Immigrant Students Ethnic-Racial Identity on Academic and Psychological Adjustment: Moderation by Age of Arrival

• In Event: AERA Graduate Student Research-in-Progress Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Identity, Engagement, and Inclusion in Learning and Instruction (Table 3)

Abstract

Depending on when they arrive in the United States, immigrant students have different contexts for acculturating in new environments and constructing new identities. Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) is a social identity based on one's ethnoracial group membership, which has been consistently positively associated with adjustments among U.S. youth. This study examined whether ERI predicts academic and psychological adjustments among immigrants. Participants were 300 immigrant students from two U.S. high schools (= 16.163, = 1.183). Preliminary results indicated that ERI positively predicts self-esteem, and there was a stronger association between ERI and self-esteem for students arriving during late adolescence (age 14+). Additional analyses on academic engagement and depressive symptoms will further our understanding of how ERI relates to adjustment for immigrant students.

Author

• Guicheng Tan, Harvard University