Concurrent and longitudinal effects of ethnic identity and experiences of discrimination on psychosocial adjustment of Navajo adolescents.

Abstract

In this study, we examined concurrent and longitudinal relations among Navajo adolescents' ethnic identity, experiences of discrimination, and psychosocial outcomes (i.e., self-esteem, substance use, and social functioning). At Time 1, 137 Navajo adolescents (67 male, 70 female), primarily in Grades 9 and 10, completed a written survey assessing ethnic identity, discrimination experiences, and a range of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Two years later, 92 participants completed the same survey again. Ethnic and cultural identification was assessed via the Multiethnic Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney, 1992) and the Orthogonal Cultural Identification Scale (OCIS; Oetting & Beauvais, 1990). At Time 1, MEIM Affirmation and Belonging, MEIM Exploration, and OCIS White American identification all demonstrated strong, positive associations with adaptive functioning for male and female adolescents, whereas discrimination experiences were linked to lower self-esteem and social functioning for male adolescents. By Time 2, fewer significant concurrent associations between ethnic identity and psychosocial functioning scores remained, and discrimination experiences emerged as the most consistent correlate of poorer psychosocial functioning for male adolescents. Controlling for Time 1 psychosocial functioning, relatively few direct effects of ethnic and cultural identification variables predicted psychosocial functioning longitudinally, but discrimination experiences demonstrated strong and consistent longitudinal links with boys' substance use. Finally, interaction effects assessing the moderating influence of ethnic and cultural identification on negative links between discrimination and psychosocial functioning suggested that embeddedness in and connection to Navajo culture and, in some cases, connection to White American culture, served as a buffer to the negative effects of discrimination experiences.

Do Positive School Experiences and Preference for American Culture Moderate the Association between School-Based Ethnic Discrimination and Mental Health for Filipino American Adolescents?

“…Moreover, our finding was contradictory to the assumption drawn from social identity theory (Turner et al, 1979) and findings on Somali male adolescent refugees (Ellis et al, 2010) and American Indian female adolescents (Galliher et al, 2010), which suggest that acculturation buffers the negative association between discrimination and mental health. We argue that these mixed findings on the moderating role of acculturation (including indicators such as preference for American culture, language usage, and participation of activities) might stem from three different values about acculturation across different ethnic groups.…”

“…Another study on male American Indian adolescents suggests that past experiences of discrimination predicted decreased selfesteem (reported two years later) only in a marginal significance level, but are strongly linked with their substance use (Galliher et al, 2010). Taken together, the findings of this study and other literature suggest that the longitudinal harm of ethnic discrimination is less significant to psychological adjustment, but might exact more severe consequences on externalized outcomes (e.g., school performance and engagement or substance use).…”

“…Previous findings on ethnic minority children have been mixed with respect to the moderating effects of preference for American culture (e.g., Benner & Kim, 2009;Ellis et al, 2010;Galliher et al, 2010;Umanã-Taylor & Updegraff, 2007). Thus we do not postulate whether levels of preference act as a buffer or as an exacerbator for either short-term or long-term associations of discrimination with levels of depression and self-esteem.…”

“…Third, the colonial mentality such as high self-image of being Americanized is strongly rooted in Filipino Americans' cognition whereby acculturation plays a less important role in moderating the effect of discrimination. Alternatively, the mixed findings may be due to inconsistent measures of acculturation: Umanã-Taylor and Updegraff (2007) and Ellis et al (2010) assessed behavioral domain, Galliher et al (2010) and our study assessed cultural preference, and Benner and Kim (2009) assessed both domains and values. Using a consistent measure of acculturation should be conducted in the future.…”

“…One line of research suggests that higher levels of orientation toward the host culture alleviate the negative associations between discrimination and mental health, e.g., less depression among Somali male adolescent refugees (Ellis et al, 2010) and higher self-esteem among American Indian female adolescents (Galliher, Jones, & Dahl, 2010). This line of research can be interpreted with the lens of social identity theory (Turner, Brown, & Tajfel, 1979), in which holding a positive view toward a particular social group can contribute to strong identification with the group and further benefit psychological or externalized functioning.…”