In-group comparison is painful but meaningful: The moderator of classroom ethnic composition and the mediators of self-esteem and school belonging for upward comparisons.

This study examined the moderation of classroom ethnic composition and the mediation of group identification in the relationships between upward comparisons, depression, and self-efficacy in a sample of 359 Taiwanese aboriginal students. A stronger negative effect was found in highly ethnically concentrated classes. Upward comparisons were found to reinforce depression, decrease self-esteem, and reduce school belonging in aborigines-only classes but not in mainstream classes. Two pathways-self-esteem and school belonging-were found to process the negative indirect effects on depression and academic and social self-efficacy. The indirect effect through school belonging was particularly strong in the aborigines-only classes compared with the mainstream classes. The suppression effect showed that when self-esteem and school belonging were sustained, the aboriginal students in aborigines-only classes could increase their social self-efficacy through upward comparisons.