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
Margit  Julia Guerra AyalaMargit Julia Guerra Ayala1*Carlos  Antonio Valdivia LauraCarlos Antonio Valdivia Laura1Hania  Nancy Bernedo PerezHania Nancy Bernedo Perez1Apolinar  Florez LucanaApolinar Florez Lucana2Rildo  Raul Tapia CondoriRildo Raul Tapia Condori2Emma  Lourdes Durand-GómezEmma Lourdes Durand-Gómez3
  • 1Universidad Tecnológica del Perú, Arequipa, Peru
  • 2Néstor Cáceres Velásquez Andean University, Juliaca, Peru
  • 3Arequipa Public Pedagogical Higher Education School, Arequipa, Peru

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

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

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.