 67 perceived social support as a moderator and mediator of the relationship between discrimination and depression and life satisfaction. Although the authors did not report whether students were living at home or away from home while attending college, results revealed that perceived social support did not act as a buffer or as a protective mobilizing force. Rather, racial discrimination had a negative effect on psychological adjustment through lower perceived availability of social support, providing some evidence for a deteriorating effect. A possible explanation for this finding in the present study may be related to the participants’ generational status. A majority of the participants were second-generation U.S. citizens (55.8% - at least one parent born outside the U.S.). Some longitudinal evidence suggests that intergenerational conflict between adolescents and their parents combined with school-based racial discrimination increased depression and decreased academic achievement for Filipino youth in early adolescence, whereas parental conflict alone increased depression into late adolescence (Ying & Han, 2005). A similar pattern of intergenerational conflict may have been occurring for participants in the current study, especially in light of lower reported levels of family support as compared to other sources of support. When examining this effect in the Latina/o subsample, the direction of association was consistent with the full sample; however, the relationship was not significant. This result suggests that Latina/o students perceived higher levels of social support than their peers, which was protective against the effects of perceived discrimination. In fact, when compared to their peers on perceived social support indicators, Latina/o students had higher mean scores on every indicator (Table 1). It appears that Latina/o students did not 68 perceive lower social support in the presence of higher perceived discrimination to a similar extent as their peers. Latina/os generally assume a collectivistic cultural orientation (Reyes & Elias, 2011). Results from the current study are consistent with evidence that has demonstrated that strong interpersonal relationships and relational cultural values (e.g., respeto, familismo, personalismo) play a critical role in protecting the psychological health of Latina/o youth, especially when exposed to discrimination (Chapman & Perreira, 2005). Ethnic Identity. As expected, students with higher levels of perceived discrimination also endorsed higher levels of ethnic identity. This finding was evidenced in the full sample and Latina/o subsample. Overall, participants endorsed slightly higher levels of ethnic identity commitment as compared to exploration (Table 1). Social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) asserts that ingroup membership and identity strengthens and serves as a protective mechanism in the face of an environmental threat, such as racism. As one piece of an overall sense of identity coherence, ethnic identity is theorized to develop through a process of exploration to learn more about one’s ethnicity. Through exploration, a stronger and more stable sense of attachment, belonging, and investment in one’s ethnic group is achieved, which is termed commitment. Consistent with social identity theory, participants across ethnicities in the present study endorsed a stronger sense of attachment and commitment to their ethnic group in the face of ethnic discrimination. This finding is also consistent with Branscombe et al.’s (1999) RIM, which posits that pervasive and stable perceptions of ethnic group discrimination lead to stronger ingroup identification. While some have demonstrated an association between 69 experiences of ethnic discrimination and ethnic identity confusion (Umaña-Taylor, Vargas-Chanes, Garcia, & Gonzales-Backen, 2008), results from the present study mirror a growing number of studies supporting the idea that ethnic group rejection by others triggers movement toward strengthening one’s ethnic group commitment (Armenta & Hunt, 2009; Pahl & Way, 2006; Roehling et al., 2010). Critical Consciousness. I hypothesized that higher levels of perceived discrimination would directly predict higher scores on critical consciousness. This hypothesis was supported in both the full sample and Latina/o subsample. Overall, correlations between the critical consciousness and ethnic identity factors were moderate to high, suggesting that components of critical consciousness may overlap with ethnic identity. Similar to ethnic identity, pervasive perceptions of discrimination may spur and strengthen critical consciousness development. SPD theory posits that critical consciousness develops in stages and involves an increasing awakening to and awareness of one’s location in the social hierarchy (Freire, 1970; Watts, et al., 1999). Part of this awakening may be associated with components of ethnic identity development, whereby youth seek information and understanding about their ethnicity through reading history, learning, and engagement in cultural and social activities. As youth explore and become more committed to their ethnic group membership, it is possible that the importance of resisting social inequality becomes more salient. Interestingly, when comparing participants’ indicators of ethnic identity and critical consciousness, it appears that ethnic identity may have been more fully developed. This was evidenced by the fact that respondents endorsed higher ethnic identity commitment compared to exploration whereas they endorsed lower critical 70 behavior than critical agency. Both ethnic identity exploration and critical behavior assess behavioral components of their constructs. It may be that high school students are more behaviorally restricted as a function of the school context and thus have less freedom to engage in exploration or critical behavior. This finding may also suggest that temporally, ethnic identity development precedes critical consciousness development. Due to the cross-sectional nature of the data in the present study, it is impossible to infer causal or temporal ordering of the variables, however, these results suggest that testing temporal relationships between ethnic identity and critical consciousness development over time in future studies is warranted. On average, participants had higher critical agency scores as compared to critical behaviors. Further, respondents were less likely to endorse engaging in demonstrations and signing petitions as compared to involvement in activities or groups to end racism. Engaging in behaviors that are motivated by a strong desire to end social inequality theoretically evidences a more advanced stage of critical consciousness development (Watts et al., 1999). Critical behaviors signify a movement from awakening and awareness to liberation. In light of SPD theory, the finding that respondents endorsed relatively lower levels of critical behaviors may be interpreted in several ways. Some longitudinal research suggests that youth who can access socially supportive resources have a better chance of engaging in political activism and increasing their chances at better mental health outcomes (Boehnke & Wong, 2011). As previously stated, higher perceived discrimination was related to lower perceived social supports and the indicator for family support had the lowest mean in the present study. Overall participants endorsed relatively high levels of critical agency, which involves awareness 71 and values about ending social inequality. It is possible that respondents’ family members did not support these views or values. While participants’ may have been experiencing social support by significant others (e.g., teachers, spiritual leaders, peers) in relationship to critical consciousness, processes of political socialization within the family may have been lacking. In a cross-sectional study of marginalized youth, Diemer and Li (2011) examined contextual antecedents of critical consciousness. They assessed critical consciousness with measures of sociopolitical control and social action. Results revealed that parental and peer sociopolitical support predicted both sociopolitical control and social action, which then predicted voting behavior. Similarly, longitudinal research by Diemer (2012) demonstrated that parental political socialization (discussion during high school) predicted marginalized youth’s political participation (voting, volunteering at a political organization) two years after high school. As previously noted, high school students’ critical behaviors may be more limited by age-, family-, or school-related barriers. These same systemic and structural barriers may not hinder critical thinking (i.e., agency and awareness). Future studies may extend these findings by including intergenerational, parental and teacher levels of critical consciousness, racial and political socialization, and time as variables. A possible explanation for the above findings may be that engaging in forms of activism or political action while in high school poses more risks than benefits for ethnic minority youth. For example, critical behaviors in the form of participating in demonstrations could likely impact time spent away from class and studying. It is worth noting that the current study took place toward the end of a scholastic year and students were preparing for standardized testing. Similar to work by Crean (2004), it is possible 72 that participants’ low levels of critical behaviors in the present study indicated a conscious decision to limit problem-solving strategies related to discrimination in favor of school engagement related behaviors. Coping and Psychological Distress Coping responses to racism-related stressors are hypothesized to exacerbate or mitigate the negative effects of racism on health outcomes (Clark et al., 1999). Adaptive coping strategies are expected to directly and positively affect health outcomes. Thus, I hypothesized that perceived social support, ethnic identity, and critical consciousness would be negatively associated with psychological distress. Findings provided partial support for this hypothesis. Social Support. As expected, in the full sample, higher levels of perceived social support were negatively related to psychological distress. At the bivariate level, only family support was significantly and negatively associated with all three indicators of distress (Table 2). Significant other and friend support were negatively related to depression. Consistent with a large number of studies (Ayón, Marsiglia, & Bermudez- Parsai, 2010; Campos, Ullman, Aguilera, & Dunkel Shetter, 2014; Chu et al., 2010), results from the present study highlight the significance of the relationship between perceived social support networks and psychological distress in the context of racism. Unexpectedly, this effect was not evident in the Latina/o subsample. While the path from perceived social support to psychological distress was negative, it was not significant. One explanation for this result may be related to some source of distress not accounted for in the model, such as acculturative stress. Acculturation refers to the multidimensional and dynamic process of negotiating and developing between two 73 cultures (either majority and minority, immigrant and host) (Katsiaficas et al., 2013; Schwartz, Unger, Zamboanga, & Szapocznik, 2010). Immigrant perceptions of an unfavorable context of reception, such as ethnic discrimination, can lead to what is termed acculturative stress. Acculturative stress is often evidenced through elevated internalizing symptoms (anxiety, depression). Much of the conflict involved in the acculturation process for immigrant youth arises as they struggle to navigate between old and new cultures while coping with prejudice and discrimination (Katsiaficas et al., 2013). Prior research has suggested that perceived social support mediates the relationship between acculturative stress and internalizing symptoms in first generation immigrant adolescents (Katsiaficas et al., 2013). This protective mediating effect was not evident in second generation immigrants. A majority of the participants in the current study were second generation immigrants or higher and it may be that their levels of perceived social support were not sufficient to counterbalance acculturative stress. Ethnic Identity. Although the path from ethnic identity to psychological distress was in the hypothesized direction, the relationship was not significant in either the full or Latina/o subsample. It is possible that the effect of higher ethnic identity on distress is protective and that the protective effect is erased in the presence of low perceived social support and high critical consciousness. As noted previously, parental socialization plays an important role in the development of youth’s cultural and political values and attitudes about membership in an ethnic group. As Brittian, Umaña-Taylor, and Derlan (2013) point out, parental socialization may facilitate ethnic identity resolution, but not positively affect feelings about ethnic group membership. Negative stereotypes and messages about one’s ethnic group, especially in the context of low perceived family 74 support, may negatively influence feelings about ethnic group membership (Brittian et al., 2013). Instrumentation used in the current study to assess ethnic identity (MEIM-R) does not tap into feelings associated with belonging to an ethnic group. It appears that social support and family / parental socialization may play a key role in tipping the emotional valence related to youth’s psychological response to discrimination and the awareness of social inequality. Critical Consciousness. Unexpectedly, the direct effect of critical consciousness on psychological distress was positive and significant in the full sample. There is little existing research with which to compare and interpret this finding. The process of awakening to the reality that social inequality and injustices exist and that one belongs to an oppressed ethnic group can be threatening, destabilizing and painful (Freire, 1970). In terms of stress and coping, some evidence suggests that heightened vigilance of environmental cues related to ethnicity and interethnic dynamics may increase distress (Smith & Silva, 2011). In the absence of supportive resources to manage this threat, it seems reasonable to expect associated emotional and physical distress. Youth in lesser- developed stages of critical consciousness may acknowledge social inequity and resource asymmetry but conclude that the system maintaining it is immutable (Watts et al., 1999). Even as critical reflection expands, structural racism may continue to constrain youth’s self-concept and sense of hopefulness (Diemer, 2009). Solidarity with one’s ethnic group, possibly through social support and political / racial socialization, evidences the highest level of critical consciousness; liberation. Through liberation, perhaps a greater sense of psychological well-being can be achieved. Youth in the present study may not have reached such an advanced stage of critical consciousness and associated well-being. 75 Recent work from Cobb, Xie, Meca, and Schwartz (2017) may help provide another explanation for “why” higher critical consciousness is directly related to higher distress. The answer may be related to ethnic identity development. Cobb et al. tested two competing models related to discrimination, ethnic identity, and depression. Using cross- sectional data and SEM, they compared the Branscombe et al.’s (1999) RIM and Rumbaut’s (2008) notion of reactive ethnicity in a sample of Latina/o immigrants. Contrary to RIM, the authors demonstrated that higher ethnic identity predicts higher depression through ethnic discrimination. Their results suggested that for some stigmatized people, and Latina/os in particular, ethnic identity may involve a higher awareness of negative societal portrayals of their ethnicity. People with higher ethnic identity may have a higher sensitivity to intergroup inequalities and perceive more discrimination than those with lower levels of ethnic identity, suggesting that ethnic identity may represent a risk factor (Cobb et al., 2017). As I reported, critical consciousness is significantly correlated with ethnic identity in the current study. While neither the cross-sectional data nor the measures of ethnic identity and critical consciousness used in the present study are designed to determine for certain, participants may have been further along in their ethnic identity development relative to their critical consciousness. Results from the current study suggest a possibility that as ethnic identity and critical consciousness develop and unfold, there is an associated experience of psychological distress. Results from the Latina/o subsample revealed a different pattern of associations. Specifically, the direct effect of critical consciousness on psychological distress is not significant. It is possible that perceived social support plays a role in this finding. As 76 previously noted, Latina/o students scored higher on perceived social support than their peers. Higher levels of perceived social support in conjunction with high critical consciousness may have reduced the negative effects of critical consciousness on distress. This result suggests that the associated distress related to ethnic identity and critical consciousness development in the presence of discrimination may resolve in supportive environments. Coping and School Engagement A growing body of research shows that perceived discrimination negatively effects school bonding and engagement. Coping responses theoretically mediate this relationship. Therefore, I predicted that perceived social support, ethnic identity, and critical consciousness would be positively correlated with school engagement. All three coping variables were positively associated with school engagement in the full sample as hypothesized. Social Support. In both the full sample and Latina/o subsample, the relationship between perceived social support and school engagement was significant and positive. Consistent with a growing number of studies (Alfaro, Umaña-Taylor, & Bámaca, 2006; Brewster & Bowen, 2004; Crean, 2004; DeGarmo & Martinez, 2006; Garcia-Reid, Reid, and Peterson, 2005; Gonzalez, Stein, Kiang, & Cupito, 2014; Valenzuela, 1999) results from the present study suggest that perceived social support is interactive with academic engagement. In the present study, support from significant others had the highest mean score. Interestingly, bivariate analysis revealed that social support from significant others had the strongest relationship to agentic school engagement. 77 A novel aspect of the current study involves the use of a school engagement measure (SEQ – Reeve, 2013) that assesses students’ levels of agentic engagement, in addition to behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. Agentic engagement involves students proactively and unilaterally engaging in transactional behaviors that promote a more motivationally supportive atmosphere. Such behaviors involve students expressing their needs and interests to their teachers in terms of instructional flow and the learning environment. Essentially, students join with the educational power structure and share in collaborative decision-making. No other studies to date have included a measure of agentic engagement when exploring relationships between perceived discrimination and critical consciousness on school engagement. The positive correlation between perceived significant other support and agentic school engagement suggests that the support students perceived in school, possibly by teachers, may have affected their overall academic motivation and feelings of empowerment. Some evidence suggests that motivational and instrumental support at school helps Latina/o youth feel connected and better prepared to navigate systemic educational barriers (McWhirter, Luginbuhl, & Brown, 2013). In certain cases, it appears that stronger teacher support may exert more of a positive effect on school engagement than parental support for Latina/o youth (Brewster & Bowen, 2004). In the present study, the open classroom contexts and teacher support may have played an important role in students’ feelings of agency and connectedness. Ethnic Identity. As expected, students with higher scores on ethnic identity were more likely to endorse higher levels of school engagement; however, this was only true in the full sample. A number of studies have demonstrated findings consistent with the present study. For example, Dotterer, McHale, and Crouter (2006) reported that stronger 78 ethnic identity was related to higher school bonding in a sample of African American adolescents. Similarly, Fuligni, Witkow and Garcia (2005) demonstrated in a multiethnic sample of 589 high school students that youth with higher ethnic identity centrality were more likely to have positive regard for education, liked school more, found school interesting, and believed their school respected and valued them. Generally speaking, students in the present study may have been experiencing a similar sense of mutual respect and bonding with their schools, or at least with the particular teachers and classes where the data collection occurred. The finding that ethnic identity was not related to school engagement in the Latina/o subsample may be related to critical consciousness. As previously stated, the correlation between ethnic identity and critical consciousness in the Latina/o subsample was high, suggesting some overlap between the two constructs and the possibility that ethnic identity triggers critical consciousness. The strength of association between critical consciousness and school engagement was stronger in the Latina/o subsample than in the full sample. It is possible that high critical consciousness mediates the relationship between ethnic identity and school engagement. Interestingly, when critical consciousness is removed from the structural model, ethnic identity is significantly and positively related to school engagement. Some research has demonstrated that for Latina/o and Chinese adolescents, stronger ethnic identity was related to more positive academic attitudes as compared to peers of European backgrounds (Fuligni et al., 2005). Fuligni et al. suggest that students from disadvantaged families and circumstances draw 79 from the strength of their cultural heritage and ethnic identity to develop the amount of effort and motivation required to persist and achieve academically. It may be that critical consciousness plays a significant role in this process. Critical Consciousness. Of the three coping variables, critical consciousness demonstrated the strongest positive direct effect on school engagement in both the full sample and Latina/o subsample. This result is consistent with a number of studies demonstrating positive correlations between critical consciousness and school engagement (Luginbuhl et al., 2015; McWhirter & McWhirter, 2015; O’Connor, 1997). Results from bivariate analysis in the current study revealed that critical agency demonstrated a stronger relationship with components of school engagement than critical behavior. This result is consistent with recent research that tested associations between critical agency and critical behavior with postsecondary school plans. In a sample of 870 Latina/o high school students, McWhirter and McWhirter (2016) demonstrated that students with the highest critical agency scores were more likely to plan to attend a 4- year college whereas those with the lowest critical agency scores were more likely not to plan to attend college. Critical behavior did not differ as a function of postsecondary plans. Similarly, Diemer et al. (2006) reported that support for challenging racism, sexism, and social injustice was positively associated with critical reflection, but not critical action. Authors of both studies above suggest that structural and institutional constraints associated with being a disadvantaged high school student may significantly limit capacity for engaging in traditional forms of critical action (e.g., voting, community organizing, demonstrating). It is possible that participants in the present study valued and 80 engaged in critical actions more than the critical consciousness measure (MACC) assessed. Students may have in fact been expressing a sense of critical action through agentic school engagement behaviors. Mediating Effects of Coping Responses A benefit of examining multiple mediators within the same model is that several competing theories can be tested simultaneously (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). Unlike simple mediation, multiple mediation models allow for examining total indirect effects of all mediators in the model as well as specific indirect effects. As Preacher and Hayes (2008) point out, in a multiple mediation model, a specific indirect effect through a mediator is conditional on the presence of all other mediators. Thus, the current discussion of specific indirect effects through individual coping mediators assumes the presence of the other mediators in the model. According to Clark et al.’s (1999) model, coping responses can mediate, through suppression or exacerbation, the negative effects of discrimination on health outcomes. Therefore, I hypothesized that perceived discrimination would be indirectly associated with psychological distress through perceived social support, ethnic identity, and critical consciousness. Additionally, I hypothesized that perceived discrimination would be indirectly associated with school engagement through the three coping variables and psychological distress. Findings demonstrated partial support for this hypothesis. Surprisingly, higher levels of perceived discrimination were related to higher levels of psychological distress through the combined total indirect effects of the three coping variables in the full sample. Perceived discrimination was related to higher distress specifically through higher critical consciousness and lower perceived social 81 support. Ethnic identity did not play a specific mediating role in the full sample. Results suggest that higher levels of ethnic discrimination place adolescents at greater risk for psychological distress, especially if they are more critically aware of social injustice and do not perceive an adequate social support network or pathway to enact individual or collective agency. From a stress and coping perspective, this finding is consistent with theory (Clark et al., 1999; Folkman et al., 1986). Perceived discrimination is a potent sociocultural and environmental stressor that triggers an exaggerated stress response. Discriminatory experiences based on ethnicity may be particularly harmful to health over the life course as they are often chronic and experienced across multiple contexts (Pearlin, Shieman, Fazio, & Meersman, 2005). Additionally, evidence suggests that chronic exposure to ethnic discrimination is traumatizing and evokes symptoms consistent with PTSD (hypervigilance, intrusive memories, avoidance, numbing) (Bryant-Davis, 2005; Carter, 2007; Flores et al., 2010) and exaggerated biological stress responses in ethnic minority adolescents (Brody et al., 2014; Zeiders, Doane, & Roosa, 2012). A critical factor in how people cope with discrimination relies in part on their cognitive appraisals about the stressor and what resources they have available to manage the stress (Folkman, et al., 1986). The development of critical consciousness involves a sharpening awareness of social inequality and how it threatens the well-being of one’s ingroup. As this process unfolds, it is likely that there is an associated experience of hypervigilance and physical and cognitive distress. These experiences may have been heightened for some students in the present study by the realization that their agentic actions to eliminate inequality were socially or culturally constrained by the school or family contexts. 82 Further, some research suggests that among disadvantaged people, the relationship between stronger ingroup identification and well-being is mediated by the extent to which people can envision their ingroup collectively confronting and coping with a stressor (Outten, Schmitt, Garcia, & Branscombe, 2009). In similar work, Outten and Schmitt (2015) compared four discrimination-related coping options and how they relate to ethnic identity and life satisfaction in 122 South Asian late adolescents. Collective action emerged as the lone adaptive mediator between ethnic identity and life satisfaction. When considering that perceived discrimination predicted lower perceived social support for some students in the present study, it is possible that participants were unable to envision that their ingroup was able to collectively confront discrimination through collective action, despite a relatively high level of critical agency. The total indirect effects of perceived discrimination on school engagement through perceived social support, ethnic identity, critical consciousness, and psychological distress was not significant in the full sample. Conversely, specific indirect effects of perceived discrimination on school engagement through perceived social support, ethnic identity, critical consciousness, and psychological distress were all significant. These results suggest that the effects of the multiple mediators canceled each other out resulting in non-significant total indirect effects (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). Further, higher levels of perceived discrimination were related to higher school engagement through the protective effects of both critical consciousness and ethnic identity. In light of stress and coping theory, this result suggests that both critical consciousness and ethnic identity are protective coping mechanisms that when triggered by discrimination, help some youth engage with school rather than disengage. 83 Unfortunately, higher perceived discrimination was also related to lower school engagement through lower perceived social support and psychological distress. This result was similar to research by Baskin, Quintana, & Slaten (2014) who found that in a sample of 310 diverse middle school students, problematic peer relationships and social interactions were indirectly related to lower academic achievement through psychological distress. Additionally in the current study, psychological distress had a significant direct effect on school engagement, such that participants endorsing higher levels of psychological distress were more likely to score lower on school engagement, which is consistent with previous research (Li & Lerner, 2011; Quiroga et al., 2013). These results demonstrate that the positive effects of critical consciousness and ethnic identity on school engagement may be offset for some youth that perceive less social support and endorse higher psychological distress. There were notable differences in the patterns of mediation in the data from the Latina/o subsample. Results revealed that total indirect effects of perceived discrimination on psychological distress were not significant. Further, none of the three coping variables mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress. Latina/os endorsed higher ethnic identity and perceived social support than their peers and thus it is possible that Latina/o’s had a stronger sense of their ingroup’s ability to enact collective action in response to racism. It appears that the combined effects of ethnic identity, social support and critical consciousness were protective against distress. The total indirect effects of perceived discrimination on school engagement through perceived social support, ethnic identity, critical consciousness, and 84 psychological distress were not significant. Critical consciousness emerged as the lone significant coping mediator of the perceived discrimination and school engagement link. Unlike their peers, data from the Latina/o students did not evidence the same degree of lower perceived social support in relation to higher perceived discrimination. Part of this effect may be due to the presence of high levels of critical consciousness combined with high levels of behavioral school engagement in the Latina/o participants relative to their peers (Table 2). Latina/os endorsed slightly higher levels of behavioral school engagement than their peers. Perhaps school engagement, and behavioral school engagement in particular, provides an outlet to safely express emerging ethnic identity and critical consciousness. This result is also consistent the notion that school contexts and classrooms play an important role in healthy and positive adolescent development. Not surprisingly, higher perceived discrimination was related to lower school engagement through higher levels of psychological distress. This result bolsters extant research demonstrating that ethnic discrimination is a pervasive and caustic psychosocial stressor in the lives of ethnic minority youth. For Latina/os in the current study, it appears that critical consciousness may be a significant protective mechanism in relationship to their school engagement. As noted in previous sections, school climates may have played a significant role in promoting critical consciousness development through the fostering of engaging, open, empowering, and caring environments. Implications for Theory This study brings together and provides support for a number of related theories. For example, Clark et al.’s (1999) biopsychosocial model of racism-related stress and coping, Branscombe et al.’s RIM, and emerging SPD theory all contribute to the 85 theoretical basis for the current study. Therefore, the results offer important implications for an extant literature base. As one of the first studies to examine the link between critical consciousness and psychological distress, the present study offers important insights extending SPD theory. First, findings suggest that there may be risks to psychological well-being associated with the development of critical consciousness. Specifically, as adolescents awaken from a stage of critical complacency to a greater awareness of discrimination, social injustice and inequality, they may experience a sense of rejection and associated psychological distress. This experience may be especially harmful if youth cannot access or envision a social support network that provides emotional, material, and instrumental support. In fact, the presence of available social support, and especially in the form of family and teacher support, may play a critical role in whether adolescents progress to a liberation stage of critical consciousness and engage in critical action. Intergenerational conflict at home may be a barrier to exploring and achieving a fully developed critical consciousness away from school for some youth. For some adolescents, a critical bridge from awareness to action may be facilitated in the school context when family support is unavailable. Further, critical consciousness and ethnic identity are closely related constructs that may play particular roles in adolescent development. Evidence in the current study suggests that higher perceived discrimination predicts both critical consciousness and ethnic identity, however, it is possible that ethnic identity may emerge earlier in adolescence and in turn, trigger critical awareness, critical agency, and critical action. It is also possible that students with higher levels of ethnic identity and critical 86 consciousness may, as a function of associated attitudes, perceptions, or behaviors, experience more discrimination. Schools may be an important age-based context where youth are likely to experience ethnic discrimination and subsequent ethnic identity and critical consciousness development. In the present study, critical consciousness was consistently and strongly associated with school engagement. This strength of association was strongest in the Latina/o subsample models, despite having less statistical power. Recent developments in measurement of critical consciousness constructs have allowed researchers to examine which components of critical consciousness (e.g., critical agency and critical behavior) account for the variance in academic and health outcomes (Diemer, Rapa, Park, & Perry, 2017; McWhirter & McWhirter, 2016). Results from the present study suggest that critical agency is an important factor associated with components of school engagement. Implications for Practice Participants in the current study rated ethnic discrimination in the educational context as the most distressing and frequent form of discrimination. This can serve as a wake up call for educators, especially in light of the fact that the region where this study was done is regarded as more ethnically diverse and supportive of multiculturalism than some other locations in the U.S. Findings from the present study suggest that students are aware of social inequities and this awareness is threatening to their psychological well- being. While the development of critical consciousness involves exposure to the knowledge and histories of social injustices and the realization of one’s social location, such an awakening may serve to turn ethnic minority students toward education. This is an opportunity. 87 Research has provided evidence of the harmful effects of segregated and inequitable learning environments for decades (García & Guerra, 2004; McWhirter, Luginbuhl, & Brown, 2013; Valenzuela, 1999). Results from the present study suggest that educators who promote an environment that respects equity, diversity and multiculturalism and is open to students engaging in the power structure may be in an ideal position to foster social support, ethnic identity and critical consciousness development. Some youth may turn toward school in the face of pervasive discrimination as a way to express and enact agency. When supported, school engagement may be strengthened and the detrimental psychological effects of racism may be offset. This is most important for youth that do not have an adequate support system outside of the school context. Teachers and administrators are uniquely situated to foster environments that promote healthy coping responses to racism (Stone & Han, 2005). For teachers, skills to create such environments can be explored and developed in pre-service teacher education programs. An important first step is for educators to engage in critical self-reflection in the service of developing personal and professional critical consciousness (Gay & Kirkland, 2003). Pre-service and advanced teacher training courses should endeavor to develop awareness of issues related to multiculturalism, diversity, and social justice and how avoiding them in the curriculum may be detrimental to student health. Thompson and Cuseo (2012) outline an exemplary four-stage model for transforming traditional curriculum into a curriculum that recognizes, emphasizes, and authentically represents diverse histories of ethnically diverse people while infusing academic success skills and effective learning strategies that are durable and transferable. 88 Teacher education programs can facilitate the learning and practice of modeling critical self-reflection and criticalness, expressing critical agency and behavior in the classroom, and translating critical theory and multicultural concepts to students and their parents (Gay & Kirkland, 2003). Further, teachers that model and practice a democratic ethic in the classroom may be more likely to have students that value a just society and commit to democratic goals (Flanagan, Cumsille, Gill, & Gallay, 2007). Structurally, schools can invite caregivers to learn about critical consciousness and multiculturalism and join with the institutional power structure. Inviting parent participation can help bridge the generational gap between students and parents, build trusting relationships between teachers and parents, and ameliorate acculturative stress (Birman, Weinstein, Chan, & Beehler, 2007; Hill & Torres, 2010). Finally, school psychologists and counselors should consider issues related to social justice, multiculturalism, and critical consciousness development when conceptualizing their students’ distress and considering interventions (Newell, et al., 2010; Speight & Vera, 2009). Limitations and Future Directions In light of this study’s contributions to the literature base, a number of limitations should be considered. First, this study used a non-randomized cross-sectional design, which limits the ability to make inferences about casual ordering. The hypothesized model specified in the present study is based on tested theory; however, it is not possible to infer that the causal ordering accurately reflects the complex interplay of racism- related coping mechanisms. For example, it may be that perceived discrimination triggers psychological distress, which then influences the mobilization of coping strategies. 89 Similarly, it is possible that ethnic identity development precedes and perhaps triggers critical consciousness in response to perceived discrimination. Further, testing indirect effects using a cross-sectional design explains little about the nature or process of the effects beyond their existence. As Preacher (2015) points out, mediation effects unfold and change over time. Future investigations can extend the current study by using longitudinal designs, which may provide evidence of causal ordering between variables as well as the stability of mediation effects over time (Preacher, 2015). Participants in the present study all attended high school on the west coast of the United States and schools were concentrated in a relatively economically advantaged area. Although sociodemographic variables such as gender and age were examined as covariates, information about SES, family conflict, or intergenerational conflict was not collected. Therefore, it is impossible to know the extent to which these variables played a role in students’ levels of psychological distress. Future research can extend results of the current study by assessing various sociodemographic variables as moderators of the relationship between discrimination, coping variables, and outcomes (Clark et al., 1999). Further, classroom climates and neighborhoods in this region of the U.S. may be more diverse and supportive of multiculturalism than in other parts of the country. The results from the present study may not generalize to other Latina/o or ethnic minority adolescent populations. In terms of instrumentation, I attempted to maximize statistical power in order to test the hypothesized model with latent variables. To that end, I chose brief measures over longer, more complex assessments to limit participant dropout and missing data. This was particularly the case with the psychological distress indicators. Further, at the 90 time of the study design, there was only one measure of perceived discrimination available to test associated distress in multiethnic adolescent populations. Subscales of the ADDI demonstrated less than ideal internal reliability. Although the indicators were positively and significantly related to their latent construct and internal reliability consistency of the total measure was good, the construct validity of the subscales may be limited (John & Soto, 2007). Further, the School Engagement Questionnaire and the Measure of Adolescent Critical Consciousness both contain items that tap into student’s sense of agency. It is possible that common method bias may inflate the correlations between school engagement and critical consciousness. The results of the present study provide a number of important avenues for future research. First, the current study did not account for the direct effect that the classroom context had on students’ levels of distress, ethnic identity, perceived social support, and critical consciousness. Future work should attempt to explore the associations between students’ perceptions of the school and classroom context (i.e., open to multiculturalism, diversity, critical consciousness, and social justice) and their coping responses to racism. Second, future studies should attempt to account for the degree to which intergenerational conflict, levels of parental and teacher critical consciousness, and racial and political socialization affects ethnic identity and critical consciousness development and associated distress. Third, studies should explore how sociodemographic variables (i.e., gender, age, generational status, SES) moderate measurement invariance and the relationships between discrimination, critical consciousness, and outcome variables. Finally, results from the current study demonstrate that the processes and mechanisms involved in coping with racism are complex. Future work should attempt to explore these 91 processes over time in order to get a clearer sense of how they unfold and influence each other. Particular attention should be paid to the temporal causal ordering between ethnic identity and critical consciousness development and discrimination. Strengths of the Study There are a number of strengths of this study worth noting. First, I was fortunate to obtain the cooperation of five high schools serving highly diverse student populations. This resulted a large, ethnically diverse, gender- and age-balanced sample. The participants in this study were predominantly students of color from school districts whose populations are nearly 65% low-income ethnic minorities. The use of such a large and diverse sample in addition to multiethnic and ethnically sensitive measures contributes to the generalizability of the results. Additionally, all of the schools invited me to attend classes, meet the students, explain the purpose of the study, and conduct data collection. Undoubtedly, this had a positive influence on the high participation and small amount of missing data. The sample size and small amount of missing data allowed me to conduct statistical analyses best suited for large sample sizes, such as latent variable SEM. Latent variable SEM affords a higher degree of complexity and power while minimizing measurement error. In addition, this is the first study that I know of that tests critical consciousness as racism- related coping strategy within a stress and coping framework. Recent developments in the measurement of critical consciousness allowed me to assess constructs with greater validity and precision than many previous studies. The resultant measurement and structural models are useful in understanding factors that contribute to distress, coping, and school engagement in ethnic minorities who experience discrimination. 92 Conclusion Racism in the form of ethnic discrimination is a toxic psychosocial stressor experienced by adolescents in America. The ways that youth experience and cope with discrimination are varied and not easily mapped. The present study attempts to expand the way we understand racism-related stress and coping by comparing two previously studied coping responses; perceived social support and ethnic identity development, with an emerging construct: critical consciousness. Results demonstrated that in the face of racism-related stress, the interplay between these coping responses is complex. In the present study, ethnic identity and critical consciousness are highly correlated and results suggest some overlap in how they operate as both a risk and protective factor to psychological well-being. Perceived social support may play a pivotal role in the degree to which ethnic identity and critical consciousness function as risk or protective mechanisms. Finally, the school context may provide an ideal environment where the synergy of social support, ethnic identity, and critical consciousness can be most positively promoted. 93 APPENDIX SURVEY MATERIALS Section A: The following questions ask for general information about you. The information you provide is completely anonymous. Please respond to the items below by either indicating your response or selecting the one category that best represents you. You may skip any question(s) that you feel uncomfortable answering. 1. Age: 2. Gender: ☐ Female ☐ Male 3. Which language(s) do you speak? (Please mark ALL that apply) ☐ English ☐ Spanish ☐ Other (Please Specify): ____________________ 4. What grade are you in? ☐ 9th ☐ 10th ☐ 11th ☐ 12th 5. What are your grades in general? ☐ Mostly A’s ☐ Mostly B’s ☐ Mostly C’s ☐ Mostly D’s ☐ Mostly F’s 6. Your generational status? ☐ I am an immigrant. ☐ I was born in the U.S. and have at least one parent who is an immigrant. ☐ My parents and I were born in the U.S. 7. What is your ethnic group? (Please mark ALL that apply): ☐ American Indian / Alaskan Native ☐ Asian or Asian-American ☐ Black / African American ☐ Hispanic / Latina(o) / Chicana(o) ☐ Middle Eastern ☐ Pacific Islander ☐ White / European American ☐ Other – (Please Specify):__________________ 94 8. What are your PLANS immediately after high school? (mark all that apply) ☐ Work full-time ☐ Work part-time ☐ Not planning to work ☐ Enroll in 2-year / community college ☐ Enroll in 4-year / bachelor degree ☐ Enroll in specialized training, college, or apprenticeship program ☐ Enter military ☐ Other – (Please describe):__________________ Section B. Please carefully read the following statements and mark how much you disagree or agree with each statement. St ro ng ly) di sa gr ee Di sa gr ee Sli gh tly )di sa gr ee Ne ith er )di sa gr ee )or )ag re e Sll igh tly )ag re e Ag re e St ro ng ly) ag re e 1. During class, I ask questions to help me learn. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. I enjoy learning new things in class. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. When doing work for class, I try to relate what I’m learning to what I already know. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. I let my teacher know what I need and want. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. I try hard to do well in class. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. When we work on something in class, I feel interested. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. When I study for class, I try to connect what I am learning with my own experiences. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. I let my teacher know what I’m interested in. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 9. When I’m in class, I listen very carefully. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 10. When I am in class, I feel good. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 11. I try to make all the different ideas fit together and make sense when I study for class. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 12. When I need something in class, I’ll ask the teacher for it. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 13. I pay attention in class. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 14. Class is fun. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 15. I make up my own examples to help me understand the important concepts I study for class. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 16. In class, I work as hard as I can. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 17. During class, I express my preferences and opinions. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ Section C. Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems? No t$a t$a ll Se ve ra l$d ay s M or e$t ha n$h al f$t he $da ys Ne ar ly $ev er yd ay 1. Little interest or pleasure in doing things. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 95 Section D. Please indicate how much you disagree or agree with each statement. St ro ng ly d isa gr ee Di sa gr ee Ne ith er d isa gr ee or ag re e Ag re e St ro ng ly ag re e 1. I have spent time trying to find out more about my ethnic group, such as its history, traditions, and customs. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. I have a strong sense of belonging to my own ethnic group. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. I understand pretty well what my ethnic group membership means to me. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. I have often done things that will help me understand my ethnic background better. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. I have often talked to other people in order to learn more about my ethnic group. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. I feel a strong attachment towards my own ethnic group. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ Section E. Please indicate how much you disagree or agree with each statement. St ro ng ly d isa gr ee Di sa gr ee Ag re e St ro ng ly ag re e 1. I am involved in activities or groups against racism and discrimination. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. There are ways that I can contribute to my community. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. I am motivated to try and end racism and discrimination. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. It is important to fight against social and economic inequality. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. I can make a difference in my community. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. I am involved in activities or groups that promote equality and justice. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. More effort is needed to end racism and discrimination. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. It is important to me to contribute to my community. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 9. In the future, I will participate in activities or groups that struggle against racism and discrimination. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 10. I have participated in demonstrations or signed petitions about justice issues. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ Section F. Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems? No t$a t$a ll Se ve ra l$d ay s M or e$t ha n$h al f$t he $da ys Ne ar ly $ev er yd ay 1. Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Not being able to stop or control worrying. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 96 Section G. After each statement, tell me if you have experienced each of the following types of discrimination because of your race or ethnicity. Have you experienced this? Mark NO or YES NO YES If#YES,#How#much# did#it#upset#you? No t(a t(a ll Sli gh tly Mo de ra te ly Co ns id er ab ly Ex tre m ely 1. You were discouraged from joining an advanced level class. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. You were wrongly disciplined or given after-school detention. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. You were given a lower grade than you deserved. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. You were discouraged from joining a club. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. Others your age did not include you in their activities. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. People expected more of you than they expected of others your age. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. People expected less of you than they expected of others your age. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. People assumed your English was poor. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 9. You were hassled by police. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 10. You were hassled by a store clerk or store guard. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 11. You were called racially insulting names. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 12. You received poor service at a restaurant or store. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 13. People acted as if they thought you were not smart. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 14. People acted as if they were afraid of you. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 15. You were threatened. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ Section H. During the last 7 days, how often have you been bothered by the following problems? No t a t a ll A lit tle b it So m ew ha t Qu ite a bi t Ve ry m uc h 1. Stomach or bowel problems ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Back pain ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. Pain in your arms, legs, or joints ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. Headaches ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. Chest pain or shortness of breath ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. Dizziness ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. Feeling tired of having low energy ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. Trouble sleeping ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 97 Section I. Carefully read the following statements and mark how much you disagree or agree with each statement. Ve ry %st ro ng ly% di sa gr ee St ro ng ly% di sa gr ee Mi ld ly% di sa gr ee Ne ith er %di sa gr ee %or %ag re e Mi ld ly% %ag re e St ro ng ly% ag re e Ve ry %st ro ng ly% ag re e 1. There is a special person who is around when I am in need. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. There is a special person with whom I can share my joys and sorrows. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. My family really tries to help me. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. I get the emotional help and support I need from my family. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. I have a special person who is a real source of comfort to me. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. My friends really try to help me. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. I can count on my friends when things go wrong. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. I can talk about my problems with my family. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 9. I have friends with whom I can share my joys and sorrows. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 10. There is a special person in my life who cares about my feelings. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 11. My family is willing to help me make decisions. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 12. I can talk about my problems with my friends. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ Section J. Carefully read the following statements and mark how much you disagree or agree with each statement. St ro ng ly d isa gr ee Di sa gr ee Sl ig ht ly d isa gr ee Ne ith er d isa gr ee or ag re e Sl lig ht ly ag re e Ag re e St ro ng ly ag re e 1. Certain racial or ethnic groups have fewer chances to get a good high school education. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Poor children have fewer chances to get a good high school education. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. Certain racial or ethnic groups have fewer chances to get good jobs. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. Women have fewer chances to get good jobs.. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. Poor people have fewer chances to get good jobs. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. Certain racial or ethnic groups have fewer chances to get ahead. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. Women have fewer chances to get ahead. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. Poor people have fewer chances to get ahead. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ Section K. Please respond to the following statements by marking how often you were involved in each activity in the last year. Ne ve r%d id %th is On ce %or %tw ice %la st% ye ar On ce %ev er y%f ew %m on th s At %le as t%o nc e%a %m on th At %le as t%o nc e%a %w ee k 1. Participated in a civil rights group or organization. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Participated in a political party, club or organization. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. Wrote a letter to a school, community newspaper, or publication about a social or political issue. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. Contacted a public official by phone, mail, or email to tell him or her how you felt about a social or political issue. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5 Joined in a protest march, political demonstration, or political meeting. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. Worked on a political campaign. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. Participated in a discussion about a social or political issue. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. Signed an email or written petition about a social or political issue. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 9. Participated in a human rights, gay rights, or women’s rights organization or group. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 98 Section L. Following are some ways of coping with difficult situations. Think of a difficult situation you had to face during the past year. I want to know how you coped with that difficult situation. To cope with stress…. I"d id n' t"d o"t hi s"a t"a ll I"d id "th is" a"l itt le" bi t I"d id "th is" a"m ed iu m "am ou nt I"d id "th is" a"l ot 1. I turned to work or other activities to take my mind off things. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. I concentrated my efforts on doing something about the situation I’m in. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. I said to myself "this isn’t real." ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. I used alcohol or other drugs to make myself feel better. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. I got emotional support from others. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. I gave up trying to deal with it. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. I took action to try to make the situation better. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. I've been refusing to believe that it has happened. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 9. I said things to let my unpleasant feelings escape. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 10. I got help and advice from other people. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 11. I used alcohol or other drugs to help me get through it. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 12. I tried to see it in a different light, to make it seem more positive. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 13. I criticized myself. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 14. I tried to come up with a strategy about what to do. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 99 Following are some ways of coping with difficult situations. Think of a difficult situation you had to face during the past year. I want to know how you coped with that difficult situation. To cope with stress… I"d id n’t "do "th is" at "al l I"d id "th is" a"l itt le" bi t I"d id "th is" a"m ed iu m "am ou nt I"d id "th is" a"l ot 15. I got comfort and understanding from someone. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 16. I gave up the attempt to cope. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 17. I looked for something good in what is happening. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 18. I made jokes about it. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 19. I did something to think about it less, such as going to movies, watching TV, reading, daydreaming, sleeping, or shopping. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 20. I accepted the reality of the fact that it has happened. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 21. I expressed my negative feelings. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 22. I tried to find comfort in my religion or spiritual beliefs. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 23. I tried to get advice or help from other people about what to do. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 24. I learned to live with it. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 25. I thought hard about what steps to take. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 26. I blamed myself for things that happened. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 27. I prayed or meditated. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 28. I made fun of the situation. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 93 Sección A: Las siguientes preguntas piden información general acerca de ti. La información que ofreces es completamente anónima. Por favor conteste a los artículos abajo e indique su respuesta o seleccione una categoría que mejor te representa. Puede saltar cualquiera pregunta (s) que se siente incómodo contestar. 2. Edad: 2. Sexo: ☐ Mujer ☐ Hombre 3. ¿Que idioma(s) hablas?( Por favor marque TODOS los que apliquen.) ☐ Inglés ☐ Español ☐ Otro (Por favor especifice): ____________________ 4. ¿En que grado estás? ☐ 9th ☐ 10th ☐ 11th ☐ 12th 5. ¿Cuales son tus marcas/notas, en general? ☐ Mayormente A’s ☐ Mayormente B’s ☐ Mayormente C’s ☐ Mayormente D’s ☐ Mayormente F’s 6. ¿Tu estatus generacional? ☐ Eres un inmigrante a los EE.UU. ☐ Tu naciste en los EE.UU. y tienes al menos un padre que es un inmigrante. ☐ Tu y tus padres nacieron en los EE.UU. 7. Cuál es tu grupo étnico? (Por Favor marque todos los que correspondan): ☐ Indio Americano / Nativo de Alaska ☐ Asiático o Asiático Americano ☐ Negro / Afroamericano ☐ Hispánico / Latina(o) / Chicana(o) ☐ Medio Oriente ☐ Isleño del Pacífico ☐ Blanco / Americano Europeo ☐ Otra – (describe por favor):__________________ 8. ¿Cuales son tus planes inmediatamente después de cumplir la secundaria? (Marque todos que apliquen) ☐ Trabajar tiempo completo ☐ Trabajar tiempo parcial 94 8. ¿Cuales son tus planes inmediatamente después de cumplir la secundaria? (Marque todos que apliquen) ☐ No planeo trabajar ☐ Matricularse en una universidad de 2 años / universidad popular (”community college”) ☐ Matricular en una universidad de cuatro años ☐ Matricular en un programa de aprendizaje o vocacionales técnicas ☐ Servicio militar ☐ Otra (describe por favor):__________________ Sección B. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Por favor lea detenidamente las siguientes afirmaciónes y marca cuánto estás desacuerdo o de acuerdo con cada afirmación. M uy )en )de sa cu er do En )de sa cu er do Un )po co )en )de sa cu er do e Ni )en )de sa cu er do )ni )de )ac ue rd o Un )po co )de )ac ue rd o De )ac ue rd o M uy )de )ac ue rd o 1. Durante la clase, hago preguntas para ayudarme a aprender. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Me gusta aprender cosas nuevas en la clase. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. Cuando hago tarea para la clase, trato de relacionar lo que aprendo con lo que ya sé. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. Le digo a mi maestra/o lo que necesito y quiero. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. Me esfuerzo mucho para hacer bien en clase. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. Cuando trabajamos en algo en clase, me siento interesado. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. Cuando estudio para la clase, trato de conectar lo que estoy aprendiendo con mis propias experiencias. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. Le digo a mi maestra/o lo que me interesa. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 9. Cuando estoy en la clase, escucho con mucho cuidado. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 10. Cuando estoy en la clase, me siento bien. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 11. Intento conectar las ideas diferentes para darles sentido cuando estudio para la clase. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 12. Cuando necesito algo en la clase, se lo pediré a la maestra/o para él. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 13. Presto atención en la clase. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 14. La clase está divertida ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 15. Hago mis propios ejemplos para ayudarme a entender los conceptos importantes que estudio para la clase. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 16. En la clase, yo trabajo tan duro que puedo. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 17. Durante la clase, expreso mis preferencias y opiniones. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ Sección C. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Durante las últimas 2 semanas, ¿qué tan seguido ha tenido molestias debido a los siguientes problemas? Ni ng ún $di a Va rio s$d ias Má s$d e$l a$m ita d$d e$l os $di as Ca si$ to do s$l os $di as 1. Poco interés o placer en hacer cosas ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Se ha sentido decaído(a), deprimido(a) o sin esperanzas ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 95 Sección D. Por favor lea detenidamente las siguientes afirmaciónes y marca cuánto estás desacuerdo o de acuerdo con cada afirmación. M uy en d es ac ue rd o En d es ac ue rd o Ni en d es ac ue rd o n i d e a cu er do De ac ue rd o M uy d e a cu er do 1. He pasado tiempo tratando de aprender más sobre mi grupo étnico, como la historia, las tradiciones y los costumbres. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Tengo un fuerte sentido de pertenencia a mi grupo étnico. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. Entiendo muy bien mi pertenencia a mi grupo étnico. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. Muchas veces he hecho cosas que me ayudarán entender mejor mi origen étnico. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. Muchas veces he hablado con otras personas con el fin de aprender más acerca de mi grupo étnico. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. Siento un fuerte apego a mi propio grupo étnico. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ Sección E. Por favor lea detenidamente las siguientes afirmaciónes y marca cuánto estás desacuerdo o de acuerdo con cada afirmación. De sa cu er do to ta l No d e a cu er do de ac ue rd o Ac ue rd o t ot al 1. Estoy involucrado en actividades o grupos que trabajen contra el racismo y la discriminación. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Hay maneras en que yo puedo contribuir a mi comunidad. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. Estoy motivado intentar de eliminar el racismo y la discriminación. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. Es importante luchar para eliminar la desigualdad social y económica. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. Yo puedo hacer la diferencia en mi comunidad. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. Estoy involucrado en actividades o grupos que promueven la igualdad y la justicia. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. Hay que hacer más esfuerzos para eliminar el racismo y la discriminación. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. Es importante a mí contribuir a mi comunidad. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 9. En el futuro, yo participaré en actividades o grupos que luchan contra el racismo y la discriminación. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 10. He participado en demonstraciones o firmado peticiones que se tratan de la justicia. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ Sección F. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Durante las últimas 2 semanas, ¿qué tan seguido ha tenido molestias debido a los siguientes problemas? Ni ng ún $di a Va rio s$d ias Má s$d e$l a$m ita d$d e$l os $di as Ca si$ to do s$l os $di as $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 1. Se ha sentido nervioso(a), ansioso(a) o con los nervios de punta ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. No ha sido capaz de parar o controlar su preocupación ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 96 Sección G. Después de cada afirmación, dime si ha experimentado alguno de los siguientes tipos de discriminación por su raza o etnicidad. $ $ ¿Ha experimentado esto? Indicar No o Sí No Sí$ En#caso# afirmativo ,# ¿cuánto#le# molestan? Pa ra $na da Al go Mo de ra da m en te Co ns id er ab lem en te Ex tre m ad am en te 1. Estuviste desanimado de unirse a una clase de nivel avanzado. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Estuviste disciplinado erróneamente o dado detención después de la escuela. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. Te dieron una calificación más baja de que te merecías. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. Estuviste desanimado de unirse a un club. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. Otros de tu edad no te incluyeron en sus actividades. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. La gente esperaba más de ti que esperaban de otros de tu edad. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. La gente esperaba menos de ti que esperaban de otros de tu edad. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. La gente supuso que tu inglés era malo. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 9. Estuviste molestado por la policía. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 10. Estuviste molestado por un empleado de la tienda o un guardia de tienda. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 11. Te llamaron nombres raciales insultantes. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 12. Recibiste servicio malo en un restaurante o en una tienda. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 13. La gente te trataron como que pensaron que no eras inteligente. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 14. La gente te trataron como que tuvieron miedo de ti. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 15. Te amenazaron. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ Sección H. Durante las últimas 7 dias, ¿cuánta molestia ha tenido por cualquiera de los siguientes problemas? Pa ra n ad a Un p oc o Al go Ba sta nt e M uc ho 1. Problemas del estómago o intestinales ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Dolor de espalda ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. Dolor en sus brazos, piernas o coyunturas ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. Dolores de cabeza ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. Dolores en el pecho o corto(a) de respiración ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. Mareos ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. Se ha sentido cansado(a) o conpoca energía ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. Ha tenido dificultad para dormir ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 97 Sección I. % % % % % % % %% % % % Por favor lea detenidamente las siguientes afirmaciónes y marca cuánto estás desacuerdo o de acuerdo con cada afirmación. En #To ta l#D es ac ue rd o No #es tá s#d e## Ac ue rd o## #### #### ## Li ge ra m en te #en #D es ac ue rd o Ni #en #de sa cu er do #ni #de #ac ue rd o# Li ge ra m en te #en #A cu er do De #A cu er do Co m pl et am en te #de #A cu er do 1. Hay una persona especial que está cerca cuando la/lo necesito. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Hay alguien especial con quién puedo compartir penas y alegrías. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. Mi familia realmente trata de ayudarme. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. Recibo el apoyo emocional y la ayuda que necesito de mi familia.. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. Cuento con alguien especial que es una fuente de apoyo y conforte. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. Mis amigas/amigos realmente tratan de apoyarme. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. Puedo contar con mis amistades cuando las cosas salen mal. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. Puedo hablar de mis problemas con mi familia. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 9. Tengo amistades con quienes puedo compartir mis penas y alegrías. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 10. Hay alguien especial en mi vida a quien le importan mis sentimientos. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 11. Mi familia está dispuesta a ayudarme a tomar decisiones. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 12. Puedo hablar de mis problemas con mis amigos/as. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ Sección J. Por favor lea detenidamente las siguientes afirmaciónes y marca cuánto estás desacuerdo o de acuerdo con cada afirmación. M uy en d es ac ue rd o En d es ac ue rd o Un p oc o e n de sa cu er do Ni en d es ac ue rd o n i d e a cu er do Un p oc o d e a cu er do De ac ue rd o M uy d e a cu er do 1. Ciertos grupos raciales o étnicos tienan menos posibilidades de recibir una educación secundaria buena. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Niños/as pobres tienan menos posibilidades de recibir una educación secundaria buena. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. Ciertos grupos raciales o étnicos tengan menos posibilidades de obtener trabajos buenos. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. Las mujeres tienan menos posibilidades de obtener trabajos buenos. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. La gente pobre tienan menos posibilidades de obtener trabajos buenos. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. Ciertos grupos raciales o étnicos tienan menos posibilidades de salir adelante. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. Las mujeres tienan menos posibilidades de salir adelante. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. La gente pobre tengan menos posibilidades de salir adelante. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ Sección K. % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Por favor responde a las siguientes afirmaciones marcando con un círculo con qué frecuencia usted estuvo involucrado en cada actividad en el año pasado. Nu nc a%l o%h ice Un a%o %do s%v ec es %en %el %añ o%p as ad o Un a%v ez %ca da %po co s%m es es Po r%l o%m en os %un a%v ez %po r%m es Po r%l o%m en os %un a%v ez %po r%s em an a 1. Participaste en un grupo u organización de derechos civiles. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Participaste en un partido político, club, u organización. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. Escribiste una carta a una escuela, periódico comunitario, o publicación acerca una asunto social o político. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. Contactaste a un funcionario público por teléfono, correo, o correo electrónico para contarle cómo sentiste acerca de un asunto social o polítical. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. Juntaste a una marcha de protesta, demostración política o una reunión politica. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. Trabajaste en una campaña política. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. Participaste en una discusíon acerca de un asunto social o political. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. Firmó un correo electrónico o una petición escrito acerca de un asunto social o political. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 9. Participaste en un organización o grupo de derechos humanos, derechos homosexuales, o derechos de mujeres. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 98 Sección L. Las siguientes son algunas maneras of enfrentarse y adaptarse a situaciones dificiles. Piense en una sitación dificil que Usted tuvo que enfrentar en el año pasado. Estamos interesados en saber como Usted se enfrentó y adaptó a esa situación dificil. " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " Para afrontar el estrés…. No "h ice "es to "en "lo "ab so lu to Hi ce "es to "u n" po co Hi ce "es to "co n" cie rt a"f re cu en cia Hi ce "es to "co n" m uc ha "fr ec ue nc ia 1. Yo me enfoqué en el trabajo u otras actividades para distraer mi mente. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 2. Yo concentré mis esfuerzos para hacer algo acerca de la situación en la que estaba. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 3. Yo me dije a mi mismo(a), esto no es real. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 4. Yo usé alcohol u otras drogas para sentirme mejor. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 5. Yo recibí apoyo emocional de otras personas. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 6. Yo me di por vencido(a) de tratar de lidiar con esto. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 7. Yo tomé acción para poder mejorar la situación. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 8. Yo rehusé creer que esto hubiera pasado. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 9. Yo dije cosas para dejar escapar mis sentimientos desagradables. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 10. Me dieron ayuda y asesoramiento de otras personas. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 11. Yo usé alcohol u otras drogas para que me ayudaran a pasar por esto. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 12. Yo traté de verlo con un enfoque distinto para que pareciera mas positivo. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 13. Yo critiqué. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 14. Yo traté de crear una estrategia para saber que hacer. ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ 99 REFERENCES CITED Alfaro, E. C., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Bámaca, M. Y. (2006). The influence of academic support on Latino adolescents' academic motivation. Family Relations, 55, 279- 291. Alfaro, E. C., Umaña -Taylor, A. J., Gonzales-Backen, M. A., Bámaca, M. Y., & Zeiders, K. H. (2009). Latino adolescents' academic success: The role of discrimination, academic motivation, and gender. Journal of Adolescence, 32(4), 941-962. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.08.007 Almeida, J., Molnar, B. E., Kawachi, I., & Subramanian, S. V. (2009). Ethnicity and nativity status as determinants of perceived social support: testing the concept of familism. 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