Asian American Journal of Psychology, Vol 16(2), Jun 2025, 119-131; doi:10.1037/aap0000379
Colonial mentality (CM) is an important construct to consider when conceptualizing the psychological experiences of communities with a colonized history. CHamoru people, the indigenous people of Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands, have experienced centuries of colonization from Spain and the United States. Although CHamoru-specific research remains sparse, existing studies suggest that the CHamoru people may experience high levels of psychological distress. Thus, CM and its impact on mental health may also apply to the CHamoru people. To this end, this psychometric study explored the salience of CM among the CHamoru people and tested if they manifest it similarly to other historically colonized groups. In addition, the study investigated how CM impacts the well-being of the CHamoru people. Exploratory factor analysis with 263 CHamoru participants suggests that one in four CHamoru people manifest some form of CM and that they tend to express CM in four ways: Within-Group Discrimination, Colonial Debt, Physical Characteristics, and Internalized Inferiority. Although some unexpected and interesting findings about Colonial Debt suggest that this CM manifestation may have a more nuanced impact on the CHamoru people’s well-being, the results generally suggest that CM is related to more depression and anxiety symptoms and negatively correlated with mental health-related variables such as ethnic identity, social support, and self-esteem. Furthermore, initial psychometric evidence was found to support the reliability and validity of a 25-item Colonial Mentality Scale for the CHamoru people. The importance of incorporating CM in research, clinical, and community endeavors with the CHamoru people is discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)