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About this paper symposium
| Panel information |
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| Panel 7. Diversity, Equity & Social Justice |
| Paper #1 | |||
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| Youth Resilience and Resistance: Navigating Experiences of Racism and Discrimination Through Critical Consciousness | |||
| Author information | Role | ||
| Dr. Daphne A. Henry, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, United States of America | Presenting author | ||
| Nabila Jamal Orozco, University of Pittsburgh, United States of America | Non-presenting author | ||
| Abstract | |||
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The development of critical action (CA) among Black and Latine youth is intricately tied to their experiences of systemic racism and the sociocultural contexts in which they navigate. This paper provides a conceptual review that investigates the complex relationship between experiences of racism (EoR) and CA, examining how critical consciousness (CC) as a developmental framework empowers youth to challenge systemic inequities. By exploring the role of critical reflection, motivation, and action, the review highlights gaps in the empirical literature, particularly regarding how EoR fosters CA among marginalized youth and how race and ethnicity shape this dynamic. This conceptual review integrates sociocultural and critical theories to elucidate the pathways through which EoR influences youth activism (Freire, 1970; Spencer, 1995; Diemer et al., 2021; Crenshaw, 1991). By applying a sociocultural-developmental lens, we aim to enhance our understanding of how racialized formative experiences shape youth engagement in CA. The literature review was conducted systematically by manually searching scholarly databases for English-language, peer-reviewed articles and book chapters using a defined set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. We used a scholarly database for an initial title and abstract review, excluding studies that did not meet the criteria. Additional articles were identified through citation tracking. To be included, studies had to focus on youth with a mean age of 12 to 18 and involve Black/African American and Latine youth in U.S. community, family, or educational contexts. Our search strategy included combinations of keywords related to adolescents, parents/caregivers, CC, CA, and EoR. Studies were excluded if they involved unrelated populations or lacked relevant constructs and associations. We included both quantitative (e.g., cross-sectional, longitudinal) and qualitative (e.g., youth participatory action research) designs. Data collection methods varied, including observational tasks, questionnaires, and experience sampling (e.g., daily/weekly diaries). This systematic approach aimed to capture key scholarly contributions and identify gaps for future research on CA development among Black and Latine youth. The final review comprised 74 scholarly articles and book chapters. Of these, 17 empirical studies focused on youth EoR and CA, and 12 explored the moderating role of youth race/ethnicity. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the empirical evidence on the role of EoR dimensions in fostering CA. For practice, these insights can guide the development of interventions that support youth of color in navigating experiences of racism while fostering CA. Practitioners, such as educators and community leaders, should consider incorporating discussions around EoR to empower youth to engage in social justice activities. These environments should focus on building youth’s resilience and agency through tailored messages that enhance critical reflection, motivation, and action. For research, the implications point to the need for further studies that explore how different dimensions of EoR—particularly interpersonal discrimination and institutional racism—interact with CA development. Researchers should investigate these relationships across racial/ethnic groups and different developmental stages, through longitudinal studies. Additionally, more precise measures of CA are needed to capture the various forms of youth activism, from high-risk to low-risk behaviors, and how these are shaped by sociocultural contexts. |
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| Paper #2 | |||
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| Staff’s Recognition of Racialized Inequity Promotes Critical Consciousness Among Black and Brown System-impacted Young People | |||
| Author information | Role | ||
| Dr. Erin Brooke Godfrey, Ph.D., New York University, United States of America | Presenting author | ||
| Amira Silverman, New York University, United States of America | Non-presenting author | ||
| Dr. Shabnam Javdani, Ph.D., New York University, United States of America | Non-presenting author | ||
| Abstract | |||
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Youth’s ability to take action against oppressive systems is a critical developmental competency and mechanism of social change. Accordingly, developmental scholarship has shifted from a recognition of how these realities influence youth development (García Coll et al., 1996) to building theory and intervention to support youth in changing them. Critical consciousness (Freire, 1973) is a central framework to understand how youth critically reflect on structural inequity, feel motivated to make change, and engage in action. As scholarship in this area builds, two critical questions have emerged: (1) How can scholarship better represent the intersectional realities of young people who face multiple, overlapping forms of societal oppression? (2) How do key features of young people’s everyday contexts foster or inhibit their critical consciousness development? This paper tackles these questions. We focus on young people facing multiple, extreme forms of contact with oppressive systems -- Black and Brown youth living in juvenile legal and/or child welfare facilities. We examine their critical consciousness development and how features of the key setting in their lives -- the residential facilities in which they are housed -- promote or inhibit their critical consciousness. Marrying learning from prior work demonstrating the importance of racialized experiences (Banales et al., 2021) and classroom climate (Godfrey & Grayman, 2014; Rapa et al., 2022), we explore the role of frontline staff’s recognition and discussion of racial inequities, and how this relates to young people’s reflection, motivation, and action. Data come from a longitudinal study of 212 system-impacted youth living in 35 residential facilities (20 juvenile legal and 15 child welfare) in New York City. Youth were 12 to 22 years old; 65% identified as male, 32% as female, and 3% as another gender. Youth identified as Black/African American (52%), Hispanic/Latine (37%) and Black/Caribbean or African (11%). Youth’s perceptions of the extent to which staff in their facility recognize and discuss racialized inequity were measured using a novel 5-item scale (α=.97, “The staff here talk about the unfairness Black and Brown youth face in the world”). Youth’s critical reflection (α=.95), motivation (α=.95), and action (α=.95) were measured via 6-item scales (Diemer et al., 2017; Torres-Harding et al., 2012). Preliminary baseline results indicated significant variability in staff’s recognition of racial inequity and significant variability in young people’s critical consciousness. Cross-sectional regression analyses further suggested that staff’s recognition of racial inequity was an important contributor to youth’s critical consciousness development. It was significantly positively associated with young people’s critical reflection (b = .17(.09), B = .14, p < .05), motivation (b = .35(.08), B = .30, p < .000), and action (b = .38(.09), B = .28, p < .000). These findings provide novel evidence that environmental contexts around race are key spaces of learning for critical consciousness among our most marginalized youth. They point us to new ways of understanding the contextualized learning of young people and opportunities for intervention. Follow-up analyses will examine associations longitudinally, and explore moderation by other features of these facilities (e.g. juvenile-legal vs. child-welfare run; level of staff burnout). |
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| Paper #3 | |||
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| Law Enforcement Communication and Its Impact on Adolescent Boys of Color’s Meaning Making | |||
| Author information | Role | ||
| Dr. Tasneem M. Mandviwala, Ph.D., The University of Chicago, United States | Presenting author | ||
| Dr. Margaret Beale Spencer, Ph.D., The University of Chicago, The United States of America | Non-presenting author | ||
| Abstract | |||
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Previous research has established that social cognition—and inference making specifically—have salience as a critical aspect of human social and communication skill development across the life course. Research demonstrating its linkages with social and interpersonal skills has proliferated during recent decades. Speaking to life course competencies, this paper describes the need for and proposes a professional communication intervention for law enforcement officers (LEOs) and their interactions with male youth of color with the goal of improving developmental health outcomes for the latter. Our data suggest the style of communication coming from LEOs in any given LEO-youth encounter plays a pivotal role in shaping the youth’s view of the interaction and potential for escalation, either as physical or verbal aggression. Such communications are deeply informed by the sociocultural gender understandings of the youth and officer, who represent vastly different developmental identity stages. The data presented in this study were funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the University of Chicago. Forty-two Zoom interviews with adolescent boys between the ages of 12-18 years old were conducted by the research team between 2022-2023 for youth residing in Chicago, IL, Philadelphia, PA and Houston, TX. A qualitative grounded theory analysis of these interviews was conducted using Spencer’s Phenomenological Variant of the Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) (Spencer 1995, 2006, 2008; Spencer et al 1997) as a guiding framework. A grounded theory approach was used because it was important to center the voices of the youth to direct the analysis rather than using existing discourses on youth-policing relationships/views that could misconstrue how youth respond. We found that if adult LEOs communicate in a developmentally and culturally sensitive manner, male youth of color continue to see police officers first and foremost as adults with age-adjacent authority rather than as masculinity competitors or aggressors attempting to impose harm. Adults are often seen by children as caregivers or guides, not peer gender/masculinity competitors, until racist and sexist norms are learned. If care for the child is communicated through respectful communication (i.e., questions, casual conversation), the child is likely to leave the situation feeling protected and experiencing inferred respect and care. When officers enter situations with youth without communicated care motivation (i.e. demanding hands in the air or ordering physical compliance), stress precipitating dissonance about the relationship may be introduced. Given the socioemotional vulnerability status associated with adolescence, youth infer conclusions that provide meaning to their experience. These conclusions can lead to maladaptive understandings of self within society. A goal of the current research is to provide adolescent development content to LEO professionals that serves as intervention training before interacting with male youth to reduce engaging in hypermasculine behavior themselves and instead communicate with youth in developmentally appropriate ways. Currently, such insights are not included in traditional police academy and workshop-type training accessible to policing professionals. |
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Roots of Resistance: Understanding Youth Critical Consciousness in the Context of Racism and Resilience
Submission Type
Paper Symposium
Description
| Session Title | Roots of Resistance: Understanding Youth Critical Consciousness in the Context of Racism and Resilience |