Racial-Ethnic Self-Schemas and Segmented Assimilation: Identity and the Academic Achievement of Hispanic Youth

Abstract

How are racial-ethnic identity and acculturation processes linked, and when do they have positive consequences for academic achievement and assimilation trajectory? To address these issues this study integrates two frameworks—segmented assimilation (Portes and Rumbaut 2001) and racial-ethnic self-schema (Oyserman et al. 2003)—that focus on how immigrant and minority youth identify with their in-group and American society at large and link these patterns of racial-ethnic identity with academic outcomes. Segmented assimilation describes how context influences identity and subsequently assimilation trajectory, while racial-ethnic self-schema theory relates differences in identity content to academic achievement. Integration of the two frameworks provides a more robust model of identity influences across contexts. Predicted relationships within inhospitable contexts were tested using structural equation models connecting three measures of acculturation—immigrant generation in the United States, Spanish-use, and identity—to academic achievement of Hispanic youth (n = 185) living in low-income, urban neighborhoods. “Thick” in-group focused identities, and “thin” aschematic identities were associated with lower achievement, while bridging identities linking connection to one's in-group with overcoming obstacles in broader society were associated with positive outcomes. Endorsement of aschematic identities increased with generation in the U.S., suggesting that downward mobility is facilitated by “thin” rather than “thick” identities. Content of identity was the most important predictor of achievement.