Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 14, 2026

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
Ethnic Identity and Perceived Stress Among Ethnically Diverse Immigrants
Adriana Espinosa1, Aleksandr Tikhonov2, Lauren M Ellman3
1Department of Psychology, The City College of New York, CUNY, 160 Convent Avenue, NAC 7/120, New York, NY, 10031, USA. aespinosa@ccny.cuny.edu.
Abstract:
Recent empirical research suggests that having a strong ethnic identity may be associated with reduced perceived stress. However, the relationship between perceived stress and ethnic identity has not been tested in a large and ethnically diverse sample of immigrants. This study utilized a multi-group latent class analysis of ethnic identity on a sample of first and second generation immigrants (N = 1603), to determine ethnic identity classifications, and their relation to perceived stress. A 4-class ethnic identity structure best fit the data for this immigrant sample, and the proportion within each class varied by ethnicity, but not immigrant generation. High ethnic identity was found to be protective against perceived stress, and this finding was invariant across ethnicity. This study extends the findings of previous research on the protective effect of ethnic identity against perceived stress to immigrant populations of diverse ethnic origins.
Related Concept Videos
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison
Surveys
Introduction to Stress and Lifestyle
Psychological Responses to Stress

