At the Crossroads: Intersection of Ethnic and Socioeconomic Backgrounds in the Interplay of Perceived Teacher Discrimination, Intergroup Attitudes, and Socioemotional Outcomes

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Perceived ethnic discrimination from teachers is associated with poorer adolescent adjustment, yet the mechanisms underlying these associations and the extent to which responses vary across the intersection of multiple social identities remain unclear. Guided by an Intersectionality‐Informed Ecological Approach, this study investigated the associations between perceived teacher discrimination and students' socioemotional outcomes, both directly and indirectly through intergroup attitudes (i.e., interest in learning about other cultures and support for immigrants' equal rights). We also explored variations in these associations based on intersections of students' ethnic (ethnic minoritized vs. majoritized) and SES (high vs. low) backgrounds. Methods Data were drawn from the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), focusing on adolescents ( N = 5,451, M age = 15.83, 67.5% ethnic majoritized) in Germany. Results Structural Equation Model (SEM) demonstrated that perceived teacher discrimination was directly and negatively associated with both subjective well‐being and school belonging. The association with school belonging operated both directly and indirectly via attitudes towards immigrants' equal rights. These relational patterns were largely consistent across intersectional groups, although the negative association between teacher discrimination and subjective well‐being was significant among high‐SES ethnic majoritized students compared with low‐SES ethnic majoritized students. Conclusions Findings highlight intergroup attitudes as a potential mechanism to mitigate the adverse impacts of teacher discrimination. Moreover, students appear not to be passive recipients of discrimination; rather, the socioeconomic resources available to them may shape their responses.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Adolescence, 2026 · DOI ↗