Understanding Transcultural Identity: Ethnic Identity Development of Asian Immigrant College Students during Their First Two Years at a Predominantly White Institution

The present study focused on the conflict of Asian immigrant students preserving their connections to the Asian ethnic culture, adapting to American cultural orientation, and redefining their ethnic identity during their first two years of college. Our findings revealed a complex interaction of six social environmental factors that contributed to the emergence of three ethnic identity patterns: bicultural identity, ethnicized identity, and transcultural identity. The implications of the study articulate the need for college educators to avoid viewing Asian immigrants as an ethnically homogenous group, and acknowledge the nuanced variations in Asian ethnic identity. Moreover, it is incumbent upon student affairs administrators to persevere in promoting a campus environment that minimizes the generational divide between Asian American and Asian immigrant students.     

‘Real Italians and wogs’: The discursive construction of Italian identity among first generation Italian immigrants in Western Australia

We explore the discursive construction of Italian identity among a bilingual sample of Italian‐born Western Australians. Focus groups were held with two groups: Italians who had migrated to Australia as children and a group who had migrated as adults. We found intra‐ and inter‐individual differences in identity construction, with much discourse devoted to demonstrating Italian authenticity and negotiating ethnic category boundaries. Shared markers of authenticity included language, heritage and food. The groups varied in their selection of referent groups to make authenticity claims, with the child migrants drawing upon the shared Australian stereotype of ‘wogs’ to construct and authenticate their Italian‐ness. In contrast, adult migrants constructed Italian identity through comparisons with the dominant Australian ethnic group and in relation to a broader ‘migrant’ identity. The findings highlight the fluid and complex nature of ethnic identity and the need for further exploration of how it is constructed in talk. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Boundaries of American Identity: Relations Between Ethnic Group Prototypicality and Policy Attitudes

We sought to document that the extent to which different ethnic groups are perceived as embodying the American identity is more strongly linked to antiminority policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies among majority‐group members (European Americans) than among minority‐group members (Asian Americans or Latino/as). Participants rated 13 attributes of the American identity as they pertain to different ethnic groups and reported their endorsement of policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies. We found a relative consensus across ethnic groups regarding defining components of the American identity. However, European Americans were perceived as more prototypical of this American identity than ethnic minorities, especially by European American raters. Moreover, for European Americans but not for ethnic minorities, relative ingroup prototypicality was related to antiminority policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies. These findings suggest that for European Americans, perceptions of ethnic group prototypicality fulfill an instrumental function linked to preserving their group interests and limiting the rights afforded to ethnic minorities.     

Korean transracial and international adoptees: Ethnic identity and sense of belonging and exclusion in relation to birth and adoptive groups

Past quantitative ethnic identity research on transracial and international adoptees (TRIAs) has focused on their birth culture. Given that adoptees may also identify with their adoptive family’s culture, we examined Korean and White European American ethnic identities in Korean American adoptees. Identity exploration and commitment were significantly positively correlated within each referent group. Results also indicated relatively higher levels of birth group identity exploration and higher adoptive group identity commitment. In addition, we used cluster analysis to create ethnic identity profiles and investigated the relations between identity profiles and sense of belonging and exclusion. Our findings signal a need to support TRIAs to develop inclusive flexible ethnic identities and suggest future research should examine multiple referent groups and the intersection of these identities.     

Italian Protestants: Religion, Ethnicity, and Assimilation

Early in the twentieth century, Italian Protestants in the United States comprised a religious minority in the Italian Catholic community and an ethnic minority in the American one. Because the assimilation of Protestants from heavily Catholic countries is little studied, I examine the life cycle of three Italian Protestant churches in three denominations in Rochester, New York in order to explain why they disappeared earlier than did their Catholic counterparts. When the second generation Italian Protestants attained adolescence, religious identity with American Protestants overrode ethnic identity, accelerating their assimilation. The Italian Protestant churches had become middle-class American organizations save for the use of Italian, a fatal contradiction. By 1960,all three churches had died, but all of the ethnic Catholic and national Orthodox parishes had survived.     

Unraveling Cultural Threads: A Qualitative Study of Culture and Ethnic Identity Among Urban Southwestern American Indian Youth Parents and Elders

We utilized qualitative methods to explore ethnic and cultural identity among urban Southwestern American Indian youth, parents, and elders. Twenty-four respondents ranging in age from approximately 13 to 90 years were interviewed in focus groups divided by age. Six major themes and seventeen sub-themes related to tribal and pan-American Indian ethnic identity were identified. Two important findings emerging from our study were that common ethnic identity constructs can be validated and new identity constructs discovered through qualitative methods. These and other findings suggest the importance of qualitative methods in better understanding cultural and ethnic identity. Of particular significance was the notion that the most salient and relevant identity constructs can be learned from the voices and perspectives of ethnic identity members themselves across generations, age, tribal groups, gender, and reservation and urban residence.     

Latina/o College Students' Perceptions of Career Barriers: Influence of Ethnic Identity,Acculturation, and Self‐Efficacy

Path analysis was used to explore the tenets of social cognitive career theory with a sample of 357 Latina/o college students. A modified path model revealed that career decision self‐efficacy (CDSE) mediated the influence of ethnic identity and acculturation level on the perception of career barriers. The findings point to the role of ethnic identity in augmenting Latina/o college students' CDSE and increasing awareness about career barriers. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

Ethnic identity,thin-ideal internalization,and eating pathology in ethnically diverse college women

Although much research suggests that ethnic identity is positively correlated with psychological health for ethnic minority women, research examining ethnic identity's relationships to thin-ideal internalization, weight concerns, and eating concerns is sparse. Consequently, this study examined these relationships in European American, African American, Latina, and Asian American college women (N = 816). As expected, univariate analyses of variance indicated that European American women scored lowest on ethnic identity and highest on eating and weight concerns, whereas African American women scored lowest on thin-ideal internalization. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that ethnic identity was negatively associated with eating and weight concerns, while body mass index and thin-ideal internalization were positively associated. Ethnic identity moderated the relationship between thin-ideal internalization and eating concerns such that the relationship was stronger for participants with lower ethnic identity. These results suggest ethnic identity may be a direct or interactive protective factor against eating concerns in ethnically diverse college women.     

Ethnic Identity and Its Relation to Self‐Esteem and Ego Identity Among College Students in a Multiethnic Region1

This study investigated the role of ethnic identity in psychological adjustment. A sample of 209 college students in a multiethnic region completed questionnaires on ethnic identity, self‐esteem, and ego identity. The results indicated that ethnic identity was positively related to self‐esteem, especially with the affirmation and belonging component among Japanese and Filipino American students, and with the ethnic identity achievement component among multiethnic students. The overall relationship between ethnic and ego identities was positive, particularly in ethnic identity achievement scores. The combination of strong ethnic identity and a positive attitude toward other groups was related to advanced ego identity. Ethnic identity was different among ethnic groups, revealing that the development of ethnic identity is interactive in social contexts. Suggestions for future research and implications for multiculturalism are discussed.     

Change in ethnic identity across the college transition

This article examined changes in ethnic identity as a function of college type and residential status and whether differences due to college type could be explained by involvement in extracurricular activities and college ethnic composition. Although no changes in ethnic labeling or belonging were found, there was a normative decrease in ethnic search, independent of residential status. Moreover, the decline in ethnic search was significantly greater at 2- than 4-year colleges, and this difference was mediated by higher rates of participation in extracurricular activities at 4-year colleges. Ethnic identity did not vary by college ethnic composition. There were no ethnic or generation differences in ethnic identity change; however, women were more likely to include an American term in their ethnic label than were men, over time. Averaging across time, students at 4-year colleges also had a greater preference for the American term in their ethnic labels. Findings illuminate the importance of context in shaping ethnic identity.     

The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure – Revised (MEIM-R): Psychometric evaluation with adolescents from diverse ethnocultural groups in Italy

The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure – Revised (MEIM-R) is an extensively used questionnaire assessing ethnic identity. However, studies on its measurement characteristics in the European context are lacking. The current study addressed this gap by investigating the MEIM-R psychometric proprieties across multiple ethnocultural groups in Italy. Participants were 1445 adolescents (13–18 years) of Italian, East European, and North African origin. Results showed that the MEIM-R has good internal consistency. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses revealed configural and metric invariance, i.e., an equal, correlated two-factor structure (ethnic identity exploration and commitment) and equal factor loadings across groups. Scalar invariance, i.e., equal item intercepts, was found only for the commitment scores that showed no group differences in latent factor mean levels. Partial structural invariance was evidenced, with the factor covariances varying across groups. These findings suggest that the MEIM-R is a valuable tool to assess the correlates of ethnic identity, although further research is needed.     

民族接触减弱民族本质论：文化认同与文化相似性的中介作用

采用问卷法,以911名少数民族和汉族大学生为被试,探讨了民族接触减弱民族本质论及其机制问题。研究1检验了民族接触与民族本质论、民族交往态度的关系,结果表明,少数民族被试的民族接触与民族本质论存在显著负相关,汉族被试存在负相关但不显著;研究2检验了少数民族被试的本民族文化认同和与汉族文化的相似性感知在民族接触和民族本质论之间的中介作用。结果表明,文化认同和文化相似性完全中介了民族接触和民族本质论之间的负相关。文章认为民族接触可以通过增加民族之间文化相似性感知、降低内群体的文化认同而减弱民族本质论信念。最后讨论了本研究在理论和实践方面的贡献,以及存在的局限性。     

民族文化认同与大学生职业成熟度的关系及其心理机制

为考察大学生民族文化认同与职业成熟度的关系及其内在心理机制,本研究采用多民族青少年文化认同问卷、大学生生涯自我效能感量表和大学生职业成熟度量表对4292名在校大学生进行测查,结果发现：（1）大学生的主流文化认同、民族文化认同、生涯自我效能感和职业成熟度之间具有明显的正相关;（2）主流文化认同--生涯自我效能感在民族文化认同与职业成熟度之间起链式中介作用;（3）生涯自我效能感中介民族文化认同与职业成熟度的关系在男生样本中不显著而在女生样本中显著;主流文化认同、生涯自我效能感分别单独中介民族文化认同与职业成熟度的关系在汉族大学生样本中为部分中介,而在少数民族大学生样本中为完全中介。     

Ethnic Attitudes in Relation to Ethnic Pride and Ethnic Differentiation

Abstract

A comparison of 4 subsamples with the Ethnic Identity Scale (developed for the present study) yielded 2 relatively independent facets of ethnic identity: ethnic pride and belonging (EP) and ethnic differentiation (ED). First, the distinction between EP and ED increased understanding of how age and immigration status affect changes in ethnic identity. In a comparison of Estonians living in Sweden with those living in Estonia, only ED was affected by emigration and contacts with other ethnic groups, although both EP and ED were positively correlated with age. Second, the distinction between EP and ED increased understanding of earlier and seemingly contradictory findings about the connection between ethnic identity and ethnic attitudes. In the present study, EP was not correlated with ethnic attitudes, but, for 2 majority groups, ED was positively correlated with negative evaluations of out-groups. The authors also discuss the role of group status and relationships with the target nation in understanding the relationship between ethnic identity and ethnic attitudes.     

An empirical investigation of acculturative stress and ethnic identity as moderators for depression and suicidal ideation in college students

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships of acculturative stress and ethnic identity to depressive symptomatology and suicidal ideation in college students. The SAFE Acculturative Stress Scale, Multi-Group Ethnic Identity Measure, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Suicide Scale were administered to 452 college students. The authors found that acculturative stress and ethnic identity moderated the depression-suicide ideation relationship for African American but not European American college students. Given that vulnerability toward suicidal thoughts is increased for African American college students who report symptoms of depression accompanied by either high-acculturative stress or poor group identity, these culturally relevant factors should be included in protocol for suicide risk assessment.     

The influences of cultural values, ethnic identity, and language use on the mental health of Korean American college students

Little research has examined ethnic identity, cultural values, and native language maintenance as predictors of mental health in Korean Americans. The authors explored the influences of ethnic identity, maintenance of Asian cultural values, and maintenance of Korean language usage on self-esteem, anxiety, and depression in Korean American college students (N = 133). Findings indicated that Korean American men reported relatively high levels of state and trait anxiety and that the overall sample reported a relatively high level of depression. Whereas language and ethnic identity had a minimal influence on the mental health of students, greater cultural value maintenance was associated with decreased self-esteem and increases in state anxiety, trait anxiety, and depression. The positive relationship between cultural values and mental health problems may be indicative of being caught in an ethnic bind, in which the clash of traditional and modern values contributes to psychological distress. The authors discuss clinical implications of the findings.     

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.     

Racial Differences in Perceptions of Starting Salaries: How Failing to Discriminate Can Perpetuate Discrimination

Despite recent findings suggesting the presence of racial differences in the perception of starting salaries, researchers have yet to empirically investigate this possibility. Consequently, this study examined the interactive effects of race, ethnic identity, and starting salaries on the salary perceptions of 342 undergraduates. Hispanic, Asian American, and White participants exhibited positive effects of salary whereas Black respondents failed to discriminate between the different salaries. However, a three-way interaction involving ethnic identity, race, and salary revealed a more complex pattern of responses for Black participants: Higher ethnic identifiers responded similarly to Hispanic, White, and Asian Americans. The implications of these results regarding the perpetuation of racial wage inequity are discussed.     

民族认同的概念、测量及研究述评

民族认同对个人心理健康、国家团结和谐有着重大意义,已成为当今研究中的热点问题。文章针对民族认同涵义正在逐步拓宽的发展趋势,分析了民族认同的内涵及与相关概念的关系。在描述民族认同测量多维性的基础上,梳理并比较了MEIM、MEIM-R和EIS等应用广泛的民族认同测量工具。归纳了以民族认同作为调节变量、中介变量的最新研究及其相关研究。未来民族认同研究深化的基本途径为关键术语一致化、研究方法精确化和评估水平全面化。     

Reasons to attend college among ethnically diverse college students

A survey of 713 ethnically diverse university freshmen (463 Latino, 167 Asian American, 54 African American, 29 European American) assessed reasons for attending college, ethnic identity, family interdependence, and college adjustment. Results revealed three reasons for attending college not reported in previous research: to help one's family, to prove one's self-worth, and because of encouragement. Attending college to help the family was stronger among students from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds. Ethnic identity and family interdependence contributed positively to some reasons for attending college, but did not mediate ethnic differences; with cultural factors and socioeconomic status included as predictors, ethnic minority students still gave greater importance to family oriented motives than did European Americans. Career/personal and humanitarian motives contributed positively to college adjustment.