The spiral of disadvantage: Ethnolinguistic discrimination, acculturative stress and health in Nahua indigenous communities in Mexico.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that ethnic and ethnolinguistic discrimination, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) related to being Indigenous as well as different aspects of acculturative stress, are associated with poorer health and higher levels of depression among the Nahua Indigenous communities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our quantitative survey was carried out in four different regions inhabited by the Nahua people in Mexico. Self-rated health and depression, the symptoms of PTSD, two facets of acculturative stress and ethnolinguistic discrimination were assessed by questionnaires. The data were analyzed using binary logistic regression models. RESULTS: The symptoms of PTSD and acculturative stress experienced in the workplace were significantly associated with a higher risk of poor self-rated health, adjusted for various socio-demographic characteristics. Acculturative stress, discouragement of language use, language avoidance and ethnolinguistic discrimination were related to a higher risk of depression and PTSD. DISCUSSION: Our research implies that ethnic and linguistic discrimination, acculturative stress and the memory of harm linked to being Indigenous reflected in the symptoms of PTSD, are important predictors of poorer health and depression among Nahua groups in Mexico. These adverse effects could be significantly counteracted by effective dealing with stigmatization and discrimination against Indigenous people in Mexico and by replacing strong assimilation pressures with integrational approaches that respect ethnolinguistic diversity and reduce socioeconomic marginalization.

Paradoxical effects of ethnic identification on threat and anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic. A study of ethnic minority and immigrant groups.

Studies based on the "social cure" hypothesis suggest the positive role of strong social identifications for well-being and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the three-factorial model of identification that distinguishes ingroup centrality, ingroup affect, and ingroup ties as separate aspects of group identification, we propose that their impact on COVID-19-related stress and anxiety would be more complex. In a set of three studies carried out among ethnic minorities in Poland (Lemkos, Kashubs, and Silesians) and a study of a large immigrant group (Ukrainians in Poland), we found that higher levels of ingroup centrality generate more COVID-19-related threats and higher levels of anxiety, whereas ingroup ties tend to reduce anxiety during the pandemic. Based on this evidence we propose that the more exclusive aspects of identification (ingroup centrality) pose a risk to mental health during the time of the pandemic, whereas the more binding ones (ingroup ties) serve as a true "social cure." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The positive relationship between Indigenous language use and community-based well-being in four Nahua ethnic groups in Mexico.

OBJECTIVE: In this article, we examine the relationship between Indigenous language use and community-based well-being among four Nahua ethnic groups in Mexico, taking into account the role of positive emotions related to speaking the heritage language as a mediator of the influence of its use in the family domain on community-based well-being. METHOD: We employ an emic community-based well-being scale, a second scale measuring the use of Nahuatl and Spanish across different domains of social life, and a third scale measuring positive emotions related to the use of Nahuatl in order to examine the relationship between Nahuatl use and community-based well-being, in a sample (N = 552) of Indigenous Nahua participants (55.4% female, Mage = 37.9, SD = 18.3) coming from four different regions of Mexico. RESULTS: Results from the mediation analysis revealed that the relation between the frequency of Nahuatl use and community-based well-being in the total sample is partially mediated by experiencing positive emotions related with Nahuatl use. Furthermore, the relation between Nahuatl use and community-based well-being was also found to be moderated by group membership. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms that the role of heritage language use for Nahua communities in Mexico is beneficial and that this effect is also significant in communities strongly affected by language loss and assimilation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

From discouragement to self-empowerment. Insights from an ethnolinguistic vitality survey among the Kashubs in Poland.

The paper relates the results of an ethnolinguistic vitality (ELV) survey among the Kashubs in Poland. The results reveal two interrelated layers of ELV: (1) an individual ELV reflected in language use and shaped by personal experience, emotions, and language proficiency; (2) a more collective ELV associated with the perception of the group's language strength, its status and utility. The most surprising predictor of linguistic praxis in our study, in addition to language skills, was the positive impact of experienced discouragement on language use. This remained significant when controlling for proficiency. We argue that the correlation between experiencing discouragement and increased language use is best explained by the self-empowerment of speakers who, earlier in their lives, met with negative attitudes toward their heritage language. Rather than succumbing to this discouragement and assimilating to the dominant language, their response was to develop an emotional link to Kashubian and increase their use of this minority language as a conscious act of self-determination and engagement.