Ethnic identity, perceived classmate support and general self-efficacy in ethnic minority adolescents in rural Chinese school settings

•Ethnic identity-exploration positively affected general self-efficacy in indigenous Yi early adolescents of rural China.•Perceived classmate support had positive effects on ethnic identity-exploration and ethnic identity-commitment in indigenous Yi early adolescents of rural China.•Ethnic identity-exploration mediated the association between classmate support and general self-efficacy in indigenous Yi early adolescents of rural China. This study examines the associations among ethnic identity, perceived classmate support, and general self-efficacy in a group of hard-to-reach Yi ethnic minority adolescents. The sample comprises youths who have suffered from poverty and parental loss (n = 450, age 14–17, male = 23.3%) in Liangshan, rural China. Using Phinney's ethnic identity development theory, we take Yi adolescents as a case to conceptualize ethnic identity exploration and commitment as cultural assets that link the association between perceived classroom support and general self-efficacy. We used the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique to test our hypotheses. Age, gender, parental loss, and posttraumatic stress (PTSD) risk were included as covariates. Our findings show that: (1) Perceived classmate support was positively associated with general self-efficacy, but the effect was attenuated when ethnic identity exploration and commitment were included in the model; (2) Perceived classmate support was positively associated with ethnic identity exploration and commitment; (3) Ethnic identity exploration was positively related to general self-efficacy while classmate support was not, when accounting for the shared relationships among all three variables; (4) No associations were found between ethnic identity commitment and general self-efficacy; (5) The covariate of PTSD risk was positively associated with ethnic identity exploration and commitment. Our findings suggest a possible mediating role of ethnic identity exploration between perceived classmate support and general self-efficacy, indicating an avenue for future research. These results shift current narratives; from seeing ethnic minorities as vulnerable populations towards advocating for classmate support and ethnic identity as assets for positive development. The theoretical contributions of this study are also discussed.