Event Title
Racial Discrimination and Mental Health: Examining the mediating effects of positive school climate among adolescents
Faculty Mentor
Ashley Taylor
Keywords
Ashley Taylor
Abstract
Empirical studies consistently provide support for a positive correlation between racial discrimination in school settings and poor mental health outcomes for adolescents (Chang, Han, Onaga, & Donnellan, 2013), but lack information regarding the specific influence of contextual factors like perceptions of school and community environments. The present study examines adolescents’ perceptions of school environment as a potential mediator of the relationship between community-based racial discrimination and adolescents’ mental health. Three hundred fifty Black and Latino high school students were surveyed on measures of community-based racial discrimination, school climate, and mental health. A series of multiple regression analyses are planned to test our hypotheses that 1) community-based racial discrimination will be associated with poor mental health, and 2) that positive school environment will act as a safeguard for adolescents experiencing community-based racial discrimination so that their mental health will not be negatively affected. These findings will expand literature regarding adolescent mental health and school climate, potentially suggesting the importance of providing a supportive network for students to improve teacher and student academic success.
Session Name:
Poster Presentation Session #1 - Poster #21
Start Date
4-4-2014 11:30 AM
End Date
4-4-2014 12:15 PM
Location
HSB 3rd Floor Student Commons
Racial Discrimination and Mental Health: Examining the mediating effects of positive school climate among adolescents
HSB 3rd Floor Student Commons
Empirical studies consistently provide support for a positive correlation between racial discrimination in school settings and poor mental health outcomes for adolescents (Chang, Han, Onaga, & Donnellan, 2013), but lack information regarding the specific influence of contextual factors like perceptions of school and community environments. The present study examines adolescents’ perceptions of school environment as a potential mediator of the relationship between community-based racial discrimination and adolescents’ mental health. Three hundred fifty Black and Latino high school students were surveyed on measures of community-based racial discrimination, school climate, and mental health. A series of multiple regression analyses are planned to test our hypotheses that 1) community-based racial discrimination will be associated with poor mental health, and 2) that positive school environment will act as a safeguard for adolescents experiencing community-based racial discrimination so that their mental health will not be negatively affected. These findings will expand literature regarding adolescent mental health and school climate, potentially suggesting the importance of providing a supportive network for students to improve teacher and student academic success.