The effects of self-affirmation interventions were substantial for marginalized students in high-potential-threat-context schools but not in low-potential-threat-context schools. 


Stanford University

In self-affirmation interventions, students spend 15 to 20 minutes writing about self-affirmation throughout the school year. These interventions have helped reduce racial achievement gaps in GPA for Black and Hispanic students.

Self-Affirmation Interventions

- School context matters most for Black and Hispanic students that are historically marginalized in school settings.
- School context can change a student's academic identity if there is a perceived level of threat regarding their racial identity. 

School Context Based on Ethnic/Racial Diversity

Hanselman, P., Bruch, S. K., Gamoran, A., & Borman, G. D. (2014). Threat in Context: School Moderation of the Impact of Social Identity Threat on Racial/Ethnic Achievement Gaps. Sociology of Education, 87(2), 106–124. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040714525970

Threat in Context: School Moderation of the Impact of Social Identity Threat on Racial/Ethnic Achievement Gaps

When looking at specific subjects, self-affirmation exercises help improve English grades and the language portion for standardized test scores the most. It turns out that self-affirmation interventions don’t improve every aspect of a GPA. Instead, only English grades improve and that is what is reflected in the overall increase in GPA.

Self-Affirmation Effects on School Subjects

Self-Affirmation Interventions in Varying School Contexts

- After self-affirmation interventions, race achievement gaps were maintained but decreased in high-potential-threat-context schools only. 
- The decrease in race achievement gap due to self-affirmation was still not enough to have the GPA of marginalized students be at the level of marginalized students in low-potential-threat-context schools that did not receive the intervention.

Race Achievement Gaps After Self-Affirmation Interventions

- High-Potential-Threat-Context Schools
- Low-Potential-Threat-Context Schools

Types of School Context

Marginalized students were found to have lower GPAs in high-potential-threat-context schools than their counterparts in low-potential-threat-context schools. 

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