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Sense of academic futility entails feelings of having no control over ones' educational success. Although mounting evidence points to its negative consequences for students' educational outcomes, less is known about its socio‐contextual antecedents. Relatedly, the current study explored how fair and supportive relationships with teachers are related to the sense of academic futility and if class belonging mediates this link in a sample of adolescents with immigrant and non‐immigrant backgrounds. A total of 1065 seventh‐grade students (Mage = 13.12; SD = 0.42; 45% girls) from 55 classrooms completed questionnaires at two time points 1 year apart. Results of multilevel analyses indicated that fair and supportive relationships with teachers contributed to decreases in sense of academic futility at the individual but not at the classroom level. No mediation or moderation effects emerged. These findings highlight the crucial role of democratic student–teacher relationships in supporting the positive school adjustment of all students in increasingly multicultural societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools are crucial socialization contexts where civic norms and values such as appreciating diverse perspectives and embracing differences can be systematically transmitted to the next generations. This process, in turn, can foster the development of more inclusive societies. However, increasing polarized political climate poses a risk for the formation of harmonious interactions between youth of different ethnic origins in schools. Teachers are considered as crucial resources in addressing negative student interactions and helping victims in overcoming the consequences of their negative experiences. Nevertheless, our understanding of how teachers respond to ethnic victimization incidents is limited, along with the factors influencing their responses. To address this gap in knowledge, we examined the relative contributions of teachers’ general efficacy (i.e., managing disruptive behaviors in class) and diversity-related efficacy (i.e., addressing challenges of diversity) on their responses to ethnic victimization incidents. The sample consisted of head teachers of 8th grade students (N  =  72; 56% females). The results showed that teachers adopt a diverse range of strategies to address incidents of ethnic victimization, with a primary focus on prioritizing the comfort of the victim as the foremost action. Further, we found that teachers’ efficacy in handling disruptive behaviors in class, as opposed to their efficacy in addressing diversity-related issues, explained their responses to victimization incidents. Specifically, teachers with a high sense of efficacy for classroom management were more likely to contact parents of both victims and perpetrators and to provide comfort to the victim. These findings highlight the necessity of supporting teachers to enhance their efficacy in classroom management, and in turn to address potential challenges in diverse school settings more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal belongingness - feelings of being a connected, an affiliated, and a respected member of the larger society - may contribute to the understanding of adolescent development both as a person and a member of society in a multicultural context. The current study examined the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Adolescents' Societal Belongingness Scale (ASBS) using data from 12- to 15-year-old youth (N = 1065, Mage = 13.12, SD = .42, 45% female). Multiple group CFA models revealed configural, scalar, and metric invariance of the societal belongingness scale across adolescents with immigrant, mixed, and Swedish backgrounds. The scale scores were positively correlated with class belonging and social trust and negatively correlated with depressive symptoms and delinquency. Between-group differences across immigrant, mixed-heritage, and native youth provided further evidence for the sensitivity of the measure. Overall, the current findings suggest that the societal belongingness scale could be used for studying the sense of belonging towards the larger society across adolescents of immigrant, mixed, and majority backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most parents want their children to succeed well. For some parents, however, children's successes are strongly related to beliefs about their own self-worth; a concept known as parental child-invested contingent self-esteem, which has shown links to negative parenting practices (e.g., psychological control). Less is known about associations with aspects of the parent–child relationship that are particularly relevant among families with immigrant backgrounds. We examine the associations with acculturation-related conflicts in a sample of 180 Latino parents of children in 6th to 12th grade. Results showed that higher levels of parental child-invested contingent self-esteem was significantly linked to higher levels of acculturation conflicts, but this link was especially strong if the parent reported that their child was unresponsive to their corrections. When parents base their self-worth on their child's successes and the child acts in ways that are not in line with parents' expectations, parents report more acculturation-related conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]