The current study examined the developmental trajectory of same-race friendship preference of racially/ethnically diverse students over the course of middle school. Participants were African American, Asian, Latinx, and White youth recruited at the start of middle school in 6th grade (N = 4,361; M[subscript age] = 11.33 years) and followed across…

This study examined the effects of racial/ethnic segregation (i.e., overrepresentation) in academic classes on belonging, fairness, intergroup attitudes, and achievement across middle school (n = 4,361; M[subscript age T1] = 11.33 years), and whether effects depended on numerical minority status in school and race/ethnicity. Latent growth curve…

In this article, I describe a program of research on the psychosocial benefits of racial/ethnic diversity in urban middle schools. It is hypothesized that greater diversity can benefit students' mental health, intergroup attitudes, and school adaptation via three mediating mechanisms: (a) the formation and maintenance of cross-ethnic friendships,…

To examine the unique functions of same- and cross-ethnic friendships, Latino (n = 536) and African American (n = 396) sixth-grade students (M[subscript age] = 11.5 years) were recruited from 66 classrooms in 10 middle schools that varied in ethnic diversity. Participants reported on the number of same- and cross-ethnic friends, perceived…

The present study examined the relations between ethnic context and attitudes about 9th grade math in youth from different ethnic groups who had recently transitioned to high school. The large sample comprised African American, Latino, White, and Asian youth (n = 2,265, 55% girls, M[subscript age] = 14.6 yrs.) A new questionnaire was developed…

This study examined the mediating role of self-blaming attributions on peer victimization-maladjustment relations in middle school and the moderating role of classroom ethnic diversity. Latino and African American 6th grade participants (N = 1105, 56% female) were recruited from middle schools in which they were either members of the numerical…

This study uses latent class analysis (LCA) to empirically identify victimization groups during middle school. Approximately 2,000 urban, public middle school students (mean age in sixth grade = 11.57) reported on their peer victimization during the Fall and Spring semesters of their sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Independent LCA analyses at…

The high school transition was examined in an ethnically diverse, urban sample of 1,979 adolescents, followed from 7th to 10th grade (M[subscript age] = 14.6, SD = 0.37 in 7th grade). Twice annually, data were gathered on adolescents' perceptions of school climate, psychological functioning, and academic behaviors. Piecewise growth modeling…

An ethnically diverse sample of 6th-grade students completed peer nomination procedures that were used to create subgroups of students with reputations as victims, aggressors, aggressive victims, and socially adjusted (neither aggressive nor victimized). Self-report data on psychological adjustment, attributions for peer harassment, and perceived…