Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences http://hjb.sagepub.com/

The Relationship of Ethnicity-Related Stressors and Latino Ethnic Identity to Well-Being Sabine Elizabeth French and Noé R. Chavez Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 2010 32: 410 DOI: 10.1177/0739986310374716 The online version of this article can be found at: http://hjb.sagepub.com/content/32/3/410

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The Relationship of Ethnicity-Related Stressors and Latino Ethnic Identity to Well-Being

Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 32(3) 410­–428 © The Author(s) 2010 Reprints and permission: http://www. sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0739986310374716 http://hjbs.sagepub.com

Sabine Elizabeth French1 and Noé R. Chavez1

Abstract Based on the risk and resilience model, the current study examined the effect of ethnicity-related stressors (perceived discrimination, stereotype confirmation concern, and own-group conformity pressure) and ethnic identity (centrality, private regard, public regard, and other-group orientation) on the well-being of 171 Latino American college students. The study also examined the moderating role of ethnic identity on the relationship between ethnicity-related stressors and well-being. Findings showed that stereotype confirmation concern significantly predicted less well-being, whereas a positive ethnic identity predicted greater well-being. Ethnic identity also moderated the effect of ethnicity-related stressors on well-being. Different patterns emerged for the moderating effect of different ethnic identity dimensions and different ethnicity-related stressors. Findings are discussed in terms of the acculturative and ethnic diversity context of the college students. Keywords ethnicity-related stressors, discrimination, ethnic identity, well-being, Latino Most of the recent empirical research on the negative effects of ethnicityrelated stressors on psychological health has focused on racism and discrimination. This research shows that discrimination and negative stereotypes about 1

University of Illinois at Chicago

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ethnic minorities persist and can affect ethnic minority well-being. Individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds also experience acculturative stress stemming from the dual pressure to maintain ties to their group and to adapt and function in the mainstream culture (Berry, Kim, Minde, & Mok, 1987). Given the prevalence of ethnicity-related stressors, the field of psychology would benefit from risk and resilience models that illustrate how the negative consequences of these stressors can be attenuated. Ethnic identity has been demonstrated to be a protective factor. In this study, we examined the impact of these stressors on the well-being of Latino Americans, an underrepresented group in this literature. In addition, we examined the direct and moderating effect of ethnic identity on well-being.

Ethnicity-Related Stressors Both theoretical and empirical research has examined the study of ethnicityrelated stress in the context of traditional stress frameworks (Crocker, Major, & Steele, 1998; Harrell, 2000; Sellers, Copeland-Linder, Martin, & Heureux Lewis, 2006). These stressors have been categorized as follows: (a) experiences with prejudice and discrimination; (b) awareness of a devalued quality of one’s social identity in society; (c) stereotype threat conditions, involving awareness of specific stereotypes that others hold of their racial-ethnic group and related anxiety and fear of confirming these stereotypes (Steele & Aronson, 1995); and (d) attributional ambiguity, involving ambiguity in situations when a stigmatized person is uncertain whether the treatment received from others is based on racial prejudice. The majority of the empirical research examining the negative effects of ethnicity-related stressors has focused on the impact of racial discrimination on the psychological health of ethnic minorities, with most of this research focusing on individuals that are African American. This is not surprising, given this group’s long history with racism and oppression in the United States. In their review, Sellers and Shelton (2003) found that perceived racial discrimination led to poorer mental health among this group. Less is known about the experiences of Latino groups, although, given their increasing numbers in the United States, recent research has begun to include these populations in ethnic identity research. In a review of the empirical literature on racial discrimination, Araújo and Borrell (2006) found that although Latinos reported lower levels of discrimination than African Americans, their experience of discrimination had a negative impact on their mental health. In their contribution to the literature on Latinos’ ethnicity-related stressors, Contrada et al. (2001) developed and evaluated measures for three forms of

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chronic or recurring ethnicity-related stress, including ethnic discrimination, stereotype confirmation concern, and own-group conformity pressure. Their measure of stereotype confirmation concern assesses a chronic concern over confirming a stereotype of one’s racial-ethnic group (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Among African American students, stereotype threat can cause increased anxiety over confirming poor academic achievement stereotypes, which leads them to perform significantly worse than counterparts on academic exams. Less is known, however, about stereotype threat among individuals from Latino backgrounds. Own-group conformity pressure involves feelings of constraint due to the expectations of one’s own ethnic group about appropriate behavior. An example of such a constraint is the pressure felt by Latino students to speak Spanish so that they can fit in with other Latinos (Rodriguez, Morris, Myers, & Cardoza, 2000). While such conformity pressure would also likely affect wellbeing, it is likely to produce effects that are different than stressors that come from outside the group. An important goal of this study was to expand the research on ethnicity-related stressors beyond just discrimination to include multiple dimensions such as stereotype confirmation concern and own-group conformity pressure.

Ethnic Identity as a Resilient Factor for Well-Being Risk and resilience models provide a framework that can be used to understand why some individuals that are exposed to ethnicity-related stressors do not have poor well-being. Two models of resilience are the theoretical underpinnings of the current study: compensatory models and protective models. Research using a compensatory model focuses on factors within an individual that can directly reduce a negative outcome (Zimmerman, Bingenheimer, & Notaro, 2002). When using a compensatory model, researchers examine both the risk and protective factors additively in a model. Higher levels of a resilient factor are directly associated with an outcome (e.g., well-being) after controlling for risk factors (e.g., ethnicity-related stressors). However, in protective models the direct relationship between the resilient factor and the outcome is no longer the primary emphasis; instead the resilient factor’s moderating effect on the relationship between a risk and an outcome is the focus of the study. Ethnic identity1 has been examined as a resilient factor that may also be associated with well-being for ethnic minority group members. Ethnic identity can be perceived as one of many social identities each individual has. It is a

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multidimensional construct; we examined four dimensions in this paper. Sellers and colleagues (Sellers, Smith, Shelton, Rowley, & Chavous, 1998) focused on the dimensions of centrality and regard in their theories of racial identity. Centrality is the significance of racial identity to one’s self-concept. Regard includes public regard—one’s beliefs about the affective and evaluative judgments others make of one’s racial-ethnic group, and private regard—one’s own affective and evaluative judgments of one’s racial-ethnic group. In her research on ethnic identity, Phinney (1992) included other group orientation—one’s attitudes and general orientation toward members of other ethnic groups, among her dimensions of ethnic identity. Risk and resiliency research that has used the compensatory model when examining the direct association between ethnic identity and well-being, controlling for ethnicity-related stressors, has generally found ethnic identity to be a beneficial factor, that is, it has been related positively to measures of psychological well-being such as coping ability, mastery, self-esteem, and optimism, and negatively to measures of loneliness and depression (Roberts et al., 1999) and quality of life indices (Utsey, Chae, Brown, & Kelly, 2002). With regard to research examining ethnic identity using a protective model, recent studies have demonstrated a moderating effect on the relationship between perceived discrimination and well-being outcomes. For example, Sellers and colleagues (Sellers et al., 2006; Sellers & Shelton, 2003) found that both centrality and public regard buffered the effects of perceived discrimination on the psychological distress of African Americans. We found no published studies that examined the moderating role of ethnic identity for Latino Americans. Following this research, the current study employed both a compensatory and protective model by examining both the direct and moderating role of multiple dimensions of ethnic identity in the relationship between ethnicity-related stressors and well-being for Latino Americans.

Current Study The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between ethnicity-related stressors and well-being among Latino Americans. To enhance the comprehensiveness of this assessment, we examined multiple dimensions of ethnicity-related stress, moving beyond the historical focus on discrimination to include stereotype confirmation concern and own-group conformity pressure. In addition, following risk and resilience compensatory and protective models, we examined both the direct and moderating role of multiple dimensions of ethnic identity toward the end of identifying how individuals might benefit from and be protected by ethnic identity.

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Based on the reviewed literature, we hypothesized that there would be negative effects of all the ethnicity-related stressors and direct positive effects of all the ethnic identity dimensions on the well-being of the Latino American students. We also hypothesized that the ethnic identity dimensions of centrality and public regard would buffer the relationship between perceived discrimination and well-being. Specifically, we expected that higher centrality and lower public regard would be protective of well-being in the face of experiences of discrimination. We also expected that private regard and othergroup orientation would moderate the relationships between perceived racial discrimination and well-being. Although there is no prior research examining how ethnic identity moderates the relationship between stereotype confirmation concern and own group conformity pressure, we still predicted these two ethnicity-related stressors to be moderated by ethnic identity.

Method Participants The data examined in the current study are part of the Transition to College Project, conducted at an ethnically diverse southern California university. This project examined the academic and ethnicity-related experiences of an ethnically diverse college student sample. The participants in this study attended a university where no single racial-ethnic group was in the majority. Each ethnic group was represented on campus in sufficient numbers to provide a large ethnic peer group. There were 171 participants (134 females, 37 males) who self-identified as Latino or Hispanic. The participants’ age ranged from 18 to 36 years2 (M = 18.94, SD = 1.87) and a median of 19. The sample consisted of 77.2% freshmen, 14.6% sophomores, 5.8% juniors, 2.4% seniors. One-quarter (24.6%) of the Latino students were first generation immigrants; the remaining students were second generation. The students were primarily Mexican American (72.5%; 4.7% Central American, 23.4% identified as Latino or Hispanic without reporting a specific ethnic group). The median income range of the sample was US$30,001-US$40,000.

Procedure Participants were sampled from the “Introduction to Psychology” class subject pool and received course credit for their participation. The study was conducted in compliance with the university’s institutional review board.

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Informed consent was obtained from participants prior to beginning the survey. All participants completed a two-part survey. Participants were instructed to complete Part I at home alone. Part I included demographic and academic information. Part II consisted of measures that assessed ethnicity-related stressors, ethnic identity, and well-being. Students completed Part II in a laboratory setting with a Latino American research assistant present to answer any questions they may have had.

Measures Perceived racial discrimination. The Adolescent Discrimination Distress Index (Fisher, Wallace, & Fenton, 2000) is a 16-item measure that assessed perceived stressfulness of racially discriminatory incidents occurring within three contexts: educational (e.g., “You were discouraged from joining an advanced level class”), institutional (e.g., “You were hassled by police”), and peer (e.g., “Students of a different racial-ethnic background did not include you in their activities”). Although designed for high school students, the items were also relevant for students attending college. Each item was scored as a “0” if it had never happened and a “1” if it had occurred. The range of possible scores is 0 to 16 (α = .91). Own-group conformity pressure. This 16-item measure assessed the degree to which participants felt pressured by their racial/ethnic group to conform to particular ways of behaving, dressing, socializing, dating, or speaking during the past three months (Contrada et al., 2001). For example, “To what degree have you felt pressured by members of your racial/ethnic group to speak a certain way (or to use a certain language)?” Each item was scored a “0” if they never felt pressured and a “1” if they had felt any pressure. The 16 items were summed yielding a possible range of 0 to 16 (α = .91). Stereotype confirmation concern. An 11-item measure of stereotype confirmation concern (Contrada et al., 2001) assessed the degree of concern about confirming a stereotype for their ethnic group in the past three months across academic, physical appearance, language use, and social activity domains (e.g., “How often have you been concerned that by talking a certain way you might appear to be confirming a stereotype about your racial/ethnic group?”). Each item was scored a “0” if they never felt concerned and a “1” if they had felt any concern. The range of possible scores is 0 to 11 (α = .93). Ethnic identity. We adapted Sellers’ 19-item Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI, 1997) to be appropriate for use with all racial/ethnic groups, specifically by substituting “my racial/ethnic group” where it originally said “Black.” The MIBI is composed of three subscales: centrality (eight items;

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e.g., “In general being a member of my racial/ethnic group is an important part of my self-image”; α = .82), public regard (four items; e.g., “Overall members of my racial/ethnic group are considered good by others”; α = .73), and private regard (seven items; e.g., “I feel good about my racial/ethnic group”; α = .78). Participants responded from 1 = disagree strongly to 7 = agree strongly. The subscale other group orientation came from the Multigroup Racial Identity Measure (Phinney, 1992) to assess students’ attitudes toward other groups (six items; “I enjoy being around people from other ethnic groups”; α = .75). Participants responded from 1 = disagree strongly to 7 = agree strongly. Well-being. The well-being measure was adapted from the Mental Health Inventory (Viet & Ware, 1983), a measure of psychological health within the general population. The measure contains multiple subscales, two of which we used in the current study: depression (four items, e.g., “felt downhearted and blue”; α = .86) and loss of behavioral/emotional control (nine items, e.g., “felt like crying”; α = .78). Participants rated each item from 0 = none of the time to 5 = all of the time, in the past month.

Results Preliminary analyses were conducted to examine whether participants reported experiencing any of the three ethnicity-related stressors. In addition, we examined whether there were any differences in terms of the dependent variables (depression and loss of control) by gender, generation status, and ethnic subgroup. Next, we examined Pearson correlations to examine the associations among all the variables of interest. Finally, we conducted the primary analyses using hierarchical linear regression to examine our three research questions. Preliminary analyses. Table 1 contains the means and standard deviations for each variable. Findings showed that nearly all participants experienced at least one form of ethnicity-related stressors (98.2%). Examining the ethnicity-related stressors by the three components, 88.6% of students reported perceived experiences of discrimination, 84.8% reported feeling pressure to conform, and 81.1% reported stereotype confirmation concern. Finally, 66.9% of students reported experiencing all three ethnicity-related stressors. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed no generational or ethnic subgroup differences for the three set of variables in this study (well-being, ethnicity-related stressors, and ethnic identity). Therefore these demographic variables were not included in the main analyses. There were no significant

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French and Chavez Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations, and Cronbach’s Alphas for All Variables

Depression Loss of emotional/behavioral control Perceived discrimination Own-group conformity pressure Stereotype confirmation concern Centrality Private regard Public regard Other-group orientation

M

SD

Cronbach’s Alpha

2.52 1.85 6.91 5.21 5.22 4.36 5.57 4.27 5.55

1.01 0.69 5.03 4.57 4.21 1.02 0.70 0.99 0.82

.86 .78 .91 .91 .93 .82 .78 .73 .75

gender differences for well-being or ethnic identity. However, there were marginally significant differences for ethnicity-related stressors by gender, F(3, 168) = 2.17, p < .10, η2 = .04. Women reported significantly less pressure to conform than men, F(1, 170) = 5.31, p < .05, η2 = .03 (MW = 4.82, SD = 4.42; MM = 6.74, SD = 4.89). Women also reported fewer experiences of discrimination than men, F(1, 170) = 3.60, p < .10, η2 = .02 (MW = 6.58, SD = 4.72; MM = 8.64, SD = 5.38). Thus gender was included in the primary analyses. Pearson correlations were conducted on study variables. Table 2 illustrates findings which demonstrated a strong correlation between the two dependent variables, depression and loss of control, a positive association between the dependent variables and stereotype confirmation concern, and a strong association between the dependent variables and public regard and other group orientation. The three ethnicity-related stressors were positively associated with each other. The pattern of associations among the four ethnic identity variables were mixed from no association to a positive association. Primary analyses. The three primary research questions (RQ) examined in this study are as follows: Research Question 1 (RQ1): Do ethnicity-related stressors predict well-being for Latino Americans? Research Question 2 (RQ2): Do dimensions of ethnic identity directly predict well-being? Research Question 3 (RQ3): Do dimensions of ethnic identity moderate the relationship between ethnicity-related stressors and well-being?

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0.71****

Loss of control −0.01   0.01

P-Disc 0.08 0.11* 0.41****

OGCP

Cent

PVR

0.17*** −0.12* −0.04 0.20*** −0.06 −0.11* 0.38**** 0.12* 0.05 0.44**** 0.27**** 0.11* 0.29**** −0.03 0.47****

SCC

−0.18*** −0.17** −0.18*** −0.18** −0.14** 0.00 0.27****

PBR

−0.21*** −0.16** −0.21*** −0.07 −0.17** −0.03 0.10* 0.08  

OGO

Note: P-Disc = types of perceived discrimination; OGCP = types of own group conformity pressure; SCC = types of stereotype confirmation concern; Cent = centrality; PVR = private regard; PBR = public regard; OGO = other group orientation. *p < .10. **p < .05. ***p < .01. ****p < .001.

Depression Loss of control P-Disc OGCP SCC Cent PVR PBR OGO

Depression

Table 2. Intercorrelations Among All Variables

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The research questions were addressed by examining two separate hierarchical linear regression models. Specifically, a four-step hierarchical regression analysis was conducted for each measure of well-being: depression and loss of behavioral/emotional control. The first step in all regression analyses performed included gender due to the significant difference between men and women found in the preliminary analyses. The first research question which examined whether ethnicityrelated stressors predicted Latino Americans’ well-being, was examined with the second step in the regression which included the three ethnicity-related stressors (perceived discrimination, stereotype confirmation concern, and own-group conformity pressure). The second research question on whether ethnic identity dimensions directly predicted well-being was examined with the third step in the regression which included the four ethnic identity variables (centrality, private regard, public regard, and other-group orientation). Following the guidelines of Cohen, Cohen, West, and Aiken (2003), the third research question on whether the dimensions of ethnic identity moderated the relationship between the stressors and well-being was addressed in the fourth step of the regression involving the set of interaction terms between each ethnic identity variable and each ethnicity-related stressor (12 interaction terms in total). Tests of each moderators’ simple slopes guided interpretations of the significant interactions showing direction and significance of the moderator at low and high levels.

Depression The first step in the hierarchical regression analysis that included gender was not significant. The second step including the ethnicity-related stressors was marginally significant, ΔR2 = .04, F(3, 166) = 2.12, p < .10. The ethnic identity step accounted for a significant amount of variance, ΔR2 = .12, F(4, 162) = 5.57, p < .001. The interaction step was not significant, but the final equation was significant, R2 = .22, F(20, 150) = 2.09, p < .01. Given the significant final equation, the final equation coefficients were examined and were reported in Table 3. Ethnicity-related stressors (RQ1). Ethnicity-related stressors were related to depression. Examination of Table 3 showed that stereotype confirmation concern was positively related to depression, B = .05 (SE = .02), p < .05; such that students that reported higher concern also reported higher levels of depression. Surprisingly, perceived discrimination was negatively predictive of depression, B = –.04 (SE = .02), p < .05, indicating that Latino Americans who reported higher levels of perceived discrimination reported lower levels of depression.

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Table 3. Coefficients for the Regression of Well-Being on Sex, Ethnicity-Related Stressors, Ethnic Identity, and Interaction Terms Loss of behavioral/ emotional control

Depression  

B 2

Step 1 ΔR Gender Step 2 ΔR2 P-Disc OGCP SCC Step 3 ΔR2 Cent PVR PBR OGO Step 4 ΔR2 PVR × P-Disc PVR × OGCP PVR × SCC PBR × P-Disc PBR × OGCP PBR × SCC Cent × P-Disc Cent × OGCP Cent × SCC OGO × P-Disc OGO × OGCP OGO × SCC Total R2

0.00 0.10 0.04* −0.04** 0.01 0.05** 0.12**** −0.24*** 0.22 −0.17** −0.24** 0.06 −0.01 0.06 −0.06 0.02 –0.03 0.00 0.00 −0.01 0.05** −0.02 0.01 −0.02 .22***

SE

Beta

0.10

0.08

0.02 0.02 0.02

−0.19 0.07 0.21

0.09 0.14 0.08 0.09

−0.25 0.15 −0.17 −0.19

0.03 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03

−0.04 0.17 −0.17 0.10 −0.11 −0.01 0.00 −0.06 0.19 −0.08 0.03 −0.07

B 0.01 0.09 0.05** −0.02 0.02 0.03** 0.06** −0.10 0.03 −0.08 −0.12* 0.09 −0.01 0.01 −0.02 0.01 −0.04** 0.01 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04** −0.02 .20**

SE 0.07 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.06 0.09 0.06 0.06 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.02

Beta   0.10   −0.14 0.10 0.19   −0.15 0.03 −0.12 −0.14   −0.06 0.06 −0.08 0.07 −0.26 0.07 0.13 0.03 −0.02 0.01 0.22 −0.09  

Note: P-Disc = types of perceived discrimination; OGCP = types of own group conformity pressure; SCC = types of stereotype confirmation concern; Cent = centrality; PVR = private regard; PBR = public regard; OGO = other group orientation. *p < .10. **p < .05. ***p < .01. ****p < .001.

Ethnic identity (RQ2). Ethnic identity had a direct association with depression. Three of the ethnic identity variables were found to be significantly negatively associated with depression: centrality: B = –.24 (SE = .09), p < .01; public regard: B = –.17 (SE = .08), p < .05; and other-group orientation, B = –.24

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Depression

2.5 2 Low Centrality High Centrality

1.5 1 0.5 0 Low

High

Stereotype Confirmation Concern

Figure 1. The interaction of centrality and stereotype confirmation concern on depression

(SE = .09), p < .05. In each case, higher levels of ethnic identity were associated with lower levels of depression. Ethnic identity as a moderator (RQ3). Ethnic identity dimensions moderated the relationship between ethnicity-related stressors and depression. Centrality moderated the relationship between stereotype confirmation concern and depression, B = .05 (SE = .02), p < .05. An examination of the simple slopes illustrated that the slope for stereotype confirmation concern for students with low centrality was not significant, B = .01 (SE = .03), p = ns, indicating that students with low centrality had similar levels of depression whether reporting low or high stereotype confirmation concern. The slope for concern, however, was positive and significant for Latino Americans with high centrality, B = .10 (SE = .03), p < .01. That is, depression was higher for students with high concern than for the students with low concern. Examining the same means visually from the perspective of stereotype confirmation concerns, under high concern, students with both high and low centrality had similar levels of depression. However, at low concern, those with high centrality had lower depression than did those with low centrality (see Figure 1).

Loss of Behavioral/Emotional Control The first step including gender was not significant. The second step including the ethnicity-related stressors was significant, ΔR2 = .05, F(3, 166) = 2.85, p < .05, as was the ethnic identity step, ΔR2 = .06, F(4, 162) = 2.55, p < .05,

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but the interaction step was not significant. The final equation was significant, R2 = .20, F(20, 150) = 1.83, p < .05. Given the significant final equation, the final equation coefficients were examined and were reported in Table 3. Ethnicity-related stressors (RQ1). Ethnicity-related stressors were related to loss of emotional/behavioral control. Students who reported higher levels of stereotype confirmation concern, B = .03 (SE = .02), p < .05, reported higher levels of loss of control. Ethnic identity (RQ2). Ethnic identity had a marginally significant direct association with loss of control. Students who reported lower levels of othergroup orientation, B = –.12 (SE = .06), p < .10, reported higher levels of loss of control. Ethnic identity as a moderator (RQ3). Ethnic identity dimensions moderated the relationship between ethnicity-related stressors and loss of control. Othergroup orientation moderated the relationship between own-group conformity pressure and loss of emotional/behavioral control, B = .04 (SE = .02), p < .05. An examination of the simple slopes for pressure illustrated that the slope for students with low other-group orientation was not significant, B = –.02 (SE = .02), p = ns. Thus, loss of control was the same at both low and high levels of own-group conformity pressure. However, the slope for pressure for those with high other-group orientation was positive and significant, B = .05 (SE = .02), p < .05. Thus, students with higher levels of pressure reported higher loss of control than those with low pressure. Examining the same means visually from the perspective of own group conformity pressure, students with high pressure, with either high or low other-group orientation had similar levels of loss of control. However, at low pressure, those with high othergroup orientation had lower loss of control than those with low other-group orientation (see Figure 2). Public regard moderated the relationship between own-group conformity pressure and loss of control, B = –.04 (SE = .02), p < .05. An examination of the simple slopes for public regard illustrated that the slope for students with low pressure was not significant, B = .10 (SE = .09), p = ns, indicating that loss of control was similar at both low and high levels of public regard for students with low pressure. The slope for public regard for those with high pressure, however, was significant, B = –.27 (SE = .09), p < .01. Under high own-group conformity pressure, students with higher public regard had lower loss of control than did those with low public regard (see Figure 3).

Discussion The goal of this study was to expand the research on the role of ethnicityrelated stressors in the lives of Latino Americans. Often Latino Americans

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Loss of Control

2.5 2 Low Other Group Orientation High Other Group Orientation

1.5 1 0.5 0

Low High Own Group Conformity Pressure

Figure 2. The interaction of other-group orientation and own-group conformity pressure on loss of emotional/behavioral control

3 Loss of Control

2.5 2 Low Public Regard High Public Regard

1.5 1

0.5 0

Low High Own Group Conformity Pressure

Figure 3. The interaction of public regard and own-group conformity pressure on loss of emotional/behavioral control

are in small numbers on college campuses. This study, however, took place on a campus where European Americans represented only 35% of the student body, and no racial or ethnic group was in the majority, providing minority group students a unique opportunity to be at a 4-year university surrounded by many other ethnic minority group members. The results are discussed in terms of the three research questions, first in terms of the findings for ethnicityrelated stressors and then with regard to the role of ethnic identity as a direct

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predictor and as a moderator in the relationship between ethnicity-related stressors and well-being.

Ethnicity-Related Stressors The first research question examined whether ethnicity-related stressors were associated with well-being for Latino American students. Consistent with previous research, ethnicity-related stressors bore negatively on well-being. Unexpectedly, however, and contrary to the majority of the previous literature, perceived discrimination was not the obvious culprit. Instead, consistent with Steele and Aronson’s (1995) work with stereotype threat, it was the fear of confirming stereotypes, regardless of discrimination experiences, that negatively affected well-being. Very likely, the negative general portrayal of Latinos, particularly in border states, helps feed stereotype concern among Latinos. These stereotypes perpetuate images of Latinos as illegal immigrants, unable to speak English well and poor academic achievers. A striking finding in the current research was the negative relationship between perceived discrimination and depression, counterintuively suggesting that perceived discrimination is protective for Latinos. In light of the additional finding of a positive relationship between stereotype confirmation concern, depression, and discrimination, however, what might instead explain the paradoxical finding is statistical suppression. That is, after controlling for the association between stereotype concern and discrimination, the remaining variance in discrimination was negatively associated with depression. These findings may be explained as Sellers and Shelton (2003) explained their similar results. Perhaps the counterintuitive findings in both Sellers and Shelton’s (2003) and our findings are owed to a perception that minority groups’ experience of discrimination did not go against their expectations. These findings, however, do not erase the fact that discrimination can have a negative effect on ethnic minority groups’ well-being (e.g., Araújo & Borrell, 2006). It is telling as well that ethnicity-related stressors other than discrimination are significant in their lives, and thus it is also important to examine stressors arising from stereotypes and intragroup conflicts as we have in this study. Ethnic minority college students’ experiences are shaped by interactions both with ethnic out-group members and with ethnic in-group members.

Ethnic Identity as a Protective Factor The second research question examined whether ethnic identity was a protective factor in well-being. As has been found in previous research, ethnic

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identity was positively associated with well-being. Centrality, public regard and other-group orientation were most protective of well-being. Centrality of ethnic identity to students’ self-image and the feeling that others believed Latinos were good, were associated with lower levels of depression, whereas being comfortable with other ethnic groups was related to lower depression and lower loss of control. Given that these students attended an ethnically diverse campus, it was clearly protective to be comfortable with members of other ethnic groups, and believe that others think Latinos are good, yet still maintain their Latino identity as an essential part of their self-image. The third research question examined whether dimensions of ethnic identity would moderate the relationship between ethnicity-related stressors and well-being. Important patterns emerged in the interactions between ethnicityrelated stressors and ethnic identity in their prediction of well-being. The first interaction examining stereotype confirmation concern and centrality for depression illustrated that ethnic identity was protective of well-being, but only when stereotype confirmation concern was low. Although having a strong Latino self-image was protective, the negative impact of the fear of confirming stereotypes overrode the protective nature of ethnic identity. Unfortunately, this suggests that promoting greater ethnic identity alone is not a solution to overcoming the fear of confirming stereotypes. Rather, any intervention designed to promote the well-being of ethnic minorities must promote ethnic identity and either address the conditions that facilitate stereotype threat or help ethnic group members deal with and minimize concern over stereotype confirmation. One intervention idea is to attempt to break down stereotypes and promote confidence and a positive sense of ethnic identity. Students also showed the same pattern for own-group conformity pressure and other-group orientation in terms of loss of emotional/behavioral control. When feeling little pressure to conform to ethnic group norms, being comfortable around other ethnic groups was protective of well-being. However, there was a clear disconnect for students facing a great deal of pressure to conform. These students were comfortable with other ethnic groups, yet they felt that they were being pulled in the other direction by their ethnic peers who pressured them to be “more Latino,” including hanging out with or dating only other Latinos. This disconnect or conflict between their own desires and their ethnic peer group’s desires led to a sense of loss of control. In such a case, they would likely benefit from a stronger bicultural orientation to protect their well-being. Ideally, if they could still embrace other groups without rejecting their own, they may be more likely to feel a sense of control over their own lives. Previous research has shown that a bicultural orientation, not full assimilation or separation from the mainstream, is more adaptive and associated with positive psychological health (Berry, Phinney, Sam, & Vedder, 2006).

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For the last interaction, public regard moderated the relationship of owngroup conformity pressure and loss of control, differently than did other-group orientation. Specifically, under low pressure, public regard was not predictive of loss of control. It was under higher pressure where public regard was positively associated with loss of control. Students with a lower public regard essentially believed that people from other ethnic groups view their ethnic group negatively, therefore when they were simultaneously pressured to conform to their ethnic group, it was not surprising that they would feel a greater loss of control.

Limitations While the findings of this study are compelling, the ethnic diversity of the college campus may make the experiences of these students unique and therefore less likely to generalize to other Latino students. Given increasing diversity nationwide and in educational institutions, it is likely that an increasing number of students will find themselves in such diverse environments. However, the impact of own-group conformity pressure and stereotype confirmation concern may differ for younger adolescents in high school or adults outside of a college environment. Another limitation of the current study was that the data were crosssectional. A subset of these students were part of a longitudinal study, and future research with this data set will examine the long-term impact of ethnicityrelated stressors on the well-being of these students, as well as the protective role of ethnic identity.

Conclusions This study has contributed to the current literature on ethnicity-related stressors and well-being in three important ways. First, we focused on Latino Americans, an underrepresented group in this literature. Second, we expanded the measures of ethnicity-related stressors that are typically examined, by incorporating both newer out-group stressors (stereotype confirmation concern) and in-group stressors (own-group conformity pressure) in addition to perceived discrimination. Third, we examined the role of ethnic identity, which has previously been found to be protective of well-being but expanded the research to examine how ethnic identity moderated the relationship between ethnicityrelated stressors and well-being. For Latino Americans, learning to nullify the pressure to conform and overcoming the fear of confirming stereotypes will be critical to the protection of their well-being. The experiences of ethnic minority college students

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are shaped in a complex multicultural context, and thus their ethnicity-related experiences will be defined by their interactions not only with European Americans but also with members of other ethnicities, as well as their own ethnic group members (Rodriguez et al., 2000). Considering the ethnic diversity of the campus where the study was conducted, bicultural or multicultural dynamics become much more salient. An important agenda for achieving psychological well-being in Latino American students within this acculturative context is essentially negotiating the belongingness to their ethnic group while also adapting to and functioning in the larger cultural context that may stress different norms or cultural values. Interventions implemented to help Latino college students should also address acculturative stressors such as own-group conformity pressures to more comprehensively target ethnicityrelated stressors. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding Dr. Sabine E. French received a small seed grant as a faculty member at the University of California, Riverside.

Notes 1.

2.

While ethnic identity and racial identity have different research traditions and different theoretical and methodological approaches, they share many commonalities in their conceptual meaning. As the study population is Latino Americans, an ethnic group and not a racial group, the current study used the term ethnic identity but includes concepts that are also relevant to racial identity. Only two students were older than 24, one 29 and one 36.

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