The relationship between campus diversity, students' ethnic identity and college adjustment: a qualitative study

The present study was a qualitative exploration into the meaning of ethnic identity and its association with college adjustment in students attending ethnically diverse university campuses. The sample consisted of 103 participants recruited from 2 ethnically diverse universities in southern California. A constant comparative analysis of the interview data revealed 9 themes as being relevant to students' experiences of ethnicity within a multiethnic campus that reflect both the positive aspects and the negative aspects associated with campus diversity. Students' experiences with campus diversity varied by ethnic background and type of institution attended, as did the overall frequencies of reported positive and negative themes associated with diversity. The implications of these findings for ethnic identity, campus climate, and interethnic relations are discussed.     

Child-rearing in an indigenous Sami population in Norway: a cross-cultural comparison of parental attitudes and expectations

Semi-structured interviews of 76 Sami mothers and 58 Sami fathers, and 86 Norwegian mothers and 58 Norwegian fathers of four-year olds, revealed consistent cross-cultural differences in parenting. ANCOVA results showed that parental permissiveness was higher in the Sami group. Moreover, the effect of ethnicity was different for boys and girls (mothers' reports). Co-sleeping and self-regulation of food and sleep were commonly practiced in the Sami, but not in the Norwegian families. Sami children were more socially independent than their Norwegian peers. Indirect or internal types of control were used more by Sami parents, and they were less tolerant of child aggression, in the form of temper tantrums and displays of jealousy. These patterns are similar to those found in other indigenous cultures in the circumpolar region. The results are discussed with reference to the Individualism-Collectivism dimension. The study challenges the Individualism-Collectivism construct for apparently confounding the individualism common in European liberalism with the individual autonomy commonly encountered among hunting-gathering peoples.     

Determinants of ethnic identity development in adulthood: A longitudinal study

Ethnic identity is defined in terms of the interaction between exploration of and commitment to a given cultural background. The present study investigated the effect of individual background, role transitions, and the social environment on the development of ethnic identity in a sample of German adults aged 21–73 years (N = 2,940). Additionally, identity transitions and the moderating effect of disequilibrating life events on identity over time were examined (N = 827). Overall, results are consistent with findings for other identity domains: Respondents could be assigned to one of four identity stages, ranging from unexamined to achieved identity. Particularly, the individual background and the extent of community involvement affected ethnic identity formation in adulthood. Longitudinal analyses revealed that only one-third of respondents had remained in the same identity stage; most individuals had transitioned forward or backward. Changes in ethnic identity were not moderated by disequilibrating life events.     

Transracial adoptees bridging heritage and national cultures: Parental socialisation,ethnic identity and self‐esteem

Transracial adoptees represent a specific group of immigrants who experience unique immigration processes that bring them face‐to‐face with two cultural backgrounds: that of their heritage culture on one hand and that of their national culture on the other hand. However, there is a scarcity of studies focused on the way these processes unfold within adoptive families. This study was aimed at exploring how transracial adoptees cope with the construction of their ethnic identity. Administering a self‐report questionnaire to 127 transracial adoptees and their mothers, for a total of 254 participants, we first investigated the association between mothers' cultural socialisation (enculturation and preparation for bias strategies) and adoptees' ethnic identity (i.e. ethnic identity exploration and ethnic identity affirmation dimensions). We then investigated whether ethnic identity affects self‐esteem by testing the hypothesis that national identity moderates the relationship between ethnic identity and self‐esteem. Results revealed that mothers' enculturation (but not their preparation for bias) supported adoptees' ethnic identity exploration, which in turn was positively associated with ethnic identity affirmation. Moreover, we confirmed the moderation effect: ethnic identity affirmation enhanced the level of self‐esteem, but only for those adoptees who perceived a higher degree of national identity affirmation.     

Parental functioning and children's adjustment in families of divorce: A prospective study

This paper prospectively examined relations between marital status, predivorce parenting practices, and children's adjustment, using data from the New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS). Prospective analyses of children's predivorce adjustment indicated that neither boys nor girls showed more problematic behavior prior to parental separation, and only boys had more difficulties after divorce. However, parents of to-be-divorced families reported more difficulties in childcare practices before divorce than did parents of always-married families. Parenting difficulties in to-be-divorced families were found consistently for boys but not for girls. Results suggest that the difficulties found among boys after divorce may be linked with parenting problems that begin before divorce.The authors are indebted to Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess, the original investigators of the project. We also would like to thank Jacqueline and Richard Lerner, and the John D. and Catherine MacArthur Foundation for their efforts in preserving this data base.     

National (dis)identification and ethnic and religious identity: a study among Turkish-Dutch muslims

National (dis)identification is examined in three studies among Turkish-Dutch Muslim participants. In explaining national (dis)identification, the first study focuses on ethnic identity, the second on ethnic and religious identity, and the third on three dimensions of religious identity. Many participants show low commitment to the nation, and many indicate national disidentification. In addition, there is very strong ethnic and religious identification. Ethnic and Muslim identifications relate negatively to Dutch identification and, in Study 3, to stronger Dutch disidentification. Furthermore, perceived group rejection is associated with increased ethnic minority and religious identification but also with decreased national Dutch identification. In addition, in Studies 1 and 2 the effect of perceived rejection on Dutch identification is (partly) mediated by minority group identification. The findings are discussed in relation to social psychological thinking about group identification, dual identities, and the importance of religion for intergroup relations.     

Parental Attachment and gender-role identity

The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) and the Bem Sex-Role Inventory were given to 218 primarily middle class college students of whom 90% were Caucasian. A 2 × 4 × 2 univariate factorial analysis of variance was used to examine the association of attachment level with gender, gender-role identity, and the within subjects factor of attachment figure. Feminine and androgynous individuals reported significantly higher levels of parental attachment than those classified as masculine and undifferentiated. There were also similar multivariate differences among the gender-role categories on the IPPA subscales of Communication, Trust, and Alienation. Across all participants, attachment to mother was higher than to father. Although there were no overall gender differences in parental attachment, females reported higher peer attachment.This paper is based on a master's thesis submitted in May of 1993 to the Graduate School of Texas Woman's University. This research appeared as a poster presentation at the 1994 annual convention of the American Psychological Association.     

Parental values, reinforcement, and young children's prosocial behavior: a longitudinal study.

In this study, the authors assessed the relation of parental reinforcement and parental values to young children's prosocial behaviors. Parents' dyadic interactions with their 1- to 2-year-old children were videotaped in the home on two occasions approximately 6 months apart. The children also were videotaped playing with a peer at 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years of age. Parental reinforcement of the children's prosocial behaviors was coded, as were the children's prosocial behaviors with the peer. The frequency of girls' spontaneous prosocial behaviors decreased in the early years; modest consistency was observed for boys (but not girls) across the two parental sessions. No relation existed between the frequency of children's prosocial behaviors with their parents and their behaviors with peers. Both maternal and paternal valuing of compliance were negatively related to the mothers' use of reinforcement for children's spontaneous prosocial behaviors. Parental reinforcement of compliant prosocial behaviors was negatively related to children's compliance with a peer's request for prosocial behavior and positively related to defensive behavior with the peer. Fathers' valuing of prosocial behavior was associated with children's compliance with the peer's requests for prosocial action. Parents who valued compliance had children who exhibited low levels of compliant prosocial behaviors with the peer, possibly because of the depressed level of peer interaction.     

Sources of situational variation in ethnic identity and psychological well-being: a Palm Pilot study of Chinese American students

Experience sampling reports collected randomly six times a day for 1 week examined the association between context, ethnic salience, psychological well-being, and stable ethnic centrality and ethnic private regard among Chinese American university students (N = 62). At the level of the situation, ethnic composition, family, and language were associated with higher ethnic salience. Stable ethnic centrality moderated the association between ethnic salience and family where higher centrality was related to stronger ethnic salience when students were with family. At the situation level, ethnic salience was associated with fewer depressive symptoms and increased positive mood. Stable ethnic private regard moderated this association where higher private regard was related to fewer depressive symptoms and higher levels of positive mood when ethnicity was salient.     

Attitudes to cosmetic surgery among ethnic minority groups in Britain: Cultural mistrust,adherence to traditional cultural values,and ethnic identity salience as protective factors

Previous work has suggested that ethnic minority women have more negative attitudes to cosmetic surgery than British Whites, but reasons for this are not fully understood. To overcome this dearth in the literature, the present study asked 250 British Asian and 250 African Caribbean university students to complete measures of attitudes to cosmetic surgery, cultural mistrust, adherence to traditional cultural values, ethnic identity salience, self‐esteem, and demographics. Preliminary analyses showed that there were significant between‐group differences only on cultural mistrust and self‐esteem, although effect sizes were small (d values = .21–.37). Further analyses showed that more negative attitudes to cosmetic surgery were associated with greater cultural mistrust, stronger adherence to traditional values, and stronger ethnic identity salience, although these relationships were weaker for African Caribbean women than for British Asians. These results are discussed in relation to perceptions of cosmetic surgery among ethnic minority women.     

Peer status in an ethnic context: Associations with African American adolescents' ethnic identity

This investigation examined the association between ethnic identity centrality and peer status for African American adolescents who represented a sizable proportion, yet numerical minority within a high school context. Initial analyses indicated that a traditional sociometric nomination procedure did not adequately characterize peer status for African American adolescents. A modified nomination procedure varying the ethnicity of nominators yielded measures of African American adolescents' peer acceptance/rejection and perceived popularity as rated by African American or European American peers. Results suggest that high levels of peer acceptance and popularity as rated by African American peers were associated with high ethnic identity centrality; however, acceptance and popularity as rated by European American peers were unrelated to ethnic identity centrality among African American adolescents. Findings suggest the importance of examining peer status of African American adolescents with consideration given to ethnicity as a relevant context.     

Parental language mixing in bilingual families

An important question about early bilingualism that concerns both parents and researchers is the degree to which one language may interfere with another. This question rests on an implicit assumption that learning more than one language must always produce confusion and/or interference between (or among) the languages. Although many naturalistic studies have addressed this issue, no firm answers are yet available from the conflicting results obtained. Several factors appear to be responsible for the contradictory evidence, including the small numbers of subjects in each study, the large number of different language combinations of varying similarity that have been examined, and the variety of linguistic input situations (e.g., sequential bilingualism, language separation between home and school, parent/language separation), that have been observed. There is a consensus that children's language mixing can be eliminated if parents adhere strictly to the principle of one parent/one language enunciated by Grammont (Ronjat, 1913). However, this claim has not been directly examined. The primary goal of the present study is to characterize the linguistic input available to a child growing up with two languages. Analyses of the data show that a large proportion of parents, even those firmly committed to maintaining a strict separation of language by parent, model linguistically mixed utterances for their children. This finding suggests that children's early language mixing does not reflect interlinguistic confusion. Rather, it suggests that the child is formulating hypotheses about language based on the data available, i.e., that using the language of both father and mother in a single utterance is acceptable.     

Psychologists' representations of gender identity between Spain and Greece: A qualitative cross-cultural study

Trans people's relationship with mental health providers carries historical tensions. Counseling services have been tied to standardized procedures or diagnostic certification of dysphoria and gender evaluations, while other psychosocial demands have been largely disregarded. Moreover, protocols and approaches focus disproportionately on Anglo-American frameworks, in terms of epistemic resources established to describe gender-diverse experiences. These issues affect both representations of gender identity and attitudes toward counseling. The present study aimed to address psychologists' accounts cross-culturally, by using qualitative data acquired through interviews with active practitioners from Spain and Greece. Eighteen qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted in both countries in order to delve into the narratives related to trans mental health care provision. Thematic analysis using Atlas.ti was used to systematize the data. The accounts centered on gender identity representations and attributions, attitudes toward counseling, relationship with diagnoses, psychological approaches, and competent training. Findings point to the need for all-encompassing, obligatory training of psychologists on trans mental health, followed by situated considerations of the contextual factors that may contribute to experiencing gender diversity differently. More cross-cultural qualitative accounts are thus encouraged, to enrich and update the upcoming trans literature on the matter.     

Parental sex-role attitudes and child-rearing values

Parental sex-role attitudes (i.e., sex-role ideology, self-perceptions of masculinity and femininity and stereotyping) were examined in relation to the parental child-rearing values of independence granting and pressure for achievement. The major hypothesis was that nontraditional sex-role attitudes would be related to earlier independence granting and greater emphasis on achievement, particularly among parents of female children. A second objective was to examine sex-of-child and sex-of-parent differences in these two child-rearing values. The subjects were the natural mothers (n=138) and fathers (n=114) of preschool girls and boys. The sample (N=252) was all White, middle class, in two-parent families, and highly educated. Among parents of girls, but not of boys, sex-role attitudes had a significant effect on child-rearing values in the hypothesized direction. As for the child-rearing values per se, few sex-of-child or sex-of-parent differences emerged. In contrast to previous studies, fathers' child-rearing values were found to be relatively unaffected by the sex of their children.Data reported here were gathered as part of a research project supported by NIMH Grant No. 25217. The author is deeply grateful for the collaboration of Grace Baruch in all phases of the research. She wishes also to acknowledge the assistance of Susan Dibner, Nancy Harmon, and Diana Jeffries in instrument design and data collection, and of Frances Stubblefield in data analysis. The cooperation of participating children, parents, and preschool personnel is greatly appreciated.     

The identity impact of witnessing selective incivility: A study of minority ethnic professionals

We examine how minority ethnic employees account for witnessing selective incivility to ethnically similar others. Our study is based on qualitative interviews with British Asian employees – the majority who witnessed incivility directed towards migrant Asian employees working for the same company. Our findings indicate that, for those whose minority ethnic identity was of central importance, witnessing selective incivility towards others from a similar ethnic background can be perceived as an identity threat. We provide insights into three identity work strategies undertaken by witnesses of selective incivility, while illuminating how minority ethnic identity shapes the way witnesses' respond to selective incivility in the workplace.     

Finding a place to be: ethnic identity exploration of Asian Americans

This paper examines the nature of ethnic identity development by analyzing published autobiographical accounts of 39 Asian Americans. Focusing on what previous research indicates is a four-stage ethnic identity formation process, this investigation of the last two stages--ethnic emergence and ethnic identity incorporation--revealed a pattern of exploration and decision-making that results in greater understanding of self-identity and greater self-acceptance as a member of an ethnic minority. The process revealed by the narrators began with a willingness to face previously unaddressed ethnic identity issues, leading to the search for membership in a new and more satisfying group. After a period of exploration, and finding that they were not fully comfortable with either the mainstream American or ethnic culture, the narrators discovered the ethnic minority American group--Asian Americans. The narrators described their movement through these stages to achieve an Asian American identity as positive and self-validating. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings for education and counseling.     

Self-concept of African-American male youth: Self-esteem and ethnic identity

The role of perceived efficacy, parent support, and community involvement in the self-esteem and ethnic identity of 68 African-American male youth were investigated in this research. The results provided support for the distinctiveness of ethnic identity and self-esteem. A sense of mastery was positively associated with both self-esteem and ethnic identity. Parent support was associated with self-esteem, while community involvement and an appreciation of African-American heritage were positively related to ethnic identity. Implications for future research and the evaluation of prevention and support programs for youth are discussed.