Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Background: North American Indigenous youth are at a heightened risk for negative outcomes resulting from unique challenges including the effects of intergenerational historical trauma and cultural discontinuity (Bombay et al., 2010; Chandler & Lalonde, 1998, 2009; Whitbeck et al., 2004). Although faced with extreme adversity, Indigenous youth have also been remarkable in their capacity to adjust, adapt, and transform in response to challenges and demands. Specifically, a positive identity with their culture of heritage serves as a resilience-promoting factor that contributes to social-psychological well-being, including academic success (Burack et al., 2014; LaFromboise et al., 2006), despite the cultural mismatches they typically face in school settings (Fryberg et al., 2013; Stephens et al., 2012). Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the influence of cultural identity on perceived levels of self-determination and academic achievement among a group of First Nations youths from Quebec. Method: Thirty-nine adolescents from grades 6-11 completed the Multi-Ethnic Identity Measure (Phinney, 1992) and the AIR Self-Determination Scale (Wolman et al., 1994). Final grades were used as the measure of academic achievement. Results: Youths with high cultural identity reported more perceived capacities (t(37) = -2.444, p = 0.019) and opportunities (t(37) = -2.654, p = 0.012) to be self-determined. Cultural identity was significantly higher for those with high self-determination compared to those with low self-determination (Welch's F(3, 12.134) = 7.528, p = 0.004). Grades were not related to any measures. Conclusions: Ties to culture of heritage is empowering as the youths with higher scores are more likely to perceive themselves as being self-determined. The lack of association between cultural identity and grades might be explained by cultural mismatch.