Patterns of ethnic-racial identity and critical consciousness and associations with science, technology, engineering, and math engagement and perceived barriers: A latent class analysis of youth of color.

Objectives: Despite the well-documented scholarship highlighting ethnic-racial identity (ERI) and critical consciousness (CC) as promotive of positive academic outcomes, little research has explored what role these cultural assets may play in shaping science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engagement and perceptions of barriers to STEM for youth of color. This work explored relations between racially minoritized youths' patterns of ERI and CC in association with STEM engagement and perceptions of STEM career and educational barriers.

Method: Latent class analysis and analysis of variance were used with a predominately Black and Latinx sample (N = 265, M_age = 15.83, SD = 1.35; 49% female).

Results: Four classes emerged. Members of the naïve affirmed advocates class had significantly higher STEM engagement than the disillusioned class. Youth in the affirmed and critical class reported the highest perceptions of STEM-related career barriers, followed by the affirmed advocates class.

Conclusions: Findings highlight the critical link between ERI and CC as promotive factors for academic engagement for racially minoritized youth in STEM and promote awareness of STEM-related barriers that may be useful to prepare and navigate future STEM challenges. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).