How Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Urban Schools Shapes Intergroup Relations and Well-Being: Unpacking Intersectionality and Multiple Identities Perspectives.

Negin Ghavami,Kara Kogachi,Sandra Graham

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.503846

Abstract

Today’s urban schools provide a unique intergroup context in which the students vary not only by race/ethnicity but also by the relative representation of their racial/ethnic groups. In two studies, we examined how this diversity aligns with intersectionality and multiple identities perspectives to affect the power and status associated with each group to shape intergroup dynamics. Study 1 focused on the perception of intergroup bias to investigate how perceived presence of same-race/ethnicity peers affects middle school students’ intersectional intergroup attitudes based on race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. Middle school students (N = 1,107; Mage = 12.10; SD = 0.99) were randomly assigned to view Facebook-like profiles of peers that varied by gender (boy, girl), race/ethnicity (African American, Latinx), and sexual orientation (straight, lesbian, gay) and offered their first impressions as a way to assess various domains of intergroup attitudes. The perceived presence of same-race/ethnicity peers influenced intersectional intergroup attitudes, however, differentially so depending on stereotypes, prejudice, and behavioral tendencies. Study 2 focused on the experience of intergroup bias and simultaneously examined race, gender, and weight discrimination and its consequences among middle school students (N = 4,172; Mage = 13.5; SD = 0.87). Using latent profile analysis, five profiles of youth based on the pattern of perceived discrimination due to gender, race/ethnicity, and weight were identified. Being African American, Latinx, and male with a high body mass index (BMI) and few same-race/ethnicity peers at school predicted membership in a race profile, whereas being White or Asian with high BMI and more same-race/ethnicity peers predicted membership in a weight profile. Perceiving oneself as gender atypical was associated with all discrimination profiles.

Highlights

By 2045, the United States is projected to become a majority-minority nation (U.S Census Bureau, 2018)
In Study 1, we focus on perception and examine how perceived presence of same-race/ethnicity peers affects early adolescents’ intersectional stereotypes, intergroup emotions, and behavioral tendencies based on race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation of the peers
Linear Mixed Models (LMM) accounts for nonindependence among repeated observations that are measured on a continuous scale

Summary

Introduction

By 2045, the United States is projected to become a majority-minority nation (U.S Census Bureau, 2018) This demographic change, has already occurred in United States public schools. Whereas the New York City public school district is comprised of 41% Latinx, 26% African American, and 16% Asian students, the Los Angeles Unified School District is 73% Latinx, 8% African American, and 6% Asian students (National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2019). This unique intergroup context raises critical questions about the meaning of social identities and how historical majority/minority status intersects with numerical size (status) of those groups to shape students’ experiences. Students do not solely belong to one social group –other meaningful social identities such as gender and sexual orientation are likely to work with race/ethnicity to influence how students are perceived and responded to, which can carry implications for health, well-being, and academic achievement

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion