Dynamics of social identity and cultural intelligence in acculturative adaptation of an ethnic minority group in India

This study evaluated the main and interactive effects of social identity and cultural intelligence on the acculturative adaptation of an ethnic minority diaspora in India. This cross-sectional survey study (N = 246, 58.5% female, mean age = 26.7 years) focused on the dichotomy of ethnic and national aspects of social identity of the northeast Indian diaspora in Indian cities outside the northeastern region. Path analysis showed that identification of the national group predicted adaptation and cultural intelligence positively moderated that association. The ethnic identity had no main effects on adaptation and reported adaptive outcomes only through its interaction with cultural intelligence. This study reveals that pursuing bi-cultural identity is not a sufficient condition for adaptation, particularly in prejudiced acculturation contexts where the dominant social groups may not espouse multiculturalism. Here, cultural intelligence is a vital skill that facilitates adaptive outcomes of an integrated bi-cultural identity for ethnic minority groups.