Multigroup Structural Equation Modeling Research Articles

Unpacking the relationship between adolescents’ perceived school climate and negative emotions: the chain mediating roles of school belonging and social avoidance and distress

ObjectiveGuided by Self-System Processes Theory, Social Support Theory, and Stress and Coping Theory, this study investigates how perceived school climate influences adolescents’ negative emotions through the chain mediation of school belonging and social avoidance and distress. It also examines demographic differences across gender and grade and tests the structural invariance of the proposed model.MethodA cross-sectional survey of 1,507 Chinese adolescents in grades 5–9 was conducted using validated scales. Independent samples t-tests and one-way ANOVA were used to examine gender and grade differences in the key variables. Structural equation modeling (SEM) tested the hypothesized mediation model, while multigroup SEM assessed structural invariance across subgroups.ResultsPerceived school climate reduced negative emotions both directly and indirectly, with school belonging and social avoidance and distress as key mediators. Peer support demonstrated the strongest indirect effect, while teacher support and autonomy opportunities influenced negative emotions through both direct and indirect pathways. A chain mediation pathway was identified, and structural invariance testing confirmed consistent relationships across gender and grade groups.ConclusionThis study reveals a complex chain mediation mechanism and highlights the stability of structural relationships across demographic groups. The findings provide valuable theoretical and practical insights for fostering supportive school environments to promote adolescent emotional well-being.

How academic stress affects academic performance: A chain-mediated model of sex moderation

Academic stress is a common psychological issue among college students, but the mechanism by which it affects academic performance is not well understood. This study extends existing literature by exploring a chain-mediated model composed of academic stress, learning motivation, depression, and academic performance. The study involved 591 students from a university in Hubei Province, China, and employed structural equation modelling to analyse the data. The results showed that academic stress did not have a significant direct effect on academic performance. Instead, depression played a significant mediating role between academic stress and academic performance. Further, learning motivation also acted as a mediator in the cascade between academic stress, depression, and academic performance. Subsequently, multi-group structural equation modelling was applied to analyse the data, revealing similarities and differences in the associations between variables based on sex. The results indicated that sex played a moderating role in the relationships among academic stress, depression, learning motivation, and academic performance. The implications of these findings were discussed.

Psychoneurological Links Contributing to Body Mass Index and Eating Disorder Severity.

Multiple dynamic interacting factors contribute to the presence and progression of eating disorders (ED). Empirical research has provided mixed findings regarding the mechanisms explaining the contribution of body mass index (BMI) to the diverse ED endophenotypes. The present study aims to evaluate the underlying processes (direct and indirect effects) contributing to BMI and ED severity, considering the contribution of multiple neuropsychological constructs. Path analysis, implemented through structural equation models (SEM), was applied to a sample of N = 193 ED patients, men and women, aged 17 to 50 years old, and diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, night eating syndrome, binge eating disorder, and other specified feeding. BMI was directly associated with ED severity level. The ED symptom level was also a mediational link into the relationship between BMI with emotion regulation strategies, decision-making capacity, stress levels, and impulsiveness. Multigroup SEM revealed invariance of the structural coefficients by sex, but differences according to the ED subtype. This study provides new empirical evidence on predictors of ED severity, focusing on the role of impaired decision-making and BMI. Our results could contribute to new intervention plans with techniques specifically aimed at improving emotional regulation capacity, decreasing impulsivity levels, and improving reasoning skills. Nutrition education plans may also play a key role for preventing the onset and progression of ED, helping patients understand how food affects their physical and emotional health and how to manage anxiety and fears related to food.

Sowing seeds of flourishing: the mediating role of trust in the impact of resilience on school principals across career stages

PurposeThis study aims to examine the roles of principal resilience (psychological, social and spiritual) and trust in colleagues in predicting the flourishing of school principals, considering different career stages.Design/methodology/approachUtilising multigroup structural equation modelling and mediation analysis, data were collected from a sample of 1,274 school principals in China. The study investigates the direct impact of resilience on flourishing and the mediating role of trust in colleagues, with a focus on variations across different career stages.FindingsThe findings reveal that all aspects of a principal’s resilience significantly impact their flourishing, with trust serving as a partial mediator. Notably, the influence of spiritual resilience on flourishing is significant only for principals in the later stages of their careers.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the expanding body of literature on educational leadership by highlighting the importance of resilience and trust in fostering principal flourishing. The insights gained offer valuable knowledge for developing support strategies to enhance the flourishing experiences of school principals throughout their careers.

Global Threats to Sustainability: Evolving Perspectives of Latvian Students (2016–2022)

In an increasingly interconnected world facing global challenges such as climate change and social inequality, citizenship education plays a critical role in preparing young people for responsible democratic participation and sustainability. This study aims to develop a model to explain factors influencing Latvian students’ perceptions of global threats, comparing data from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA)’s International Civic and Citizenship Study (ICCS) cycles in 2016 and 2022, to assess how these opinions have evolved and their implications for promoting sustainability through civic education. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to test the latent factor structure modeling the students’ perceptions of environmental and economic threats to the world’s future. A multi-group structural equation model is constructed and used with the corresponding descriptive statistics to analyze various background factor effects on students’ sustainability concerns. The results of the study indicate that citizenship knowledge, as well as various student-level background factors, have an impact on environmental and economic sustainability concerns among 13-year-old students. In some instances, these effects are mediated by students’ civic knowledge level, while in other instances, they are directly attributed to the background factors. The findings show that there may have been some shift in students’ perceptions of sustainability threats, and the role of civic education may have changed in this respect. Furthermore, the varying levels of knowledge across various levels of background factors may suggest that content in lessons must be differentiated according to the needs of groups to support their understanding of the importance of sustainability.

Self-concealment, depressive symptoms, and seeking professional help: Evidence of an invariance model

This study examines the relationship structure between self-concealment, depressive symptoms, and professional help-seeking, and evaluates its invariance by gender in a sample of 500 Chilean university students. Multi-group structural equation models were used to examine invariance and the relationship structure between variables. The hypothesized model showed a good fit to the data, χ2(132)= 189.793, p< .050, CFI= .993, TLI= .991, RMSEA= .030 [.020, .039], SRMR= .052, and achieved strict (residual) invariance. For both groups, self-concealment is directly and significantly related to depressive symptoms. In female there is a significant inverse relationship between self-concealment and professional help-seeking, while in male self-concealment has an indirect relationship with professional help-seeking, mediated by depressive symptoms. These results underscore the hindering role of self-concealment and the importance of considering gender differences in understanding professional help-seeking for mental health.

From restrictions to awareness: Examining the varied relationship between mediation strategies and parental awareness of adolescents online sexual experiences across age groups

This study examines the relationship of parental concerns and attitudes toward restriction strategies with the implementation of parental mediation strategies and parental awareness of their children’s involvement in sexting. The research involved 710 German adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years old, along with one parent from each family (569 mothers and 141 fathers). Data for this research was collected in 2019 as part of the EU Kids Online project. Multigroup structural equation modelling was used to analyse relationships between parental concerns, positive attitudes toward restrictions, mediation strategies and parental awareness across two age groups (12–14 and 15–17 years old). Results indicate that parents have equal concerns for younger and older children, but have more concerns for girls than boys. Regarding younger children, parental concerns are positively related to monitoring strategies while negatively associated with the use of restrictive strategies. Concerns about online activities have been found to predict the use of monitoring and active strategies for older children. Parental positive attitudes towards restrictions are also a predictor of the use of different strategies, with a positive relationship with restrictive, active and monitoring strategies in both age groups. Restrictive mediation is positively correlated with parental awareness about a child’s online sexual experiences in the younger group, while active mediation is positively correlated with parental awareness about a child’s online sexual experiences in the older group. In both age groups, monitoring strategies are negatively correlated with parental awareness about a child’s online sexual experiences. These findings contribute valuable insights into age-appropriate strategies when it comes to addressing sexting experiences.

Victimization experiences, internalizing problems and family bonds among adolescents from the UK: multi-group structural equation modeling using an intersectionality-informed approach

Adolescents from marginalized backgrounds are at increased risk for victimization experiences, which was shown for ethnic minorities and females. However, an intersectional approach has rarely been taken in research. Using the Understanding Society Youth Panel, multigroup structural equation models were conducted to identify cross-group variation among adolescents aged 10–15 years in the relation between victimization experiences (verbal, physical and cyberbullying, discrimination) and internalizing problems (loneliness, emotional problems, life satisfaction), along with a mediating effect of family bonds (family support, parental communication). The groups white male (n = 280), white female (n = 280), Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) male (n = 219) and BAME female (n = 279) were included in the analyses. Across all groups, victimization experiences were negatively associated with family bonds. Only among BAME male adolescents, experiences of victimization were related to more internalizing problems. No mediating effects of family bonds on the relation between victimization and internalizing problems were identified in any group. The results support an intersectionality-informed approach and the necessity of implementing preventative anti-bullying and family strengthening interventions among adolescents.

The Cost of Opportunity: Anti-Black Discrimination in High Resource Settings.

Inequalities exist in children's educational outcomes-including reading proficiency, school discrimination, and school disciplinary actions-across zip codes with different levels of educational childhood opportunity index (COI). This study examines the interaction between race and educational environment on children's educational outcomes. We hypothesize that race, parental education, and their interaction are associated with perceived school discrimination, which in turn reduces their cognitive, academic, and emotional wellbeing. We also hypothesize that Black children with high socioeconomic status (SES) report high perceived school discrimination in high-COI settings. Data were drawn from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which measures a wide range of educational, cognitive, and emotional outcomes. At the same time, the ABCD children are sampled across areas with vast differences in COI rankings, that can be classified into these five categories: very high, high, average, low, and very low educational COIs. Our structural equation models (SEM) tested the additive and interactive effects of race and educational attainment on perceived school discrimination, and the effects of school discrimination on various cognitive abilities (reading proficiency, picture vocabulary, and list sorting working memory), school suspension, as well as depressed mood. Our multi-group SEM assessed how these relationships vary across educational COI levels. Our findings showed that high SES Black children report highest school discrimination in residential areas with highest COIs. This is based on the observation that the interaction between race and parental education on experiences of school discrimination were only significant in areas with highest COI. Across residential areas with different COI levels, students who experienced higher school discrimination had higher suspension, worse depression, and worse cognitive performance. While higher COIs are associated with better academic outcomes, Black-White gaps exist in the role of increased COI through increased racial bias that children perceive. These findings underscore the complexity of educational equity, suggesting that improving COI alone is insufficient for eliminating racial disparities in school experiences. Policies should be in place to reduce school-based discrimination against Black students in high COI settings.

Testing the CONIC model: The interplay of conscientiousness and interest in predicting academic effort

BackgroundThis report comprises two studies that more closely examined the Conscientiousness × Interest Compensation (CONIC) model by Trautwein, Nagengast, Roberts, and Lüdtke (2019) under laboratory conditions. The model specifies individual and compensatory effects of conscientiousness and individual interest on academic effort. AimsThis research piece examines the assumed relationships between the three core variables of the CONIC model. SamplesThe first study was conducted with 152 university students and the second study included 120 university students randomly distributed across two experimental conditions and one control condition. MethodsIn an initial modeling study, we investigated the model assumptions in two different learning contexts and tested them using structural equation modeling (SEM). In a subsequent experimental study, we manipulated the predictor variables of academic effort to either promote conscientious or interest-based learning. The group differences were examined using multigroup SEM. ResultsIn the modeling study, interest was always and conscientiousness at least partially a positive and significant predictor of academic effort. A compensatory effect of interest and conscientiousness could not be found. In the experimental study, promoting conscientious learning resulted in interest showing up as a stronger predictor of academic effort. However, promoting interest-based learning crystallized conscientiousness as the stronger predictor of academic effort. Moreover, the compensatory effect of the two personality traits was significantly stronger in the groups where conscientiousness or interest-based learning was promoted than in the control group. ConclusionsResults provide support for the CONIC model and particularly highlight the compensatory effects of conscientiousness and interest at the model's heart.

The Impact of Non-Normality on Causal Effect Estimates in Structural Equation Models with Ordered Categorical Variables

Multilevel structural equation models (SEM) are widely used for estimating causal effects in social and behavioral sciences. However, the impact of non-normality on these estimates, particularly with ordered categorical variables, remains unclear. This study investigates how non-normality affects causal effect estimation in path and multigroup SEMs with ordered categorical variables. Using the Vine-to-Anything approach, we simulated multivariate distributions by independently varying marginals and copulas. We compared maximum likelihood (ML), robust ML, and diagonally weighted least squares (DWLS) estimators across various non-normal conditions in three simulation studies. Results show that bias in effect estimates critically depends on the combination of copulas and marginal distributions in treatment and control groups. DWLS generally outperformed ML, especially for average treatment effects and interaction effects. However, all methods were sensitive to distributional misspecifications. These findings highlight the importance of considering distributional assumptions when using ordered categorical data in causal inference studies.

Understanding Fatigue, Insomnia, and COVID-19 PTSS Among Mainland Chinese During Initial Post-Zero-COVID Infection Wave: A Multi-Group Analysis.

In early 2023, China experienced its first widespread COVID-19 outbreak after a policy shift. This study examines the relationship between fatigue and COVID-19-related post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in infected and uninfected individuals, exploring the potential mediating role of insomnia symptoms. An online survey of 5953 Chinese participants was conducted from 10 to 16 January 2023. Participants reported their COVID-19 infection status, fatigue, insomnia symptoms, and PTSS. Multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test whether the mediation paths differed between infected and uninfected groups. The prevalence of fatigue, insomnia symptoms, and COVID-19 PTSS were 30.0%, 36.4%, and 5.8%. The SEM based on the bootstrapping showed that after controlling for demographics, chronic fatigue positively associated with COVID-19 PTSS in a significant way, with insomnia symptoms playing a mediating role. The multi-group analyses further revealed a partial mediation effect of insomnia symptoms on the relationship between fatigue and COVID-19 PTSS in the uninfected group (UG). However, for the infected group (IG), insomnia symptoms fully mediated the relationship between fatigue and COVID-19 PTSS. Infected individuals were more subject to the aforementioned mechanism than uninfected individuals. Addressing chronic fatigue, insomnia, and developing targeted interventions are crucial for supporting mental health across different infection statuses.

Why does a self-learning environment matter? Motivational support of teachers and peers, enjoyment and learning strategies

This study examines the influence of instructional environments on students' academic enjoyment, motivational support, and learning strategies within the framework of control-value theory. Addressing a gap in empirical research on rubric-guided self-learning (SL), the study explores how peer and teacher motivation interact with achievement emotions to shape learning outcomes. A sample of 1410 students in grades 7 and 8 participated, with SL environments incorporating competency rubrics compared to traditional teacher-centered settings. Multigroup structural equation modeling was used to test latent interactions of motivational support on students' enjoyment, effort, and control strategies. Results indicate that SL environments foster greater enjoyment than traditional learning, though the impact of peer motivation lessens as enjoyment increases in SL contexts. Notably, peer motivation played a more complex role in traditional classrooms, at times moderating the relationship between enjoyment and effort negatively. These findings suggest that SL environments may better support autonomous motivation by reducing reliance on peer influence, highlighting the benefits of self-regulated learning models that prioritize intrinsic motivation. This study provides practical insights for designing learning environments that enhance student enjoyment and engagement.

Influencing factors of kinesiophobia in knee arthroplasty patients under the social cognitive theory: A structural equation model

ObjectiveTo analyze the path relationships among influencing factors for kinesiophobia in knee arthroplasty patients through a structural equation model. BackgroundThe occurrence of kinesiophobia significantly impacts the rehabilitation process of knee arthroplasty patients. However, there is still a need to determine factors that contribute to reducing kinesiophobia. DesignA cross-sectional study was conducted and reported following the STROBE guideline. MethodsBetween February 2022 to October 2022, 162 total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients and 81 unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) patients completed a survey. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was utilized to analyze the relationships between kinesiophobia and influencing factors (social support, pain resilience, and rehabilitation self-efficacy). Furthermore, multi-group SEM analysis was conducted to examine whether the model equally fitted patients in different types of knee arthroplasty. ResultsThe direct negative effects of rehabilitation self-efficacy (β = −0.535) and pain resilience (β = −0.293) on kinesiophobia were observed. The mediating effect (β = −0.183) of pain resilience and rehabilitation self-efficacy between social support and kinesiophobia was also significant. The SEM model achieved an acceptable model fit (χ2 = 35.656, RMSEA = 0.031, χ2/df = 1.230, GFI = 0.972, NFI = 0.982, IFI = 0.997, CFI = 0.996). In multicohort analysis, no significant differences were observed among knee arthroplasties (TKA, UKA) (Δχ2 = 4.213, p = 0.648). ConclusionsSatisfactory social support enhances pain resilience and rehabilitation self-efficacy, so as to reduce kinesiophobia. Future interventions that directly target the assessment and management of kinesiophobia, available social support may help reduce kinesiophobia, and pain resilience and rehabilitation self-efficacy may be critical factors in managing kinesiophobia. Relevance to Clinical PracticeReducing kinesiophobia in knee arthroplasty patients requires satisfactory social support, pain resilience, and rehabilitation self-efficacy. Therefore, healthcare organizations may implement initiatives to reduce kinesiophobia by taking these factors into account.

Eating Problems Among Adolescent Boys and Girls Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Studies suggest that adolescents reported more eating problems during the pandemic. Using a population-based sample, we compared eating problems-and how they associate with a range of personal characteristics and genetic factors-among adolescents before (June 2017-April 2020) versus during (April 2020-December 2022) the pandemic. Based on a preregistered analysis plan, we used cross-sectional data collected from 22,706 14-16-year-olds over 6 years (55% during the pandemic) in the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort. We used measurement invariance analyses to compare the level of eating restraint and body concern before and during the pandemic, and multi-group structural equation models to estimate pre-pandemic and pandemic patterns of associations. Pandemic responders generally reported more eating problems than pre-pandemic responders, specifically on dieting and body dissatisfaction. However, after adjusting for a general linear increase in eating problems across all 6 years of data collection, the pandemic itself seems to be associated with more eating problems only among girls, reporting more eating restraints (meanΔ = 0.14 [CI: 0.07, 0.20]) and body concern (meanΔ = 0.17 [CI: 0.11, 0.23]). Associations between eating problems and a range of other characteristics did not differ across the pandemic and pre-pandemic groups. There was a general increase in eating problems among 14-16-year-oldsover time. Adjusting for this trend, the pandemic seems to exacerbate problems among girls. Although the mechanisms are unclear, our results point to factors susceptible to change that could have been intensified during the pandemic (e.g., screen time, mental distress). Our results highlight the importance of recognizing sex-specific differences in eating problems.

Mediation of enjoyment and burnout in the link between teacher-student relationships and foreign language achievement and its gender differences

ABSTRACT The significance of teacher-student relationships in foreign language (FL) learning has been well-established. However, the intricacies of how teacher-student relationships indirectly influence FL achievement, particularly through the lens of emotional experience, remain to be fully understood. Grounded in attachment theory and control value theory, this study dissected the mediating roles of enjoyment and burnout in the link between teacher-student relationships and FL achievement, and further explored the gender differences in these mediation effects. The survey encompassed 4,900 English learners from Hainan Province, China. Student-reported scales for enjoyment and burnout in English learning were utilized, complemented by an English achievement test. Structural equation modeling (SEM) elucidated that enjoyment and burnout served as partial mediators in the link between teacher-student relationships and English achievement. Furthermore, multi-group SEM revealed gender-specific variations in these mediation effects, with stronger mediation observed in boys than girls. This study offers theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical insights for FL teaching and learning.

Can you bear with me? A comparison study of multifaceted discrepancy–brand avoidance relationships between China and the USA

PurposeBrand information is ubiquitous online and offline; consumers exhibit brand avoidance tendencies towards brand stimuli when there is a discrepancy between a brand image/personality and one’s self-concept. Given the multifaceted culturally constituted self-domains and self-importance, this research investigates how cultural variation affects reactions to self-brand discrepancy, considering two types of narcissist orientations.Design/methodology/approachUsing national culture as proxy for cultural orientation, sample data were collected through surveys administered to 410 participants (210 in China and 200 in the USA). A multi-group structural equation model was adopted to examine the conceptual model and proposed hypotheses. The follow-up qualitative study was conducted to allow further discussion of the quantitative results.FindingsThe results show that self-brand discrepancy can only be converted into brand avoidance tendency through the activation of cognitive dissonance for both Americans and Chinese. Specifically, for Chinese consumers only (ideal) social identity self-brand discrepancies can activate avoidance behaviour. In addition, grandiose and vulnerable narcissism orientations co-exist for both Chinese and Americans, these negatively moderate the relationship between social self-brand discrepancies and cognitive dissonance. For US consumers, idealised identity discrepancies mitigate dissonance; only those with a vulnerable narcissistic orientation would act on avoidance when experiencing dissonance.Originality/valueBy incorporating cultural variations in the investigations of self-brand discrepancy, this paper advances existing knowledge on dissonance and coping mechanisms. In addition, by bringing narcissistic orientations to the fore, it allows for a deeper understanding of how these cultural variations operate. In addition, our research provides important guidelines for brand practitioners to better leverage their marketing campaigns in offline and online contexts and to reduce brand avoidance tendencies across the international marketplace.

Social participation and depression among resettled Syrian refugees: examining a moderated mediation of social support and bonding or bridging social capital.

Aspects of social capital, including social participation and social support, are among the factors influencing refugee mental health after resettlement. However, the mechanisms by which these aspects interact with one another and affect mental health remain unclear. This study investigates whether social participation influences depressive symptoms via social support and whether this influence is more prominent for Syrian refugees participating primarily in coethnic (bonding) networks compared to cross-ethnic (bridging) networks during the early stages of resettlement. Using data from a cohort of 464 Syrian refugees recently resettled in Sweden, a moderated mediation analysis was conducted with multigroup structural equation modelling to investigate the mediatory role of social support in the association between social participation and depressive symptoms as well as the moderating role of bonding networks (social participation with other Syrians) versus bridging networks (social participation with Swedes) in this relationship. Frequent social participation, compared to rare or no participation, was significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms, regardless of whether participation included a broad or limited range of activities. Social support only mediated this relationship for those with primarily bonding networks, indicating that the mediation itself was moderated by network type. While participating in both bridging and bonding networks was associated with lower depressive symptoms, bonding networks amplified the effect of social participation on depressive symptoms via increased social support, resulting in an overall twofold decrease in depressive symptoms compared to those with bridging networks. These findings indicate that the frequency of social participation may be a more important consideration for fostering mental well-being in recently resettled refugees than the specific types of activities. Furthermore, while both bonding and bridging social networks confer mental health benefits, access to coethnic networks in early resettlement appears to provide a particularly crucial source of social support.

Multiindustry Group SEM Analysis for the Roles of Managerial Accountants in a New and Sustainable Episode

This study aims to investigate the roles and responsibilities of management accountants in Thailand, in a new and sustainable episode that has been disrupted by internal and external factors. Specifically, it also identifies the key factors that drive the changing roles of managerial accountants to be more innovative and business-strategy-oriented. Secondary data were employed in this study via the posted questionnaire to accountants who work in three industry sectors, namely manufacturing, retail and wholesale, and services. Multigroup structural equation modeling (multigroup SEM) was administered from the data. A sample set of 182 was gathered and used in the study’s analysis. 45% of the sample were accountants who worked in manufacturing, 22% in retail and wholesale, and 33% in service companies. The study proposed a structural equation modeling approach to determine key factors-digital technology force, leadership, digital technology readiness, digital technology competency, and attitude-that influence the changing roles of managerial accountants. The study finds that the factors that influenced the changing roles of managerial accountants differ from sector to sector. The digital technology force was found to have a weak influence on the changing roles of accountants, but moderately strong in retail and wholesale services. While the attitude of the accountants themselves was very strong to influence the changing roles, it was moderately strong for retail and wholesale, and rather weak for the services sector. Other factors-leadership, digital technology readiness, and digital technology competency-were found to have a mediating effect. Keywords: changing roles, managerial accountants, digital disruption, attitude, digital technology, sustainable

Black-White Gap Across Levels of Educational Childhood Opportunities: Findings from the ABCD Study.

This study examines racial disparities in educational outcomes-including reading proficiency, grade point average (GPA), school discrimination, and school disciplinary actions-across regions with different levels of educational childhood opportunity index (COI). Our aim is to explore how these racial gaps between Black and White students vary in areas with differing educational opportunities. We hypothesize that higher COI is associated with smaller academic achievement gaps but may also correspond with greater racial bias in unfair school treatment. Data were drawn from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which provides comprehensive measures of educational outcomes, cognitive performance, and COI. National COI rankings were used to classify regions into five categories: very high, high, average, low, and very low educational opportunity. We analyzed racial gaps in reading proficiency, and experiences of discrimination and suspension across these COI categories. Multi-group Structural Equation Models (SEM) were used to assess how the relationship between race and educational outcomes varies across COI levels. Our findings confirmed that Black-White gaps in reading proficiency and cognitive test performance (Flanker task) were less pronounced in regions with higher COI. However, racial disparities in school disciplinary actions and experiences of discrimination were more pronounced in higher-opportunity areas. Specifically, the effect of Black race was stronger in regions with the highest COI, where Black students experienced a disproportionately higher rate of unfair school treatment, including both school discrimination and suspensions, compared to their White peers. This exploratory study supports that while higher educational opportunities are associated with smaller academic achievement gaps between Black and White students, they might be linked to increased racial bias in school disciplinary actions and discriminatory treatment. These findings underscore the complexity of educational equity, suggesting that improving access to quality education alone is insufficient to eliminate racial disparities in school experiences. Addressing school-based bias and discrimination must accompany efforts to enhance educational opportunities.