Download the data titled "The role of ethnic identity commitment and critical consciousness in influencing school belonging in undergraduate students: A secondary analysis" by Tang, Michelle, Wilson, Patrick, Alejandra Lopez. Available in PDF format.

This is a secondary data analysis on data collected in an experiment conducted at Columbia University and UCLA (N=609). Participants were undergraduate students recruited through respective Psychology Department subject pools. Participants randomized into experimental conditions read a passage from Friedrich Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals that contained racially charged language which would possibly be considered politically incorrect by modern standards. Participants randomized into the control condition read a different passage from Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals with no racially charged language. Both groups subsequently rated their sense of belonging on campus. Participants then responded to the Multiple Ethnic Identity Measure Revised (Phinney & Ong, 2007) which assesses ethnic identity development and the Short Critical Consciousness Scale (Diemer, 2016) which evaluates critical consciousness. The current study considers the full sample cross sectionally regardless of randomization. Few studies have examined school belonging, ethnic identity, and/or critical consciousness together (DeNicolo et al., 2017; Gummadam et al., 2016). To our knowledge, no studies have explored associations between ethnic identity commitment, school belonging, and critical consciousness in undergraduate students after reading potentially controversial material widely taught in universities. By investigating the interplay of these psychological constructs in this context, we seek to contribute to research on school belonging and critical consciousness in university students and to help direct interventions to better support ethnic minority students. BACKGROUND AND DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS: Identity development is an important developmental task during adolescence (Erikson, 1968) and continues into emerging Ad*ulthood (Umaña‐Taylor et al., 2014). For ethnic minority youth, ethnic identity development is a particularly critical task (Phinney, 1989). Ethnic identity development is a dynamic and multifaceted process often conceptualized as being composed of two related yet distinct dimensions: ethnic identity exploration, or seeking information relevant to one’s ethnic identity, and ethnic identity commitment (EIC), a strong attachment or investment in one’s ethnic identity group (Phinney & Ong, 2007). EIC, specifically, has been linked to positive self esteem and better overall psychological adjustment (e.g., lower levels of depression and anxiety) in college students(Brittian et al., 2013; Yip et al., 2006). Studies show that EIC may buffer against psychological distress when coping with racial discrimination (Mossakowski, 2003; Torres et al., 2011; Torres & Ong, 2010). School belonging is defined as “the extent to which students feel personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in the school social environment” (Goodenow, 1993). Positive associations between school belonging and educational outcomes (e.g, academic engagement, motivation and achievement) (Cham et al., 2014) are well documented, as are positive associations between school belonging and psychological adjustment (e.g., mental health, global self worth) (Anderman, 2002; Freeman et al., 2007; Pittman & Richmond, 2008). For minority students, negative interactions with peers and teachers from majority groups can reduce a sense of belonging and connection at school (Booker, 2006; D’hondt et al., 2015; Thijs et al., 2019). Critical consciousness emerged from the seminal work of Brazilian educator and philosopher, Paulo Freire (Freire, 2000). Critical consciousness represents a dynamic process of becoming aware of unjust social, political, historical, and economic structures that oppress particular groups of people, and learning to disrupt these forces to achieve liberation and well being (Harper et al., 2019). Critical consciousness is often conceptualized as being composed of three distinct yet related domains: critical reflection, motivation, and action (Diemer et al., 2021). Enhancing critical consciousness has been identified as a pathway to promote physical and mental well being among marginalized groups (Watts et al., 2011). Adolescence and young Ad*ulthood are important periods for sociopolitical development (Campbell & Horowitz, 2016; McLeod & Shah, 2009).