The Impact of Racial Discrimination and School Composition on Latinx Adolescents’ Social Status Insecurity and Aggression

This study examined the relationship between racial discrimination by peers (RDPS) and aggression across 1 year through the mediation of insecurity regarding peer status (i.e., social status insecurity [SSI]) among Latinx adolescents who were part of a school in which they were (a) the majority, (b) the minority, or (c) part of the majority. Participants were 606 Latinx adolescents (60% girls; M = 14.36 years, SD = 0.46 years). RDPS was positively associated with SSI for minority and part-of-the-majority adolescents. For part-of-the-majority adolescents, SSI was positively associated with self-reported aggression and peer-nominated overt aggression. Only SSI and self-reported overt aggression were associated for majority adolescents. Aggressive behaviors were associated with SSI among minority adolescents. SSI mediated the association between RDPS and aggression for minority adolescents. For part-of-the-majority adolescents, self-reported overt aggression and RDPS were mediated by SSI. These findings indicate that RDPS affects minority and part-of-the-majority adolescents’ insecure feelings regarding their peer status, which contributes to aggressive behaviors 1 year later.