Session: It Happens at School: Examining Youths of Color's School Experiences, Health, and Wellbeing (Society for Social Work and Research 27th Annual Conference - Social Work Science and Complex Problems: Battling Inequities + Building Solutions)

Schools are critical for adolescent development�serving as a space where youth form many of their formative early experiences. Unfortunately, many youths of color's school experiences are harmful to their development, and they often trail behind peers in education and health outcomes as a result. Youths of color also encounter biased discipline in schools, overrepresented in special education, and are underrepresented in gifted programs in their schools. The four studies in this panel expand our understanding of youths of color's school experiences and outcomes. We focus on adolescence because this period of development is: (1) a particularly risky time in the lifespan for long-standing detrimental outcomes, (2) the increased influence of interactions outside of one’s home, and (3) the age point where society begins to view some youth of color as threats.

Presenter 1 investigates whether social support from a university-led pre-college program buffers the harmful effects of racial discrimination from multiple sources on the beliefs of youth of color regarding whether they will go to college. Findings indicated that the climate of the pre-college program was only a buffer against the effects of daily racial hassles. Discussion on the implications of this research for practice, alignment with past research, and recommendations for research are provided.

Presenter 2 examines the effects of psychosocial barriers and access barriers on Black boys' use of school-based mental health resources. Results found that Black boys that identified self-reliance as a barrier to mental health service use were significantly less likely to use school-based mental health resources. Furthermore, boys that identified stigma as a barrier to service use were significantly more likely to use mental health resources in their school. The findings speak to the effects of masculine norms around self-reliance as hindering Black boys' use of available mental health resources. However, they also speak to the potential benefits of having mental health resources in schools for boys that have stigmatized views of mental health and mental health services.

Presenter 3 will review findings that examined how external assets (e.g., family support, open communication) help to prevent suicidal outcomes among LGB Black adolescents and young adults. Findings suggested family support was positively associated with depression (B =0.31, p<.05), and depression was associated with suicide planning (B =0.41, p<.001). Discussion on how these findings inform practice with Black men and boys and directions for future intervention research is provided.

Lastly, Presenter 4 will review study findings exploring the relationship between Afrocentric values on career and educational aspirations of adolescent and emerging adult young Black males. Collectivism (B=.45), religiously (B=.27), and a positive appraisal of one's African heritage (B=.22), were associated with young Black males' desire to achieve higher levels of education in their career choices and make a lasting impact through their future careers. Controlling for household income, age, and reported education level, the model explained 41% of the variance in future aspirations of participant young Black males. Implications for bolstering educational and career aspirational success in Black boys and young men are provided.