Ethnic identity: peculiarities of interaction between family values and multi-ethnic student environment through the example of Dagestani students

The study examines how ethnic identity among university students develops through the interplay of traditional family upbringing and a multi-ethnic academic environment. Prior research highlights the subjective, dynamic nature of ethnic identification, the effects of assimilation and multicultural contexts, and potential gender-linked aspects in identity processes. In increasingly diverse educational and urban settings, national identity continues to influence personality, family culture, educational choices, and behavior. The study focuses on Dagestani students, a highly multi-ethnic context in Russia, to explore these dynamics during formative student years. Research aims: (1) determine whether national identity changes across study years (1st to 5th); (2) assess gender differences in ethnic identification among Dagestani students; (3) evaluate how adherence to traditional family values changes under multi-ethnic university influences. Null hypotheses: H1: no statistically significant differences between males and females of Dagestan origin in national identity and adherence to traditional family values; H2: no statistically significant linear relationship between ethnic identification in the experimental (Dagestani) and control (multi-ethnic) groups. Alternative hypotheses posit significant gender differences and significant linear relationships between the groups if nulls are rejected.

Recent scholarship frames national identity as a component of human/social capital, facilitating trust networks and access to group-related advantages, but requiring multicultural competence to be effective. Student environments serve as sites for developing such competence, supported by state policies recognizing ethnic equivalence and shared societal values. Digital communication fosters post-national identification and multicultural competence. Minority groups often show distinctive identity dynamics due to historical and policy-driven socio-economic relations. Educational advancement tends to shift rigid ethnic identification towards multi-ethnicity or dual identification. Behavior and values associated with ethnic identity may diverge from lived experiences from family culture. In Dagestan, state policy plays a key role in maintaining national identity and fostering patriotic education in a multi-ethnic state. However, links between traditional family education, ethnically marked values, and higher education outcomes have been less examined. The student period is particularly dynamic for potential identity shifts under multi-ethnic academic influence.

Design: Comparative survey of two groups to assess ethnic identity, adherence to traditional family values, and language use, across study years and gender, with statistical testing of group differences and correlations. Participants and sampling: Two groups of 214 students each (total N=428) from 15 Moscow universities. Experimental group: Dagestani-origin students (Avars n=78, Dargins n=71, Kumyks n=65; many from mixed marriages; all Sunni Muslims). Control group: multi-ethnic, representing 27 nationalities and 18 mother tongues (e.g., Russian, Ukrainian, Tatar, German, Chechen, Bashkir, Chuvash). To avoid institutional bias, each university contributed no more than 17 participants. Gender balance was maintained within each of five study years (1st–5th): 107 males and 107 females per group, evenly distributed by year. Instruments and measures: Three survey questions using a 0–5 Likert scale. (1) Self-identification as Dagestani (or respective ethnicity in control) and extent to which behavior/values reflect that identity (0=not Dagestani/not corresponding; 5=fully Dagestani/fully corresponding). (2) Degree of sharing traditional family values (0=not at all; 5=completely). (3) Frequency of using native language with relatives and in internal monologue (0=never; 1=sometimes, predominantly second language; 2=often, but mostly other languages; 3=equal use; 4=mother tongue more often; 5=always mother tongue). Procedure: Surveys administered in Russian via email, with clear explanation of objectives; participants selected to meet sampling requirements. Data processing: For each question and response type, arithmetic means were calculated. Statistical analyses included Student’s t-test for mean differences (gender and study year comparisons), Pearson’s chi-squared tests for categorical comparisons between experimental and control groups, and Pearson’s correlation coefficients to test linear relationships between group responses, stratified by gender and study year. Software: MS Excel 2019. Ethics: Anonymity assured via unique identifiers; no personal data collected. IRB approval: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, protocol No. 3248, dated 07/24/2020.

• National identity across study years: In the experimental (Dagestani) group, self-identified national identity remained relatively stable through the fifth year; participants continued to identify as Dagestani and reported behavior aligned with that identity. In the control group, clear self-identification declined over time: among first-years, 65.12% clearly defined their national identity, dropping to 14.28% by the fifth year. Additionally, 9.52% of control fifth-years reported an ethnic identity different from that in their passports. - Family values: Experimental group participants showed stronger commitment to traditional family values at the start than at the end of training; the proportion reporting little alignment with traditional family values was minimal. In the control group, by the fifth year, a majority (60.46%) rated their behavior as approximately half aligned with family values; a similar pattern appeared in fourth-years (55.81%). At the beginning (first-year), 20.93% of control group students reported not associating their behavior with traditional family values. - Native language use: Among fifth-year Dagestani students, none reported always using their native language for internal monologue; 57.14% reported turning to their native language in many cases, while 45.24% reported never using it even with themselves, suggesting a strong shift towards the dominant languages (Russian/English) in academic and daily life. In the control group, changes were minor overall; the most notable occurred in years 4–5, where 55.81% (year 4) and 61.9% (year 5) reported using a foreign language in many cases. - Hypothesis testing and statistics: Chi-squared values exceeded critical thresholds in limited cases, indicating significant differences particularly among early-year students (1st–3rd years). In the experimental group, females consistently showed higher χ²-related indicators than males across the three tests, reflecting stronger preservation of language-based identity, adherence to family values, and personal national identity. A moderate correlation between groups in native language use emerged by the fifth year (r=0.587). Consequently, null hypothesis 1 (no gender differences) was partially rejected: females preserved national identity and adherence to traditional family values more strongly and for longer. Null hypothesis 2 (no relationship between groups) was also partially rejected: significant differences between experimental and control groups were evident in years 1–3 but diminished by years 4–5, with convergence in language-use patterns.

Findings support the view that national identity is subjective and shaped early within families, yet can be adjusted in multi-ethnic academic contexts. Higher education and diverse peer interactions may blur rigid ethnic identities and shift values, while positive attitudes toward one’s group can persist. In this study, identity markers showed differentiated sensitivity: linguistic behavior changed most rapidly under acculturation pressures in a predominantly Russian/English environment, whereas self-identification remained comparatively stable. Gender patterns among Dagestani students indicated that women maintained traditional identification and adherence to family values more than men, potentially reflecting roles as cultural guardians, neurocognitive differences, or social expectations/mimicry. Overall, results align with literature indicating that language and behavior may change without fully altering self-identification, and that the move away from family values does not necessarily weaken personal ethnic identity. The observed convergence between Dagestani and multi-ethnic groups by later study years underscores the strong influence of the multi-ethnic university environment, particularly on language use.

The study shows that ethnic identity among students is shaped by the interplay between traditional family values and a multi-ethnic university environment. Using a two-group design (Dagestani vs. multi-ethnic controls; 214 participants per group across 15 universities and five study years), the research found that Dagestani students retained clearer national identity and stronger adherence to family values longer than their peers, while linguistic identity markers were more susceptible to change. Gender differences were evident within the Dagestani group, with females maintaining ethnic identity and traditional values more strongly. Statistical analyses led to partial rejection of both null hypotheses: significant gender differences exist, and relationships between groups evolve over time, with differences evident early (years 1–3) and diminishing by years 4–5; a moderate cross-group correlation in language use appears in the fifth year. Overall, ethnic identity tends to blur over the university years in a multi-ethnic environment, and this process is heterogeneous across ethnic groups. Future research should examine discipline-specific effects, larger and more representative samples, finer-grained age effects, and the mechanisms linking family values to identity trajectories.

• Urban context confound: The influence of the student environment cannot be fully separated from the broader multi-ethnic urban environment of Moscow; however, given study loads and dormitory living, student-environment effects likely predominate. - Sample size and representativeness: The sample size may not ensure full representativeness or statistical power for all comparisons. - Age differentiation: Participants were grouped by study year rather than precise age; while study year reflects duration of exposure to the multi-ethnic environment, age effects were not isolated. - Academic discipline: The study did not account for participants’ fields of study, which may influence ethnic identification processes. Future studies should address disciplinary effects.