Ethnic identity development and acculturation preferences among minority and majority youth: norms and contact

This article tests a longitudinal model of the antecedents and consequences of changes in identification with indigenous (Mapuche) among indigenous and nonindigenous youth in Chilean school contexts over a 6-month period (633 nonindigenous and 270 Mapuche students, Mages = 12.47 and 12.80 years, respectively). Results revealed that in-group norms supporting contact and quality of intergroup contact at Time 1 predicted student’s changes in Mapuche identification at Time 2, which in turn predicted changes in support for adoption of Chilean culture and maintenance of Mapuche culture at Time 2; some of the relationships between these variables were found to be moderated by age and ethnicity. Conceptual and policy implications are addressed in the Discussion.