U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Adjustment Among Latino College Students: The Mediating Roles of Ethnic Centrality, Public Regard, and Perceived Barriers to Opportunity

NCJ Number
235327
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 40 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2011 Pages: 606-619
Author(s)
Deborah Rivas-Drake
Date Published
May 2011
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study examined the mechanisms through which ethnic-racial socialization is related to psychological adjustment.
Abstract
Parents' efforts to socialize their children around issues of ethnicity and race have implications for well-being in several life domains, including academic and psychological adjustment. The present study tested a multiple mediator model in which parental ethnic-racial socialization was linked to psychological adjustment through two dimensions of ethnic identity (ethnic centrality and public regard) as well as two types of perceived barriers to opportunity (language and economic). Data were drawn from a sample of Latino students (N = 227; 65 percent women) attending a highly selective university. Results suggest that cultural socialization was related to self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and physical symptoms, and that part of its association with self-esteem was mediated by ethnic centrality beliefs. In contrast, preparation for bias had few direct associations with adjustment in this sample; this type of ethnic-racial socialization primarily functioned through its association with public regard and perceived language barriers to upward mobility. Moreover, in predicting self-esteem, public regard and perceived language barriers exhibited equally important roles as mediators of preparation for bias. These findings extend previous research, and implications for future research on ethnic-racial socialization among Latinos are discussed. (Published Abstract)