ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sociol.
Sec. Race and Ethnicity
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2025.1597952
Social Isolation among Indigenous College Students in Peru: The Role of Language, Culture, and Acculturation
Provisionally accepted- 1Universidad Tecnológica del Perú, Arequipa, Peru
- 2Néstor Cáceres Velásquez Andean University, Juliaca, Peru
- 3Arequipa Public Pedagogical Higher Education School, Arequipa, Peru
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Social isolation is a significant challenge faced by university students from indigenous Quechua and Aymara communities in Peru, often stemming from language barriers, cultural differences, and the pressure to assimilate into a predominantly Spanish-speaking academic environment. Isolation can negatively affect emotional well-being and academic success. This research aims to determine how psychological acculturation and Spanish L2 (second language) proficiency influence social isolation. The study included 202 university students from Quechua and Aymara communities in Peru (aged 18-30; 69.8% female, 30.2% male; 33.7% Quechua, 66.3% Aymara). A newly developed Psychological Acculturation Scale assessed cognitive and emotional adaptation processes, showing good reliability (ω = 0.774) and an adequate model fit in Confirmatory Factor Analysis, with CFI = 0.923, TLI = 0.899, SRMR = 0.0521, and RMSEA = 0.066. The Isolation and Loneliness Questionnaire (CAS), adapted for university students, was used to assess social isolation. Spanish L2 proficiency was evaluated using the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) descriptors. A nonexperimental, quantitative design was employed, using simple linear regression to analyze the predictive power of psychological acculturation and Spanish L2 proficiency on social isolation. ANCOVA tested the moderating effects of gender, culture of origin, and academic performance. Results indicated that Spanish L2 proficiency strongly predicted social isolation, explaining 82.3% of the variance independently and 85.6% when combined with psychological acculturation. Interaction effects between gender, cultural background, and academic performance were not significant. This study provides evidence for the crucial role of language proficiency in the social integration and academic success of indigenous students, calling for targeted interventions that address linguistic barriers and promote cultural understanding.
Keywords: adaptation1, L2 competence2, social isolation3, cultures4, Quechua5, Aymara6, Psychological Acculturation7
Received: 22 Mar 2025; Accepted: 03 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Guerra Ayala, Valdivia Laura, Bernedo Perez, Florez Lucana, Tapia Condori and Durand-Gómez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Margit Julia Guerra Ayala, Universidad Tecnológica del Perú, Arequipa, Peru
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