The mediation process between Latino youths’ family ethnic socialization, ethnic–racial identity, and academic engagement: Moderation by ethnic–racial discrimination?

Objectives: Guided by García Coll and colleagues’ (1996) integrative model for the study of developmental competencies in minority children, the current study examined the role of ethnic–racial identity as a mediator through which family ethnic socialization was associated with academic engagement among Latino youth. Furthermore, based on the high prevalence rates of ethnic–racial discrimination among Latino adolescents, the associations between experiences with peer and adult discrimination and youth’s academic engagement (controlling for family ethnic socialization and ethnic–racial identity) were tested. Finally, we tested whether discrimination from either peers or adults moderated the mediation process between family ethnic socialization, ethnic–racial identity, and academic engagement. Method: Data were collected from a cross-sectional study of adolescents in the Southwestern United States. Participants in the current study consisted of self-identified Latino adolescents (N = 370; M_age = 16.14 years; SD = 1.12; Range = 14–18; 52.8% female; 96.2% U.S.-born) who completed self-administered surveys during school hours. Results: Path analyses indicated that family ethnic socialization was indirectly associated with academic engagement via ethnic–racial identity. Adult discrimination was negatively associated with academic engagement; however, peer discrimination was not associated with academic engagement. Finally, neither source of discrimination emerged as a moderator of the associations of interest. Conclusion: Findings point to Latino youth’s enhanced resilience against discrimination encounters when they have more experiences with family ethnic socialization and have engaged in greater ethnic–racial identity exploration and resolution. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) Public Significance Statement: It has been suggested that having a strong ethnic–racial identity is beneficial for greater academic engagement, and the current study extends this work to include experiences of family ethnic socialization. Associations with ethnic–racial discrimination were also examined, and results suggest that discrimination from adults in school is a significant risk factor for Latino youth’s academic engagement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)