Language Brokering Conditions the Indirect Association Between Mexican-Origin Adolescents' Academic Discrimination and Educational Expectations

Abstract

Mexican-origin adolescents, a significant portion of the US Latino population, often experience a decline in educational expectations from early to late adolescence. Contextual factors such as academic discrimination and language brokering for parents may contribute to this decline. This study investigates the indirect effect of academic discrimination experienced in middle school on educational expectations in young adulthood through high school grades and engagement, and the moderating role of language brokering experiences in these relations. Data were collected from 604 Mexican-origin adolescents across four waves from 2012 to 2023. Academic discrimination experiences in middle school were negatively associated with school grades in high school, which in turn were associated with lower educational expectations in young adulthood. A positive relationship with parents tied to language brokering functioned as a buffer, while stress from language brokering with parents exacerbated the association between academic discrimination and high school grades. The findings highlight the need to reduce academic discrimination experiences early in adolescence to prevent its long-term cascading adverse educational outcomes. Language brokering experiences offer new insights into how experiences in the family context converge with academic discrimination to have a lasting influence on academic outcomes in Mexican immigrant households.