Positive and negative intergroup contact in school and out-of-school contexts: A longitudinal approach to spillover effects.

This study aims to tackle positive and negative intergroup contact in school and out-of-school contexts to test whether a spillover effect (i.e., the extent to which experiences that individuals have in one context spill over into another) applies to intergroup contact. Participants were 984 adolescents (Mage = 14.66; 62.7% female; 24.8% ethnic minority). Results indicated that positive contact in school was related over time to higher positive contact in out-of-school contexts and vice versa (i.e., valence consistent spillover effect). Positive contact in school was linked over time to lower negative contact in out-of-school contexts (i.e., valence inconsistent spillover effect). Overall, this study provides novel insights into the transmission of adolescents' intergroup contact across socialization contexts by emphasizing the leading role of positive contact in schools.

The spread of political alienation from parents to adolescent children.

The present study examines the interpersonal circumstances that facilitate the spread of political alienation between parents and adolescent children. A total of 571 German adolescents (314 girls, 257 boys) and their mothers and fathers each completed questionnaires describing their own political alienation at two time points, approximately 1 year apart. In addition, adolescents completed questionnaires describing their perceptions of warmth in relationships with parents. Adolescents were in the sixth (M = 12.24 years old), eighth (M = 13.48 years old), and 10th (M = 15.51 years old) grades at the outset. Dyadic analyses revealed that initial parent political alienation predicted subsequent increases in adolescent political alienation for youth who described relationships with parents as high in warmth but not for those describing relationships as low in warmth. Mothers and fathers did not differ in terms of the magnitude of their influence. Adolescents did not influence the political alienation of their parents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Relationship between Knowing and Liking for 91 Urban Animal Species among Students.

While there is growing consensus that nature should be promoted in cities, it is less clear what kind of nature this should be. One hypothesis is that humans show greater liking for those parts of nature that they know better. Using questionnaires, we studied the familiarity of 475 students with 91 urban animal species and the relationship between familiarity and attitudes towards the species. Students declared that they were familiar with most animals, but not all animals were equally liked. Better-known species were not generally the better-liked ones. The more familiar animal species were the more extreme attitudes became towards them, both positively and negatively. Our research shows that familiarity and attitude are not two sides of the same coin. It also emphasizes that there are parts of nature that are not liked by many humans and that this dislike is not necessarily correlated with insufficient knowledge. Detailed studies of what components of nature humans like and reasons underlying this are necessary to successfully increase nature in cities.

Meeting in school: Cultural diversity approaches of teachers and intergroup contact among ethnic minority and majority adolescents.

This study investigated the associations between cultural diversity approaches endorsed by teachers and adolescents' positive and negative intergroup contact in schools. Participants were 984 adolescents (Mage  = 14.66; 62.7% female; 24.8% ethnic minority) involved in a three-wave longitudinal study between 2019 and 2020. Results highlighted that perceived equal treatment by teachers was related to higher positive and lower negative contact over time. However, perceived support for contact and cooperation and interest of teachers in children's cultural background were not related to either positive or negative contact over time. Importantly, the results were replicated across ethnic minority and majority adolescents. This study provides novel insights into the key role that teachers can play in promoting cultural diversity approaches to facilitate harmonious intergroup interactions in schools.

Teachers' acculturation in culturally diverse schools - How is the perceived diversity climate linked to intercultural self-efficacy?

While in the school context, acculturation is often studied in relation to students of immigrant descent, the current study applies an acculturation framework to teachers mostly representing the mainstream culture. Specifically, we investigated whether teachers' acculturation attitudes towards their students mediate effects of the perceived cultural diversity climate at school on teachers' intercultural self-efficacy in culturally diverse classrooms. Analyses were based on reports of 186 teachers (14% of immigrant descent; M age = 40.8; SD age = 11.8, 73% female) in 22 culturally diverse secondary schools in Southwest Germany. Path analyses indicated that perceived norms of cultural pluralism, and perceived norms of equality and inclusion are directly and positively associated with facets of intercultural self-efficacy. Moreover, teachers' support for cultural maintenance amongst their students was associated with intercultural self- efficacy, but no mediation was found between climate and intercultural self-efficacy via acculturation attitudes. Implications for teacher training, educational practice and future research on the acculturation and adjustment of teachers in culturally diverse classrooms are discussed.

School Matters: The Effects of School Experiences on Youth's Attitudes toward Immigrants.

Although schools have been described as an important socialization context for the development of intergroup attitudes, longitudinal multilevel studies are still rare within this field. This 3-wave study (with annual assessments) of German adolescents (N = 1292; Mage = 13.86; 51.8% female) examined the role of school experiences (perceived multicultural education, supportive peer relations in class, democratic classroom climate) in the development of youth's negative attitudes toward immigrants. Longitudinal multilevel analyses revealed that a democratic classroom climate predicted youth's attitudes at the individual level. At the classroom level class-average perceptions of a democratic classroom climate, supportive peer relations in class, and multicultural education (the latter solely among male, higher track students) were associated with less negative attitudes toward immigrants. In addition, age moderated the effect of school experiences on attitudes, showing that perceptions of a democratic climate at the classroom level mattered in particular among older adolescents. The findings suggest that school experiences are related to youth's negative attitudes toward immigrants and can therefore help to reduce the risk of prejudice development.

Migrant youths: Typical aspects of development during the adolescent years, specific challenges of growing up somewhere else, and some things we need to understand better.

The research presented in this Issue impressively documents the great variety of conditions of live that impact child and adolescent migrants' development. The studies conducted in various receiving countries include young refugees as well as the first- and second-generation offspring of migrant families who left their homes in different areas of the globe. Despite this diversity, theories and empirical findings on processes of normative development could be successfully applied, yielding insights into more general aspects of development At the same time, drawing on conceptualizations that were introduced to specifically address experiences and challenges linked to the situation of migrant and minority populations, such as ethnic identity or acculturation, the articles notably contributed to a more comprehensive understanding of migrant adolescents' lives. While the discussion of the studies in this Issue highlights what we have learned, it also points out what we do not know yet, and where future research is needed.

Juggling Between Parental and School Expectations: The Development of Domain-Specific Acculturation Orientations in Early Adolescence.

We examined how perceived acculturation expectations from parents and school, and ethnic discrimination predicted early adolescents' heritage and mainstream acculturation orientations at home (private domain) and in school (public domain) one year later. We surveyed 263 early adolescents of immigrant background in Germany (Mage  = 10.44 years, 60% female). Multigroup path analyses revealed that perceived acculturation expectations and ethnic discrimination were more strongly related to adolescents' private than public acculturation orientations. Parental heritage expectations were the strongest predictor of adolescents' acculturation orientations. Boys were more susceptible than girls to ethnic discrimination and acculturation expectations in school, which affected their private and public acculturation orientations. Results highlight the importance of integrating domain-specific and gendered experiences when analyzing adolescents' acculturative development.

Me and you in a mobile world: The development of regional identity and personal relationships in young adulthood.

Residential mobility-the change of residence within a country-is a pervasive phenomenon in 21st century societies, with the peak clearly being in young adulthood. Placing the self in geographical space has now become a major challenge for young adults, making region a key identity domain. Little is known, however, about the correlates of regional identity development. In line with the dynamic-transactional paradigm, we expected longitudinal associations between regional identity and the geographical dispersion of personal relationships. We specifically assumed that both individual experiences-such as moving-and personal relationship experiences-such as emotional closeness toward relationship partners-moderate these associations over time. Using longitudinal multilevel analyses, we found support for these hypotheses in a 3-wave longitudinal study over 1 year with 1,059 postsecondary graduates from Germany (73% female, mean age 24.53 years). Most notably, changes in regional identity were related to changes in geographical distance from personal relationship partners. Effects were robust and confirmed when controlling for diverse reasons for moving. We conclude that regional identity and personal relationships share a common developmental pathway. This pathway also points toward the relevance of geographical distance from personal relationships, even in young adults' mobile and connected world. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Oh, the places you'll go! How international mobility challenges identity development in adolescence.

This study investigated the effects of international mobility on adolescent identity development and explored the mediating role of changes in social relationships. We implemented a prospective comparative study design including 457 sojourners (German high school exchange students) and 284 non-sojourners (German adolescents who remained in Germany; 73.3% female; Mage = 15.63, SD = 0.78), and measured students' identity commitment and reconsideration on 3 occasions over a period of 18 months. The measurements were taken 6 weeks prior to departure (Time [T]1), 7 months after the sojourn experience had begun (T2), and 7 months postreturn (T3), thereby covering both central phases in the context of international sojourning: the transition abroad and the reentry transition. Two identity domains (i.e., Friends and Home) were examined. Longitudinal latent change analyses indicated both transition-specific and domain-specific identity processes. Sojourners showed a relative decrease in Friends commitment and a corresponding increase in Friends reconsideration over time. Although pronounced increases in Home commitment were found for sojourners during the transition abroad, their Home commitment declined throughout the reentry transition. Inverse trends were recorded for sojourners' Home reconsideration trajectories. Multiple mediation analyses revealed sojourn-related changes in subjective closeness toward parents but not friends as a mechanism that partially explained the effects of international mobility on identity development. For future directions, we discuss the role of life events and social relationships as inalienable contexts for identity dynamics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Differential effects of school experiences on active citizenship among German and Turkish-origin students.

While research suggests that schools can foster active citizenship among youth, studies have not tested whether ethnic minority youth may benefit differently from school experiences than ethnic majority youth. In this study of 219 students (138 German majority and 81 Turkish-origin minority; Mage = 18.26; 55% females), we examined the association between different experiences at school and 4 indicators of youth active citizenship, controlling for various socio-demographic characteristics. Although value of social studies was associated with three out of four active citizenship indicators among both ethnic groups, the effects of the other school-related variables on active citizenship were moderated by ethnicity. Specifically, indicators of classroom climate, such as open classroom climate and classroom community, were only associated with greater active citizenship among Turkish-minority youth, while participatory factors, such as engagement in school decisions, were only associated with active citizenship among native German youth.

And What About Siblings? A Longitudinal Analysis of Sibling Effects on Youth's Intergroup Attitudes.

Within the process of political socialization, the family is of particular importance. Apart from parents, however, little is known about the role of other close family members. The present study examined if siblings affect each other's intergroup attitudes (i.e., intolerance towards immigrants, social dominance orientation). Drawing on a sample of 362 sibling dyads (older siblings: M age = 17.77, 53.6% female; younger siblings: M age = 13.61, 61.3% female), the results showed that older siblings' intergroup attitudes predicted younger siblings' attitudes, but this effect was moderated by gender. Specifically, older siblings' intolerance and social dominance orientation were only found to affect their younger sisters, yet not their younger brothers. Although younger siblings' intergroup attitudes had no main effect on older siblings, a significant moderation by age indicated that younger siblings affected older siblings' social dominance orientation with increasing age. These moderation effects of age and gender were not mediated by the quality of family relationships. The findings also remained the same when parental intergroup attitudes were taken into account. While siblings were generally identified as an important agent of political socialization in youth, the results also highlight the necessity to further examine the mechanism that either facilitate or hinder sibling effects.

Short forms of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) with the domains of job, romantic relationship, and region.

The U-MICS is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess the identity dimensions from a domain-specific perspective. The present study reports on the development of a short-form version for the domains of job and romantic relationship in young adults from Germany and extends this scale to include the domain of region (nSample1 = 95, 84% female, mean age 22.45 years; nSample2 = 1,795, 71% female, mean age 24.53 years). We found the short form to possess adequate psychometric properties and to demonstrate a factor structure congruent to the long-form version. Regarding validity, the small correlations across domains within dimensions support a domain-specific approach to identity. The associations between the different identity domains with personality traits are similar, indicating a consistent pattern of convergent validity for all domains. We conclude that "region" provides a valuable complement to the established domains that can all be reliably assessed with the U-MICS-Short Form.

Cultural Diversity Climate and Psychological Adjustment at School-Equality and Inclusion Versus Cultural Pluralism.

The present study is concerned with cultural diversity climate at school and how it relates to acculturation orientations and psychological school adjustment of early adolescent immigrants. Specifically, the distinct role of two types of diversity policy is investigated, namely (a) fostering equality and inclusion and (b) acknowledging cultural pluralism. Longitudinal multilevel analyses based on 386 early adolescent immigrant students (Mage  = 10.49 years) in 44 ethnically heterogeneous classrooms in Germany revealed that the manifestations of both types of policies promote psychological school adjustment (i.e., better well-being and fewer psychological and behavioral problems) at the individual level. However, they differ in their effects on acculturation orientations. At the classroom level, equality and inclusion promote assimilation. Implications for research and educational practice are discussed.

Sailing Uncharted Waters: Adolescent Personality Development and Social Relationship Experiences During a Year Abroad.

How does spending a year abroad influence the personality and relationship development of adolescents? This question was studied using a prospective control group design comprising 457 sojourners (high school exchange students) and 284 control participants (German adolescents; 73.3 % female; mean age = 15.63, SD = 0.78), all of whom were assessed three times across one academic year. Sojourners demonstrated higher pre-departure levels of Extraversion and Agreeableness as well as lower levels of Neuroticism. Longitudinal results indicated a steeper increase in Openness and Agreeableness trajectories, as well as a buffered increase in Neuroticism for exchange students. As expected, sojourners' social relationships showed high fluctuation, which partially mediated sojourn effects on personality development. The role of international youth mobility for personal and social development in adolescence is discussed.

Parental Influences on Adolescents' Negative Attitudes Toward Immigrants.

Attitudes toward immigrants are a core component of adolescents' social identities. Although in a globalized world positive attitudes are functional, negative views toward immigrant are widespread. This study investigates the parent-adolescent transmission of attitudes toward immigrants between age 12 and 16. In a longitudinal five-wave cohort-sequential multi-informant survey study on German adolescents (N = 1289; 52.9 % female) and their parents (mothers N = 772; fathers N = 654), self-reported attitudes toward immigrants were measured at each time point. Changes in the adolescents' attitudes were predicted by maternal and paternal self-reported attitudes across time. Predictions of short-term changes revealed that the major effect of the parents' attitudes takes place in early adolescence (between grade 6 and 7). The prediction of the adolescents' long-term attitude changes indicates that these effects sustain until the age of 16. No between-parent differences were found. The results are discussed in terms of early adolescence being a sensitive period for parental effects on the development of adolescents' attitudes toward immigrants.

Offline and online civic engagement among adolescents and young adults from three ethnic groups.

Levels of civic engagement are assumed to vary according to numerous social and psychological characteristics, but not much is known about online civic engagement. This study aimed to investigate differences and similarities in young people's offline and online civic engagement and to clarify, based on Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB), associations between motivation for civic engagement, peer and parental norms, collective efficacy, and civic engagement. The sample consisted of 755 youth (native German, ethnic German Diaspora, and Turkish migrants) from two age groups (16-18 and 19-26; mean age 20.5 years; 52 % female). Results showed that ethnic group membership and age moderated the frequency of engagement behavior, with Turkish migrants taking part more than native Germans, who were followed by ethnic German Diaspora migrants. Analyses based on TPB showed good fit for a model relating intention for offline and online civic engagement to motivation for civic engagement, peer and parental norms, and collective efficacy. Ethnic group moderated the findings for offline civic engagement and questioned the universality of some model parameters (e.g., peer and parental norms). This study showed the utility of the TPB framework for studying civic engagement but also reveals that the predictive utility of peer and parental norms seems to vary depending on the group and the behavior under study. This study highlights the importance of including minority samples in the study of civic engagement in order to identify between-group similarities and differences.

Attitudes toward political engagement and willingness to participate in politics: trajectories throughout adolescence.

Drawing on data from a longitudinal cohort-sequential project, the present study examined developmental trajectories of adolescents' attitudes toward political engagement and their willingness to participate in politics from grade 7 to 11 while accounting for the influence of school track and gender. Moreover, stabilities on the dependent variables were assessed. The results revealed differential trajectories regarding adolescents' educational level. Increases were mainly shown for students attending the college-bound school track. Generally, both orientations toward political behaviors were shown to become more stable throughout the adolescent years. Together, the findings confirmed adolescence to be a crucial period in life concerning the emergence, consolidation, and development of political points of view.

The role of between-parent values agreement in parent-to-child transmission of academic values.

The present study investigates the intergenerational transmission of academic task values within family in early adolescence. Social learning processes are assumed to operate through the students' perceptions of their parents' values. The major goal of this study is to show that this values transmission is facilitated by between-parent value agreement. Based on a longitudinal data set including 1019 German students, their mothers (N = 847), and fathers (N = 733), structural equation models showed significant effects of the parents' task values regarding math and German language as academic subjects on the respective task values reported by the students, mediated through the student-perceived parental values. This transmission chain was only found if the between-parent agreement was high. The results are discussed in terms of parent-specific mechanisms fostering transmission if both parents agree on academic values, such as an improved perceptive accuracy as well as the increased salience and mutual reinforcement of parental messages.

Friendship preferences among German and Turkish preadolescents.

This study examined changes in and predictors of preference for same-ethnic friendships among German (N=106) and Turkish (N=45) preadolescents (M age=10.4 years) during their 1st year in an ethnically heterogeneous school. Drawing on the contact hypothesis, it examined the relation between children's attitudes and their preference for same-ethnic friendship. Among both German and Turkish children, the latter decreased over time and its variability was predicted by intergroup attitudes and peer norms about cross-ethnic friendships. Outgroup orientation and perceived contact conditions predicted only German children's preference for same-ethnic friendships. Over time, classroom identification increasingly reduced preference for same-ethnic friendships among Turkish children. The results showed that interindividual attitudes were related to children's level of intergroup contact.