Neither colorblind nor oppositional: perceived minority status and trajectories of academic adjustment among Latinos in elite higher education.
As more Latinos experience upward social mobility, it is increasingly necessary to challenge oppositional cultural assumptions to explain how perceived minority status barriers may influence their academic achievement. The present study builds on previous work that identified 3 distinct minority status orientations among Latino college students entering elite colleges-which the authors call assimilation, accommodation, and resistance. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, the authors examined how these orientations influence Latino students' academic and social adjustment from their freshman to junior years of college. Latino students who most strongly questioned the openness of the opportunity structure to ethnic minorities-resisters-reported similar grades and time spent studying as their counterparts who perceived less ethnic and racial inequities. In addition, resisters did not disengage from their social environment but rather became increasingly involved in campus activities outside the classroom during their college career. Implications for understanding ethnic minority individuals' interpretations of social stratification in well-resourced, high-achieving contexts are discussed.
Rivas-Drake
Deborah
D
Department of Education, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA. deborah_rivas_drake@brown.edu
Mooney
Margarita
M
D000069:Acculturation; D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D011287:Prejudice; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012933:Social Identification; D012937:Social Mobility; D012938:Social Perception; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*