Poster #176 - Ethnic Identity Among Latino College Students: Trajectories and Associations with Social Experiences and Psychosocial Outcomes

• In Event: 2-055 - Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Section - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Integrative Statement

Recent highly publicized events and activism across the U.S. underscore that students of color are likely to have experiences in schools that impact their sense of ethnic identity—their beliefs about the role of ethnicity in their lives and how they come to hold such beliefs (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). The processes by which youth develop their ethnic identity, and the role of schools in such processes, is a significant area of inquiry given that ethnic identity is consistently related to positive psychosocial outcomes among students of color throughout the educational pipeline (e.g., Rivas-Drake et al., 2014). Yet the role of educational institutions in shaping ethnic identity in students of color is much less well understood. This is a point of concern because ethnic and racial minority students, particularly underrepresented minorities, are likely to encounter biases in school that undermine the development of a healthy ethnic identity. Thus, the current study investigated how ethnic identity changes over the four years of college, which experiences in college contribute to changes in ethnic identity, and how ethnic identity is related to distal psychosocial outcomes. Data reflect a 4-year longitudinal survey study of 378 self-identified Latino/Hispanic college students (65% female; 16% foreign-born) attending five predominantly White four-year universities in the Midwest.
Results revealed ethnic identity exploration (Phinney, 1992) and private regard (Sellers et al., 1998) evinced unique trajectories over the four years of college. Three trajectories emerged for exploration (see Figure 1): moderately-high and increasing (n = 133; mean intercept: 3.15, p < .001, and slope: .08, p < .001), low and stable (n = 25; mean intercept: 1.78, p < .001, and slope: -.04, p < .484), moderate and stable (n = 216; mean intercept: 2.50, p < .001, and slope: .01, p = .497). Two trajectories emerged for private regard: high and stable (n = 25; mean intercept: 6.29, p < .001, and slope: -.05, p = .304), and moderate and stable (n = 25; mean intercept: 4.54, p < .001, and slope: .08, p = .409). Analysis of experiences in college found that all three hypothesized factors—perceived ethnic threat, organizational involvement, and peer racial diversity—predicted membership in trajectories for at least one ethnic identity dimension (see Table 1). Specifically, greater perceived ethnic threat predicted membership in the trajectory characterized by less positive feelings of private regard. Participation in ethnicity-related organizations predicted membership in the trajectory characterized by growth in exploration and the trajectory characterized by more positive levels of private regard. Greater racial diversity among classmates predicted membership in the trajectory characterized by growth in exploration. Additionally, those who demonstrated growth in exploration reported greater academic persistence and curiosity at the end of college compared to those who remained consistently moderate in exploration (see Table 1). These findings highlight the importance of universities in the development of their Latino students.

Authors

• Tissyana C Camacho, California State University, Northridge
  Presenting Author

• Deborah Rivas-Drake, University of Michigan
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tabbye Chavous, University of Michigan
  Non-Presenting Author