Associations between ethnic identity and motivational beliefs in internationally adopted youth and the mediating role of school belonging

Abstract

Prior work has documented that internationally adopted youth can experience learning difficulties, yet research exploring academic motivation in this population is scant. Moreover, no prior international adoption studies have investigated precursors to motivation. Guided by expectancy-value theory, we attempted to address this gap in the literature by examining the role of two antecedents: ethnic identity (search and affirmation) and sense of school belonging. In doing so, we explored (1) the role of ethnic identity in predicting internationally adopted adolescents' (N = 251) expectancies for success and task values and (2) the extent to which school belonging mediated these relations. Path analysis results revealed that feelings of affirmation towards one's ethnic group positively predicted expectancies and values. Sense of school belonging also mediated many of these associations: ethnic identity affirmation predicted a stronger sense of school belonging, which in turn predicted more favorable expectancies for success and intrinsic value. Moreover, ethnic identity search was negatively related to school belonging. Implications for theory, parents, and education practice are discussed.