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. 2009 Nov;45(6):1682-94.
doi: 10.1037/a0016119.

Experiences of discrimination among Chinese American adolescents and the consequences for socioemotional and academic development

Aprile D Benner  1 , Su Yeong Kim
Affiliations

Experiences of discrimination among Chinese American adolescents and the consequences for socioemotional and academic development

Aprile D Benner et al. Dev Psychol. 2009 Nov.

Abstract

This longitudinal study examined the influences of discrimination on socioemotional adjustment and academic performance for a sample of 444 Chinese American adolescents. Using autoregressive and cross-lagged techniques, the authors found that discrimination in early adolescence predicted depressive symptoms, alienation, school engagement, and grades in middle adolescence but that early socioemotional adjustment and academic performance did not predict later experiences of discrimination. Further, their investigation of whether earlier or contemporaneous experiences of discrimination influenced developmental outcomes in middle adolescence indicated differential effects, with contemporaneous experiences of discrimination affecting socioemotional adjustment, whereas earlier discrimination was more influential for academic performance. Finally, they found a persistent negative effect of acculturation on the link between discrimination and adolescents' developmental outcomes, such that those adolescents who were more acculturated (in this case, higher in American orientation) experienced more deleterious effects of discrimination on both socioemotional and academic outcomes.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual model of the relationship between discrimination and outcomes across time. Note: Outcomes are alienation, depression, engagement, and grades. Three sets of analyses were conducted in a stepwise manner, first testing paths a, then adding path b, and finally path c.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 2a. Relationship between w2 discrimination and w2 alienation by US orientation. Figure 2b. Relationship between w2 discrimination and w2 school engagement by US orientation. Figure 2c. Relationship between w2 discrimination and w2 grades by US orientation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 2a. Relationship between w2 discrimination and w2 alienation by US orientation. Figure 2b. Relationship between w2 discrimination and w2 school engagement by US orientation. Figure 2c. Relationship between w2 discrimination and w2 grades by US orientation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 2a. Relationship between w2 discrimination and w2 alienation by US orientation. Figure 2b. Relationship between w2 discrimination and w2 school engagement by US orientation. Figure 2c. Relationship between w2 discrimination and w2 grades by US orientation.
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