Carlos E. Santos

Effects of SB 1070 on Children

This chapter examines how Arizonas SB 1070 may influence one slice of social life: psychological effects on children who might be directly or indirectly affected by this legislation. Our findings indicate that awareness of SB 1070 had a small but significant negative association with youths sense of being American, and this weakened sense of American identity results in a small but meaningful reduction in psychological well-being (i.e., lower self-esteem). Our results suggest that this negative relationship is stronger for first- or second-generation adolescents of all racial and ethnic groups.

For Better or Worse? System‐Justifying Beliefs in Sixth‐Grade Predict Trajectories of Self‐Esteem and Behavior Across Early Adolescence

Scholars call for more attention to how marginalization influences the development of low-income and racial/ethnic minority youth and emphasize the importance of youths subjective perceptions of contexts. This study examines how beliefs about the fairness of the American system (system justification) in sixth grade influence trajectories of self-esteem and behavior among 257 early adolescents (average age 11.4) from a diverse, low-income, middle school in an urban southwestern city. System justification was associated with higher self-esteem, less delinquent behavior, and better classroom behavior in sixth grade but worse trajectories of these outcomes from sixth to eighth grade. These findings provide novel evidence that system-justifying beliefs undermine the well-being of marginalized youth and that early adolescence is a critical developmental period for this process.

Masculinity and School Adjustment in Middle School

This study was guided by 2 major goals: to provide a basic description of masculinity during early adolescence and examine associations between masculinity and early adolescents’ school adjustment. Using a sample of 338 middle school students (Mage = 12.49, SDage = 0.43, 54% boys, 42% Latina/o) assessed at 2 time points 1 year apart, we examined whether students’ endorsement and/or adherence to traditional masculinity norms of emotional stoicism and physical toughness varied by sex and ethnicity, and whether these norms changed from the 7th to 8th grades. We then used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine whether students’ endorsement and adherence to these same norms longitudinally predicted their attitudes toward school and their school engagement. Results showed that boys reported higher levels of masculinity than girls, but there were few differences between Latina/o and White students. Results also showed differing patterns of change in masculinity for boys and girls between the 7th and 8th grades. Finally, for boys and girls alike, masculinity norms (emotional stoicism in particular) were associated with increased school avoidance, decreased school liking, and decreased school engagement 1 year later. Contributions of these findings to the current literature are discussed and future directions of research are offered.

Racism and Sociopolitical Engagement among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Racial/Ethnic Minority Adults

Experiences of discrimination due to one’s racial; ethnic; or lesbian gay, or bisexual (LGB) status have been associated with higher levels of sociopolitical involvement in racial, ethnic, and sexual minority communities. In this study, we examined (a) the associations between perceived racism in the LGB community, sociopolitical involvement in LGB racial or ethnic minority communities, and outness; and (b) whether the association between perceived racism and sociopolitical involvement in the LGB community is moderated by outness among LGB racial or ethnic minority adults. The study draws on a sample that is diverse with respect to age, gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity. Results revealed that Asian American participants perceived higher levels of racism in the LGB community than Latina/o participants. Perceptions of racism in the LGB community predicted sociopolitical involvement in LGB communities. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Associations Among Psychological Distress, High-Risk Activism, and Conflict Between Ethnic-Racial and Sexual Minority Identities in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Racial/Ethnic Minority Adults

In this brief report, we present results from a study exploring the associations of high-risk activism (HRA) orientation in lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) issues; HRA orientation in racial/ethnic issues; conflicts in allegiances (CIA) between one’s ethnic-racial and sexual minority identities; and anxiety among LGB racial/ethnic minority adults. A racially and ethnically diverse sample of 208 LGB racial/ethnic minority adults (age: M = 27.52, SD = 8.76) completed an online survey. Bivariate correlations showed that HRA orientation in LGB and in racial/ethnic issues, as well as CIA, were each positively associated with anxiety. However, regression analyses indicated that CIA moderated the association between anxiety and HRA orientation in LGB issues (but not racial/ethnic minority issues) such that this association was significant and positive at low levels of CIA and nonsignificant at high levels of CIA. These findings can be used to not only inform psychological practice with this population (e.g., by encouraging practitioners to be more attentive to these issues as potential sources of stress), but also more broadly, as knowledge that can inform the burgeoning psychological literature on collective action. We highlight, for example, the importance of distinguishing between types of activism (i.e., high- vs. low-risk types) in relation to mental health outcomes.

Ethnic identity, school connectedness, and achievement in standardized tests among Mexican-origin youth.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the association between school connectedness and performance in standardized test scores and whether this association was moderated by ethnic private regard. METHOD The study combines self-report data with school district reported data on standardized test scores in reading and math and free and reduced lunch status. Participants included 436 Mexican-origin youth attending a middle school in a southwestern U.S. state. Participants were on average 12.34 years of age (SD = .95) and 51.8% female and 48.2% male. RESULTS After controlling for age, gender, free and reduced lunch status, and generational status, school connectedness and ethnic private regard were both positive predictors of standardized test scores in reading and math. Results also revealed a significant interaction between school connectedness and ethnic private regard in predicting standardized test scores in reading, such that participants who were low on ethnic private regard and low on school connectedness reported lower levels of achievement compared to participants who were low on ethnic private regard but high on school connectedness. At high levels of ethnic private regard, high or low levels of school connectedness were not associated with higher or lower standardized test scores in reading. CONCLUSION The findings in this study provide support for the protective role that ethnic private regard plays in the educational experiences of Mexican-origin youth and highlights how the local school context may play a role in shaping this finding. (PsycINFO Database Record

Awareness of Arizona's immigration law SB1070 predicts classroom behavioural problems among Latino youths during early adolescence

ABSTRACT Bridging diverse areas of inquiry (i.e. legal studies and developmental psychology), this study explored the longitudinal association between Latina/o youths’ burgeoning legal consciousness, measured as awareness of Senate Bill 1070 (SB1070) in Arizona, and their adjustment in school, measured as classroom regulatory behaviours, and examined whether this association varied across immigrant generational status and gender. Participants were 689 Latina/o middle school students in Arizona (Mage = 12.06 years, SD = .98). Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant interaction between Latina/o youths’ awareness of SB1070 at Time 1 and gender in predicting classroom regulatory behaviours at Time 2 (controlling for levels of it at Time 1). Males who were higher on awareness of SB1070 at Time 1 reported lower levels of classroom regulatory behaviours at Time 2. This study underscores the importance of measuring youths’ awareness of laws and how this awareness may impact their academic adjustment.

Intersectionality research in counseling psychology

This article introduces the special section on intersectionality research in counseling psychology. Across the 4 manuscripts that constitute this special section, a clear theme emerges: a need to return to the roots and politics of intersectionality. Importantly, the 2 empirical articles in this special section (Jerald, Cole, Ward, & Avery, 2017; Lewis, Williams, Peppers, & Gadson, 2017) are studies of Black womens experiences: a return, so to speak, to the subject positions and social locations from which intersectionality emanates. Shin et al. (2017) explore why this focus on Black feminist thought and social justice is so important by highlighting the persistent weaknesses in how much research published in leading counseling psychology journals has tended to use intersectionality as a way to talk about multiple identities, rather than as a framework for critiquing systemic, intersecting forms of oppression and privilege. Shin and colleagues also point to the possibilities intersectionality affords us when scholars realize the transformative potential of this critical framework. Answers to this call for transformative practices are foregrounded in Moradi and Grzankas (2017) contribution, which surveys the interdisciplinary literature on intersectionality and presents a series of guidelines for using intersectionality responsibly. We close with a discussion of issues concerning the applications of intersectionality to counseling psychology research that spans beyond the contributions of each manuscript in this special section. (PsycINFO Database Record

Being in the Know: Early Adolescents' Knowledge of Who Bullies Whom.

We tested the hypothesis that early adolescents’ (N = 951) knowledge of who bullies whom is differentially distributed across peers. Knowledge of bullying was assessed by asking middle school students to nominate grademates who bullied or were bullied using physical or relational means. We hypothesized that peers who were closer to bullies and victims in the grade-level friendship network, such as bullies, victims, their friends, and socially central youth, would be more knowledgeable than would peers who were socially distant. Findings revealed that approximately half of the adolescents were able to identify bullies and victims, and those who were most able to do so were socially closer, particularly victims and their friends. Bullies and their friends were less likely to name peers as bullies or victims.

Studying ethnic identity : methodological and conceptual approaches across disciplines

Humans are a fundamentally social species. As individuals, we contruct our identity through our affiliation, interaction and identification with larger groups. And in diverse and multiethnic societies like ours, ethnic identity takes on an esspecially profound importance. in recent years, social scientists have been increasingly studying the meaning, process, and content of ethnic identity, but these efforts have been piecemeal, and the field as a whole has suffered from a lack of conceptual clarity and methodological rigor. In this book, editors Carlos Santos and Adriana Umai??a-Taylor bring together a diverse group of social and applied scientists from a wide range of fields including educational anthropology, developmental, community and social psychology, and sociology. Together, they investigate the process by which ethnic identity is formed and maintained throughout the lifespan. Authors present qualitative and quantitative approaches to conceptualizing and measuring ethnic identity, including narrative psychology and ethnographic approaches, cognitive schemas and semi-structured interviews, as well as analyses of social networks. Throughout, authors present contextually-rich accounts of ethnic identity that keep the focus where it belongs, on the lived experience of real people.