Indigenous Alaskan and mainstream identification explain the link between perceived discrimination and acculturative stress

ABSTRACT

Drawing from the rejection-identification model, acculturation, and acceptance threat literatures, we examined how Indigenous and mainstream identification influence the effect of discrimination on acculturative and physical stress. A community sample of 126 Indigenous Alaskans reported discrimination, identification with Indigenous Alaskans and mainstream Americans, and acculturative and physical stress. As perceptions of personal discrimination increased, so did Indigenous identification and reports of acculturative and physical stress. Contrary to the rejection-identification hypothesis, Indigenous identification did not reduce the effect of discrimination on stress. Instead, following personal discrimination, Indigenous and mainstream identification interacted to predict acculturative stress. As Indigenous identification increased, so did acculturative stress – particularly among those who strongly identified with mainstream culture. These associations were not present for group-based discrimination. Thus, experiencing personal rejection from mainstream society may be particularly stressful for Indigenous people who strongly identify with their ethnic group, placing them at higher risk for mental and physical illness.

KEYWORDS:

• Alaska Natives
• indigenous people
• discrimination
• identity
• acculturative stress
• physical stress
• racism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data described in this article are openly available in the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/7umfy/?view_only=a2b7157565c74918b79950c359fb2802.

Open scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badge for Open Materials. The materials are openly accessible at https://osf.io/7umfy/?view_only=a2b7157565c74918b79950c359fb2802.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robyn K. Mallett

Robyn K. Mallett is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Loyola University Chicago. Her research includes the effects of group processes, affect, perceptions of interconnections among society and nature on responding to social and environmental problems. She the psychology of prejudice and intergroup relations, investigating how people understand and control the world around them through individual and collective action.

Jamie Patrianakos

Jamie Patrianakos is a graduate student in the Applied Social Psychology program at Loyola University Chicago. Her research interests center around the outcomes of confrontations of racism in different relational contexts.

Janet Swim

Janet Swim is a Professor of Psychology at The Pennsylvania State University.  Her research includes the effects of group processes, affect, perceptions of interconnections among society and nature on responding to social and environmental problems.