The Roles of Cultural Mistrust and Mentoring in Latinx Adolescents’ Attitudes Toward School

Using the frameworks of Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) and an integrative model of developmental competencies, this study examined the roles of cultural mistrust toward education and natural mentoring relationship quality in the academic outcomes of Latinx adolescents. Participants were 294 Latinx students (52.9% female; mean age 15 years in 9th grade; 21% first-generation, 63% second-generation, and 6% third-generation immigrants) who completed surveys in 9th and 10th grades. This study longitudinally examined the role of cultural mistrust in education in Latinx adolescents’ attitudes toward education, while controlling for prior levels of each outcome as well as age, gender, and U.S. nativity. The negative effect of cultural mistrust on educational aspirations was greater for students who had poorer quality mentoring relationships.