System-justifying beliefs and trajectories of global self-worth among Black and Latinx college students.

Abstract

The present study investigated the relationship between system-justifying beliefs (i.e., believing the United States to be fair and just for all racial and ethnic groups) during the 1st semester of college and trajectories of self-worth across 4 years of college among Black and Latinx college students attending an elite predominantly White institution. Participants in this 5-wave longitudinal study included 186 Black and Latinx college students (30% male; 26% 1st-generation college students; Mage = 18 years, SD = 0.36). The results of latent growth curve modeling analyses indicated that system-justifying beliefs were positively related to initial levels of self-worth and negatively related to trajectories of self-worth over time. Findings from the present study suggest that although initially beneficial, system-justifying beliefs may undermine self-evaluations among Black and Latinx college students over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).