About this poster

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Panel information
Panel 3. Schooling and Education

Abstract

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In the U.S., Latina/o/x people have had the biggest increase in college enrollment, yet the lowest percentage of attaining bachelor’s degrees compared to their racial/ethnic counterparts (Flores, Lopez, & Krogstad, 2019; Krogstad, 2016). Researchers have found that campus racial climate can influence Latina/o/x degree completion rates (Gloria et al., 2005; Museus et al., 2008). Additionally, extensive research acknowledges the impact of campus racial climate, such as racial discrimination, on academic outcomes among college students (Chavous et al., 2008). Conversely, cultural assets such as ethnic-racial identity and ethnic-racial socialization are known to reduce or mitigate the adverse effects of negative race-related events (Donovan et al., 2013; Sanchez et al., 2018). However, little attention has been given to exploring the relationship between factors such as racial discrimination, feelings about school, ethnic-racial identity, and ethnic-racial socialization in shaping the educational outcomes, such as GPA, of Latina/o/x college students.

The current study explores how certain elements of campus racial climate (e.g., racial discrimination) are associated with grade point average (GPA). Four questions led the study. First, does racial discrimination predict GPA? Second, do feelings about school mediate the relationship between racial discrimination and GPA? Third, does ethnic-racial socialization mediate the relationship between racial discrimination and GPA? Finally, does Latinx ethnic identity mediate the relationship between racial discrimination and GPA?

Participants included 546 Latinx first-generation college students (Mage =19, SD = 1.34) recruited from a large university in Southern California. Of the sample, 73% self-identified as female. Most of the sample (85%) also identified as first- or second-year undergraduate students. Respondents completed an online survey measuring current racial discrimination (Harrell, 1997), ethnic-racial identity (Sellers et al., 1997), ethnic-racial socialization (Hughes et al., 2009), and academic performance (GPA).

Pearson's correlations revealed significant relationships between ethnic-racial socialization and racial discrimination (r = 0.21, p < 0.01). Additionally, there was a significant correlation between ethnic-racial socialization and Latinx ethnic identity (r = 0.28, p < 0.01). An SEM model was conducted in MPLUS, and the following indices indicate a good model fit, χ2 = 4.09, p = 0.13; CFI = 0.98; TLI = 0.90; RMSEA = 0.04; SRMR = 0.02. These findings suggest that racial socialization and Latina/o/x identity mediate the relationship between discrimination and grades.

Utilizing Hurtado et al.’s (2012) Diverse Learning Environments model for campus racial climate and a QuantCrit approach, our study underscores the importance of campus racial climate on Latinx students’ academic success. It highlights how cultural assets are crucial to their success. These results add to the growing body of campus racial climate literature. Our discussion will center on the potential for policy and intervention in supporting Latinx college students in the face of discrimination.

Author information

Author	Role
Jaqueline Vanessa Dighero, University of California Riverside	Presenting author
LeNisha Williams, University of California Riverside, United States	Non-presenting author
Meeta Banerjee, University of South Carolina, United States	Non-presenting author

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