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Racial disparities in school discipline may have collateral consequences on the larger non‐suspended student population. The present study leveraged two longitudinal datasets with 1201 non‐suspended adolescents (48% Black, 52% White; 55% females, 45% males; Mage: 12–13) enrolled in 84 classrooms in an urban mid‐Atlantic city of the United States during the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 academic years. Classmates' minor infraction suspensions predicted greater next year's defiant infractions among non‐suspended Black adolescents, and this longitudinal relation was worse for Black youth enrolled in predominantly Black classrooms. For White youth, classmates' minor infraction suspensions predicted greater defiant infractions specifically when they were enrolled in predominantly non‐White classrooms. Racial inequities in school discipline may have repercussions that disadvantage all adolescents regardless of race. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has presented threats to adolescents' psychosocial well-being, especially for those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This longitudinal study aimed to identify which social (i.e., family conflict, parental social support, peer social support), emotional (i.e., COVID-19 health-related stress), and physical (i.e., sleep quality, food security) factors influence adolescents' same- and next-day affect and misconduct and whether these factors functioned differently by adolescents' economic status. Daily-diary approaches were used to collect 12,033 assessments over 29 days from a nationwide sample of American adolescents (n =546; Mage = 15.0; 40% male; 43% Black, 37% White, 10% Latinx, 8% Asian American, and 3% Native American; 61% low-income) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Peer support, parent support, and sleep quality operated as promotive factors, whereas parent-child conflict and COVID-19 health-related stress operated as risk factors. Although these links were consistent for adolescents irrespective of economic status, low-income adolescents experienced more conflict with parents, more COVID-19 health-related stress, less peer support, and lower sleep quality than higher-income adolescents. Food insecurity was connected to decreased same- and next-day negative affect for low-income adolescents only. Low-income adolescents also displayed greater negative affect in response to increased daily health-related stress relative to higher-income adolescents. These results highlight the role of proximal processes in shaping adolescent adjustment and delineate key factors influencing youth psychosocial well-being in the context of COVID-19. By understanding adolescents' responses to stressors at the onset of the pandemic, practitioners and healthcare providers can make evidence-based decisions regarding clinical treatment and intervention planning for youth most at risk for developmental maladjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Definitions regarding defunding or abolishing the police are highly contested in the United States. Moreover, adolescents' definitions and how socialization processes shape their definitions are unclear. Methods: Within a national sample of 822 adolescents ages 13–17 (49.69% female; 63.22% White, 16.93% Black/African American, 11.01% Hispanic/Latinx) surveyed in July 2020, this study examined how youth define defunding versus abolishing the police, how much parents talk to youth about the police (i.e., "the Talk"), and whether relations emerged between defunding/abolishing the police and "the Talk." Results: Youth supported defunding more than abolishing (d = 0.57). Support for abolishing was higher for youth who frequently received "the Talk" (b = 0.25). Differences by race and gender were uncovered in how frequently youth received "the Talk." Conclusions: Police must recognize that coercion, fear, and biased policing breed discontent and promote families to engage in protective parenting strategies including engaging in "the Talk." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This brief report examines whether the effects of direct and vicarious police stops on adolescents' academic adjustment via their psychological and physical well‐being differ across ethnic–racial and gender groups. Using national and longitudinal survey data from Black, Latinx, and White adolescents (N = 3004; 49% girls), we found that the police stopped more Black boys and Black girls than their ethnic–racial peers. Vicarious stops were prevalent among all groups. The effects of police stops on adolescents' adjustment outcomes were more detrimental for adolescents of color and particularly Black boys relative to their White peers. Implications are discussed regarding how law enforcement shapes disparities that disadvantage particular adolescents at the intersections of their ethnicity–race and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proponents of exclusionary discipline claim that removing disruptive peers from the classroom benefits well-behaved students. Given educators' increasingly widespread use of suspensions in response to adolescents' minor behavioral infractions (e.g., dress code violations, backtalk), it is critical that we examine whether this theory translates into practice. Using two independent samples (Study 1: N = 1305 adolescents enrolled in 64 math classrooms; M age = 13.00 years, range = 10–16; 53% White, 41% Black, 6% Other race; 50% girls; 64% economically disadvantaged. Study 2: N = 563 adolescents enrolled in 40 science classrooms; M age = 12.83 years, range = 10–16; 55% White, 40% Black, 5% Other race; 51% girls; 62% economically disadvantaged), we adopted a two-study approach to examine the mediational role of classroom climate perceptions in the link between classroom-level suspension rates for minor infractions and adolescents' math and science achievement. Results indicated that high classroom-level rates of suspensions for minor infractions were associated with poor academic outcomes among suspended students as well as their non-suspended classmates. Students' classroom climate perceptions mediated the links between classroom suspension rates and non-suspended students' academic outcomes. Shifting away from strict and punitive disciplinary schedules may grant school-based adults the ability to create classroom climates more attuned to adolescents' developmental and learning needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors explored trajectories of perceived discrimination over a 6-year period (five assessments in 6th-11th grade) in relation to academic, behavioral, and psychological adjustment in 8th and 11th grades. They distinguished discrimination from adults versus peers in addition to overt versus covert discrimination from peers. The sample included 226 African American, White, Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Chinese adolescents (ages 11-12 at Time 1) recruited in sixth grade from six public schools in New York City. All forms of discrimination increased during middle school and decreased during high school. The frequency with which adolescents reported different sources and types of discrimination varied across ethnicity/race, but not gender. Initial levels and rates of change in discrimination predicted academic, behavioral, and psychological adjustment in 8th and 11th grades, albeit in complex ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online racial discrimination experiences often reflect attacks on the humanity and intelligence of members of specific racial groups (e.g., African Americans and Latinos). Such experiences may have detrimental effects on academic outcomes over time. Changes in reports of online racial discrimination and academic motivation were examined among a sample of 418 African American (n = 257) and Latino (n = 161) youth in Grades 6-12. Latent growth models with parallel processes revealed that adolescents reported increases in online racial discrimination over time yet relative stability in academic motivation. Elevated rates of online racial discrimination were related to decreases in adolescents' academic motivation. This was the case even after adjusting for teacher discrimination and baseline grade point average. In addition, high initial levels of academic motivation were related to increases in adolescents' reports of online racial discrimination. Findings highlight the importance of understanding racial discrimination in online contexts when examining how race-related experiences affect the academic adjustment of adolescents of color. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]