Dominant Cultural Narratives,Racism, and Resistance in the Workplace: A Study of the Experiences of Young Black Canadians

Although many studies have examined lived experiences of racism and resistance in various contexts, relatively little research has examined such experiences among Black youth within the workplace—particularly in the Canadian context. In this study I use qualitative analyses of narrative interviews with 24 Black Canadian youth and young adults (aged 16–35) to examine the impact of dominant cultural narratives on lived experiences of workplace racism and resistance. Findings are presented using theatrical games as a central conceptual metaphor, suggesting that: (a) dominant cultural narratives have a major impact on relational dynamics of oppression in the workplace; (b) identity performance is a critical strategy for negotiating dominant cultural narratives in the workplace; and (c) panopticism (the internalized gaze) is a significant aspect of internalized oppression. Implications for future research and action are discussed.     

High school athletes’ self-determined motivation: The independent and interactive effects of coach,father, and mother autonomy support

ObjectivesThe purpose of the study was to examine the independent and interactive influences of athletes’ perceptions of autonomy support from their coaches, fathers, and mothers on the athletes’ self-determined motivation.DesignCross-sectional survey.MethodHigh school athletes (N = 335; M age = 15.75 years; 62.4% female; 84.2% Caucasian) completed surveys assessing the constructs of interest near the end of their season.ResultsHierarchical regression analysis results showed that autonomy support from all three social agents significantly and positively predicted self-determined motivation (R² = 0.32), and the two- and three-way interactions significantly added to the prediction (total R² = 0.35). Results showed that a relatively high level of self-determined motivation was associated with the perception that at least two of the three social agents provided high levels of autonomy support.ConclusionsThe provision of autonomy support from coaches, mothers, and fathers relate to athletes’ self-determined motivation both independently and interactively.     

A season-long examination of the intervention tone of coach–athlete interactions and athlete development in youth sport

ObjectivesCoaches are a primary influence on athletes' development in youth sport (Horn, 2008). However, the intervention tone of coaches' behaviour has not been directly observed. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between the intervention tone exhibited by youth sport coaches and athletes' individual developmental trajectories over the course of a season.DesignShort-term longitudinal study with behavioural observation.MethodFifty-five athletes and their coaches from five youth volleyball teams were observed at three time points, and the intervention tone of interactive behaviour was systematically coded and organized by coach–athlete dyad. Athletes completed measures of the 4C's of athlete development (competence, confidence, connection, character) at each time point, which were used to create individualized developmental trajectories. Person-centred analyses were used to examine associations between athletes' developmental trajectories and their unique interactive experiences with their coach.ResultsCluster analysis revealed the presence of three distinct clusters based on athletes' developmental trajectories: 1) high and increasing, 2) low and decreasing, and 3) moderate and maintaining, with athletes from each team distributed across clusters. Analysis of dyadic interaction profiles revealed significant differences in interactive behaviour between clusters.ConclusionsResults suggest that differences in coach–athlete interactive experiences are associated with different developmental trajectories over the course of a season, even for athletes working with the same coach, highlighting the individualized nature of coaches' influence on young athletes. Practical implications for coaches include a critical awareness of their unique interactive relationship with each athlete independently, as well as the importance of fostering these relationships with regard to young people as more than just athletes.     

School administrators’ use of collaborative autobiography as a vehicle for reflection on accountability pressures

This research studied accountability pressures faced by five school administrators, and explored collaborative autobiography as a way for administrators to reflect on and address those pressures. The administrators cycled back and forth between reflective writing and group dialogue as they contemplated accountability pressures, their life histories in relationship to the pressures, and their preferred future. The participants reported that the process helped them to better understand accountability pressures and develop strategies for negotiating those pressures.     

The breadth and mnemonic consequences of the youth bias

We have recently demonstrated the existence of the youth bias, referring to a tendency to favour adolescence and early adulthood over other lifetime periods when making inferences about the timing of important public events across the lifespan of a typical individual within one's culture. The youth bias integrates two discrete lines of research, that is, the literature on the privileged status of adolescence and early adulthood in human memory and cognition, and the literature on cognitive biases. Here we first examined whether the youth bias holds for specific categories of public events (i.e., deaths of public figures, United States presidential elections, and sporting events). We then investigated the possible role of the youth bias in structuring recall for public events, by probing, within subjects, for the relation between: (1) these expectations of the timing, in a typical person's life, of the most important exemplar from each public event category, and (2) the age at which the cited event occurred on a recall question asking participants to cite the most important exemplar, in their own lifetime, from each category. We found a youth bias for each category. Additionally, responses to the youth bias question were correlated with the age at which the recalled event occurred, but only where particularly salient historical events did not play a central role in driving recall (i.e., for sporting events). We conclude that the youth bias holds across different types of public events and provides a default structure for organizing recall of public events.     

Traumatic Incidents and Experiences of Racism and Sexism: Examining Associations with Components of Critical Consciousness for System‐Involved Girls of Color

Scholarship identifies critical consciousness as a key developmental asset in promoting the well‐being of adolescents experiencing multiple socio‐structural axes of oppression. Girls of color at acute risk for legal system involvement or re‐involvement are absent from this literature. They are a critical population in which to examine this construct given their experiences of oppression and the myriad benefits of critical consciousness. The current study addresses this gap by examining traumatic incidents and experiences of racism and sexism as correlates of critical reflection and action among a sample of girls (N = 220; Mean age = 14.5 years; SD = 1.3 years). Using path analysis and multigroup modeling, we examine direct associations between these three manifestations of structural oppression and critical consciousness and explore the interplay of traumatic incidents, and racism and sexism in girls’ critical consciousness development. Findings suggest that experiences of sexism and racism, uniquely and positively predict critical action, but not critical reflection. Surprisingly, girls’ experiences of traumatic incidents do not predict reflection or action. Finally, multigroup analyses show no evidence that these associations vary by the interplay of traumatic incidents, racism, and sexism. Implications for community psychology values and juvenile legal system practice and policy are discussed.     

How High Schools Become Empowering Communities: A Mixed‐Method Explanatory Inquiry into Youth‐Adult Partnership and School Engagement

Educational reform efforts emphasize empowerment and engagement, but these concepts are rarely translated into policy or classroom practice. This inquiry explores how schools can become places where students take ownership over their own learning. Phase 1 of this inquiry, a survey of students from diverse high schools, examines pathways to school engagement. Results indicated that youth voice in decision‐making, particularly when the experience is situated within supportive adult relationships and a sense of safety, significantly predicts emotional and cognitive engagement. Phase 2, a case study of an exemplary high school, sought to explain these pathways. Grounded in the theoretical perspectives of “empowered community settings” and “youth‐adult partnership,” analyses highlighted the importance of a shared belief system and core instructional activities that were student‐centered, affirmative, and strength‐based. Within this context, the opportunity role structure allowed students to exercise voice in creating their own educational program. The relational environment offered partnership and safety for academic risk‐taking. Teachers broke down traditional roles and power hierarchies in ways that helped students discover their own sources of engagement. The article identifies ways that community psychologists, as policy framers and as researchers, can help schools become places of empowerment and engagement.     

Structure factorielle et qualités psychométriques du questionnaire d’auto-évaluation pour adolescents (Youth Self-Report) d’Achenbach et Rescorla

IntroductionRecent research on the prognostic significance of subthreshold comorbid disorders highlighted the need for instruments allowing for the comprehensive exploration of symptomatology of adolescents.ObjectiveTo verify the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Achenbach and Rescorla's Youth Self-Report French translation, which allows this investigation.MethodWe had 1450 adolescents 11–17- year old (747 girls) complete the YSR in secondary schools in the Paris metropolitan area.ResultsConfirmatory Factor Analyses and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling supported the 8-syndrome structure. However, since ESEM allows cross-loadings, the number of indicators for each factor in the ESEM models is much higher than in the CFA models. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were satisfactory, and multigroup analyses confirmed the metric and scalar invariance across age and gender of most of the items examined (70 out of 89). We can therefore affirm that girls score lower on Social problems than boys, 15–17-year-old adolescent score higher on Thought problems, Attention problems, and Rule-Breaking Behavior than the younger, and these differences are substantive and independent of differential item functioning.ConclusionThese results are likely to encourage the use of YSR in research and clinical practice with French-speaking adolescents.     

Basic psychological need frustration scale: Adaptation and validation to active commuting to school in Spanish children and adolescents

Based on self-determination theory (SDT), the aims of this study were to adapt the Psychological Need Thwarting Scale to active commuting to and from school, as well as to gather information about validity and reliability of the Basic Psychological Need Frustration Scale in Active Commuting to and from School (BPNFS-ACS). A total of 285 children and adolescents, aged 10–17 years, participated (49.47 % girls; M_age = 12.88, SD_age = 2.16). Need satisfaction and frustration, as well as motivation for ACS were measured. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the 12-item three-factor correlated model, which was invariant across gender and age. Convergent validity was met with suitable values for average variance extracted. Discriminant validity was obtained by acceptable values for the heterotrait–monotrait ratio of correlations and the correlations among the three latent factors. Reliability was also supported by adequate scores on Cronbach’s alpha, Raykov’s coefficient, and intra-class correlation coefficient. Criterion validity was evidenced by a negative prediction from need frustration to active commuting to school, and a positive association of need satisfaction with active commuting to school. Results support the use of the BPNFS-ACS for the purpose of gaining deeper insight into the “dark side” of motivation for active school transport among Spanish children and adolescents.