IMPACT OF SCHOOL-BASED PERCEIVED RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN MIDDLE SCHOOL ON AFRICAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION AND ACADEMIC ABILITY SELF-CONCEPT

Abstract

This study will examine how school-based perceived racial discrimination in middle school impacts long-term academic outcomes for African American adolescents via the mediator of depression. The present study will test this model using data from a sample of African American students within the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study (MADICS), a public use data set collected from 1991-2000. Three separate waves will be examined (a) 8th grade (N = 533); (b) 11th grade (N = 399); (c) one year after high school (N = 243). Measures in this study are all self-report and include school-based perceived racial discrimination from teachers and peers (8th grade), depressive symptoms (8th and 11th grade), and the academic outcomes of high school graduation and academic ability self-concept (1 yr. after high school) from youth self-reports.