Bicultural Ethnic Identity and Grade Point Average for Second-Generation Latinx Immigrants

This cross-sectional investigation examined the relationship between bicultural ethnic identity and academic outcomes for second-generation Latinx immigrants. Extant literature suggests that this population faces unique challenges in the American school system. In particular, experiences with discrimination may negatively affect both ethnic identity formation and academic achievement (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2001). To further explore this, this investigation utilized data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey (CILS) (Portes & Rumbaut, 2007) and hierarchical linear modeling to address the following research question: Does a bicultural ethnic identity correlate with second-generation Latinx students' grade point average? This investigation explored how multiple covariates of interest, including students' nationality and experience with discrimination, predicted second-generation Latinx students' grade point average. This study addressed a gap in the existing bicultural ethnic identity literature with the creation of a Bicultural Ethnic Identity Construct, which utilized a combination of ethnic identity and language survey item responses to measure respondents' biculturalism. There was no statistically significant relationship between bicultural ethnic identity and grade point average for second-generation Latinx immigrants. However, findings from this study revealed that students who experienced discrimination and had bicultural ethnic identities were more likely to have higher GPAs than those students who experienced discrimination and had less bicultural ethnic identities. In addition, there was a statistically significant and positive relationship between bicultural ethnic identity and GPA for students who identified as "Hispanic." Future research should examine the longitudinal relationship between bicultural ethnic identity and academic outcomes.