"The study consisted of HIspanic first-year students who lived on campus at two Ivy League universities. A total of three interviews, lasting about 45 minutes, were conducted in English. Forty-five students (twenty-eight men and seventeen women) participated in the first interview. Of this mix, thirty-nine students participated in the first and second interview and 36 students participated in all three. The first interview was administered in late November or early December, the second interview took place in February, and the third was conducted in May (towards the end of their first-year in college).

There were two main findings in the study. First of all, "the more involved the students were in their ethnic group before the transition to college, the more likely they were to become involved in ethnic activities on campus" (Peplau and Taylor, p. 288). This resulted in the students being less likely to "perceive the new environment as threatening" (Peplau and Taylor, p. 288). However, "students with a weak ethnic background show more signs of stress with resultant lower self-esteem and negative changes in identification" (Peplau and Taylor, p. 289).

The study basically wanted to determine how a change in environment would effect social identity of the Hispanic population. The results of the study indicate that it depended on the strength of influence of their cultural background before they entered college.

Discussion questions:
1. Would there be similar results for self-esteem of first year students in general if they did not belong to a group, like a fraternity, sorority, or other group on campus? Is it just the affiliation with a group in general that helps out in this area? Why or Why not?
2. Would the results have been different if there were a more balanced mix of minorities to Anglo students in the universities? Why or Why not?
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