The Intersectionality of Race/Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status on Social and Emotional Skills

Abstract The intersectionality of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) in predicting social and emotional (SE) skills was examined for 81,950 6th – 8th graders. At low levels of SES, White students tended to have the lower SE scores. However, as SES increased, they tended to have higher scores relative to minority groups. Across SES levels, Asian students showed higher Academic Discipline and Self-Regulation scores. The SES and SE skill relationship was less pronounced for underserved minority groups. This may be among the first reports where a measure of SE skills has documented different relationships with SES as a function of race/ethnicity. Possible explanations for these findings, as well as implications for designing culturally responsive programs that focus on SE skills, are discussed.