Parental racial socialization and school psychological environment as predictors of psychological well -being and academic achievement for adolescent girls of color

Adolescent girls of color may be at risk for multiple psychosocial problems due to dual marginalized roles that they hold in society. The school environment, where adolescents spend most of their day, is a microcosm of society. Biased messages that girls may receive from teachers that underestimate their abilities might affect their academic performance and their emotional functioning. Some researchers have stated that parental racial socialization can act as a buffer against negative racial messages that girls of color receive in the school psychological environment. School psychological environment refers to student perceptions of teacher support for competency, autonomy and the quality of student teacher relationships. Hence, the present study investigated parental racial socialization as a mediator between the school psychological environment and (a) academic achievement and (b) psychological well-being for adolescent girls of color. Psychological well-being is defined as high global self esteem and academic self efficacy.;The sample for this study consisted of 159 adolescent girls of color (Black = 94, Latina = 54, Biracial = 11) from 2 urban high schools in a northeast metropolitan area. The girls ranged in age from 14 to 19. Stevenson's (2002) Teenager Experience of Racial Socialization Scale, Roeser, Eccles and Sameroff's (1998) School Psychological Environment Scale, Rosenberg's (1968) Global Self-Esteem Scale were used to assess the relevant constructs.;Baron and Kenny's (1986) 3-step procedure was used to evaluate the mediating role of parental racial socialization. Results indicated that parental racial socialization was not a mediator (i.e., did not act as a buffer) between school psychological environment and academic achievement or school psychological environment and psychological well-being. At least one of the three domains of the school psychological environment was significantly positively related to academic achievement, psychological well-being, and parental racial socialization. The findings suggest that girls who felt emotional supported and not discriminated against by teachers had higher academic achievement and more positive self-esteem and academic self-efficacy.