Ethnic identity, sense of community, and psychological well-being among northern plains American Indian youth

Limited research has examined how ethnic identity and sense of community may be associated with psychological well-being in American Indian adolescents. Via survey data, we examined the relationships among ethnic identity, sense of community, psychosomatic symptoms, positive affect, and feelings of depression with students from a tribal high school (N=95; n=37 males; n=58 females; aged 14.4-20.95 years; mean=17.3, SD=1.47 years). A majority of the sample self-identified as American Indian/Native American (85.3%), with small percentages reporting additional ethnic backgrounds. Analyses revealed a significant difference in sense of community and positive affect by ethnic identity group. Post hoc analyses demonstrated adolescents in the "achieved" identity group were significantly higher on sense of community and positive affect than the other three groups. However, there were no significant differences on feelings of depression or psychosomatic symptoms by ethnic identity group. Implications for interventions are discussed.