Stability and Change in Ethnic Identity among Latino Emerging Adults in Two Contexts

This longitudinal study investigated ethnic identity development among Latinos during the first year of college in two contexts. The contexts differed in both the density of ethnic minorities and the density of the target group studied. Participants were 128 first-year Latino college students from two public universities in California. Change in ethnic identity was analyzed in two ways: change in strength of ethnic identity using ANCOVA, and change in membership in ethnic identity statuses using cluster analysis. ANCOVAs yielded no significant overall changes in ethnic identity across time in either of the two contexts. Cluster analyses yielded three interpretable clusters: achieved, moratorium, and unexamined. Shifts in cluster membership across time were consistent with developmental models of ethnic identity change.