Identity, Memory of the Civil War and Support for Reparations in Guatemala

The mutually constitutive relationship between constructions of social identity and collective memory is mediated by cultural tools. Across four studies, I explored the relationship between ethnic and national identity and engagement with the final report of the Commission for Historical Clarification as a cultural tool for the memory of the Civil War in Guatemala. I also investigated the implications of social identification and engagement with the report for support of social justice policies aimed at repairing harm associated with the war. In Study 1, identification with the Indigenous social category and a tendency towards exploration of national identity were associated with positive attitudes towards the CEH report and with greater support for reparative policy. In Study 2, identification with the Indigenous category—particularly a sense of solidarity and commitment towards Indigenous identity—was again related to more positive report attitudes and support for reparations. In the final two studies, I measured (Study 3) and manipulated (Study 4) a sense of shared heritage with Indigenous Peoples. Such sense of shared heritage was associated with increased Indigenous identification, which in turn predicted positive attitudes towards the report as well as increased support for reparations. These findings have implications for our understanding of social identities and their relationship with collective memory. I discuss these implications for the Guatemalan context with reference to local struggles for transitional justice

The (Biological or Cultural) Essence of Essentialism: Implications for Policy Support among Dominant and Subordinated Groups

Most research links (racial) essentialism to negative intergroup outcomes. We propose that this conclusion reflects both a narrow conceptual focus on biological/genetic essence and a narrow research focus from the perspective of racially dominant groups. We distinguished between beliefs in biological and cultural essences, and we investigated the implications of this distinction for support of social justice policies (e.g., affirmative action) among people with dominant (White) and subordinated (e.g., Black, Latino) racial identities in the United States. Whereas, endorsement of biological essentialism may have similarly negative implications for social justice policies across racial categories, we investigated the hypothesis that endorsement of cultural essentialism would have different implications across racial categories. In Studies 1a and 1b, we assessed the properties of a cultural essentialism measure we developed using two samples with different racial/ethnic compositions. In Study 2, we collected data from 170 participants using an online questionnaire to test the implications of essentialist beliefs for policy support. Consistent with previous research, we found that belief in biological essentialism was negatively related to policy support for participants from both dominant and subordinated categories. In contrast, the relationship between cultural essentialism and policy support varied across identity categories in the hypothesized way: negative for participants from the dominant category but positive for participants from subordinated categories. Results suggest that cultural essentialism may provide a way of identification that subordinated communities use to mobilize support for social justice

LA COMPLEJIDAD DE LA VARIACIÓN TRANSCULTURAL: VALORES EN GUATEMALA Y ESTADOS UNIDOS

El presente estudio explora los valores culturales de un grupo de estudiantes universitarios de Guatemala, un país poco estudiado pero generalmente descrito como colectivista, comparándolos con estudiantes universitarios de Estados Unidos, un país descrito como individualista. El estudio explora los valores humanos y la dimensión horizontal-vertical del individualismo-colectivismo, utilizando distintos métodos de medición que incluyen ajustes para distintos estilos de respuesta. Contrario a las expectativas, los guatemaltecos no mostraron una mayor preferencia por el colectivismo, pero sí una mayor inclinación por los valores de benevolencia y seguridad. Los participantes estadounidenses no se mostraron más individualistas, pero prefirieron el universalismo y el hedonismo. Los resultados sugieren que es necesario estudiar las variaciones interculturales e intraculturales con muestras más amplias, así como afinar la definición conceptual del colectivismo

COVID-19, violence, and mental health among Indigenous gay and bisexual men in Guatemala: An urgent call from key stakeholders

We explored how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the health and wellbeing of Indigenous gay and bisexual men (GBM) in Guatemala, a group that experiences intersectional stigma and structural barriers to health. Between February and May 2021, we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews via Zoom with key stakeholders (n = 11) working with Indigenous GBM throughout Guatemala. We coded thematically and conducted narrative analysis to identify the most salient themes. Participants described that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Indigenous GBM migrated to urban centres to avoid stigma and violence from families and rural communities. After the onset of COVID-19, many Indigenous GBM lost their jobs and were forced to move back in with families. For Indigenous GBM who returned, participants described a perceived increase in the severity of physical and psychological violence. Participants attributed this increase in severity to retribution from families and communities for having left. Most Indigenous GBM-serving organisations reported a drastic increase in demand for mental health services. Organisations serving Indigenous GBM have an urgent need to scale up their mental health services and find innovative ways to provide these services remotely during the pandemic and beyond. Technology-based mental health interventions that require little ‘live’ interaction may be appropriate