The Experiences of Students of Color at a Predominantly White Institution: Implications for Counselor Training

This qualitative study examined the experiences of 11 students of color who participated in 2 multicultural counseling courses in a master’s‐level counseling program at a predominantly White institution. Findings illustrate students’ learning experiences based on instructors’ racial and ethnic identities, including a pivotal transition from distrust to trust toward the White instructor. Implications for teaching race‐based topics with students of color are presented. Este estudio cualitativo examinó las experiencias de 11 estudiantes de color que participaron en dos cursos de consejería multicultural en un programa de consejería de nivel máster en una institución predominantemente blanca. Los hallazgos ilustran las experiencias de aprendizaje de los alumnos basadas en las identidades raciales y étnicas de los docentes, incluyendo una transición fundamental desde la desconfianza hasta la confianza hacia el docente blanco. Se presentan las implicaciones para la enseñanza de temas basados en la raza con alumnos de color.     

Premigration ethnic and national identities: Jewish adolescents planning emigration from Russia and Ukraine to Israel

The ethnic and national identities of Jewish high‐school adolescents planning emigration from Russia and Ukraine to Israel were investigated about six months before their emigration. The national identities of adolescent emigrants (n = 243) were compared with those of non‐emigrant Russian and Ukrainian adolescents (n = 740). The emigrants’ attitude to their country of origin was less positive and their identification with Russians and Ukrainians was weaker as compared with the non‐emigrant adolescents. In addition, the attitude of the emigrants towards Israel was more positive than their attitude to Russia or Ukraine. Finally, the emigrants’ strongest identification was with the Jewish people, followed by identification with Israelis, while their weakest identification was with Russians and Ukrainians. Israeli and Jewish identities of the emigrant adolescents were positively correlated, and they were independent of the Russian and Ukrainian identities. Perceived discrimination was negatively correlated with the emigrants’ attitude to Russia or Ukraine, and it was positively correlated with the emigrants’ identification with Israelis and with the Jewish people. Jewish ethnicity was correlated with identification with Jewish people; however, it was not correlated with any component of the Israeli or Russian/Ukrainian identities. The study results indicate that in the premigration period emigrants form a multidimensional system of ethnic and national identities, which reflects their partial detachment from their homeland and affiliation with the country of provisional immigration. This premigration identity system may be termed “anticipatory” (cf. Merton, 1968), because it is not based on real contact with the country of provisional immigration, but rather on the emigrants’ expectations. On the other hand, the premigration identities are reactive, in the sense that they reflect the emigrants’ reaction to the perceived discrimination they experience in their country of origin. The results of the present study are discussed in light of social identity theory.     

… “An Illness We Catch From American Women”? The Multiple Identities of Latina Lesbians

This article reports the results of several small studies of Latina lesbians undertaken by the author over a period of twenty years. Using her personal experiences as a source of information, she also discusses the psychological implications of multiple identities for this population.     

Consuming Male Identities: Masculinities,Gender Relations and Alcohol Consumption in Aotearoa New Zealand

The excessive and public consumption of alcohol with other men has been a traditional indication of manliness in Western cultures for many years. However, over the last two decades, this association has been eroded, in part through increased consumption by women. Within the gender‐relational context of this increase, we empirically explore ways in which particular (friendship) groups of young men and women (re)construct masculine identities. The male participants demonstrated greater discursive flexibility in enacting their gender identities through alcohol consumption compared with earlier NZ research although also greater constraints on change compared with more recent UK research. A minority of men constructed themselves as atypical in that they did not like rugby, beer or consuming vast quantities of alcohol. These men were all in professional occupations, and we speculate that their social class and financial status may enable them to negotiate alternative demonstrations of masculinity. We conclude that these findings could be explicated through an examination of national gendered identities that arose out of a pioneer culture, and the commodification of gender identities through alcohol consumption. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhancing Well‐being of Homeless Individuals by Building Group Memberships

There is growing recognition that social isolation and a lack of connectedness with social groups is one of the reasons why the subjective well‐being of homeless individuals is generally worse than the rest of the population. Past research amongst a range of populations suggests that the ability of an individual to take on new group memberships and/or their ability to maintain their memberships in meaningful groups is an important predictor of well‐being. In a mixed method study (N = 119), we examined the extent to which experiences at homeless accommodation form building blocks for the formation of multiple group memberships and to what extent this predicts positive well‐being. Qualitative analysis reveals the importance of feeling connected to the homeless service and supported by homeless accommodation staff. Linking these data to quantitative data from a second wave, we found that these experiences predicted well‐being. These findings provide further support for a strength‐based approach to homelessness, by providing insights into the ways that experiences at homeless accommodation can contribute to the development of multiple group memberships (i.e. social capital), and enhance the well‐being of those experiencing, and exiting, homelessness. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

社会身份复杂性的研究：理论、方法与进展

近十年来, “社会身份复杂性”这个概念逐渐引起社会心理学研究者的关注。社会身份复杂性是指个体对多重内群体身份之间的关系进行主观表征的方式, 反映了个体对自己的多重内群体身份之间感知到的重叠程度。当个体感知到的重叠程度较高时, 他们的社会身份复杂性就较低; 反之, 当个体感知到的重叠程度较低时, 他们的社会身份复杂性就较高。本文首先简要介绍了多重内群体身份表征模型, 然后从社会身份复杂性的理论内容、测量方法、作用以及影响因素等方面对以往的相关研究进行了回顾。最后, 指出未来的研究应侧重对社会身份复杂性理论和研究设计的进一步完善、问卷量表的效度验证, 并加强研究结果的具体应用。     

Understanding and coping with immigration detention: Social identity as cure and curse

Over 29,000 foreign nationals are detained yearly in British Immigration Removal Centres for undefined periods. This study investigated the role played by social identities in the way detainees are affected by, make sense of, and deal with detention. An opportunity sample of 40 detainees was interviewed on topics including support, identity, and well-being, and data were analysed using theoretical thematic analysis. Participants struggled with loss of social networks, loss of rights, loss of agency, and joining a stigmatised group. Social identities guided exchange of support, aided meaning-making, and mitigated distrust, serving as ‘Social Cures’. However, shared identities could also be sources of burden, ostracism, and distress, serving as ‘Social Curses’. Inability to maintain existing identities or create new ones fuelled feelings of isolation. Participants also reported rejection/avoidance of social identities to maximise their benefits. This study is the first to apply the Social Identity Approach to the experience of immigration detention.     

McGurk Effect in Gender Identification: Vision Trumps Audition in Voice Judgments

Demonstrations of non-speech McGurk effects are rare, mostly limited to emotion identification, and sometimes not considered true analogues. We presented videos of males and females singing a single syllable on the same pitch and asked participants to indicate the true range of the voice–soprano, alto, tenor, or bass. For one group of participants, the gender shown on the video matched the gender of the voice heard, and for the other group they were mismatched. Soprano or alto responses were interpreted as “female voice” decisions and tenor or bass responses as “male voice” decisions. Identification of the voice gender was 100% correct in the preceding audio-only condition. However, whereas performance was also 100% correct in the matched video/audio condition, it was only 31% correct in the mismatched video/audio condition. Thus, the visual gender information overrode the voice gender identification, showing a robust non-speech McGurk effect.     

The multiplicity of belonging: Pushing identity research beyond binary thinking

Abstract

To date, research has primarily used a singular identity framework for investigating how social identity shapes behavior. Thus, research has also largely ignored the role that having multiple, simultaneous identities may play in our lives. This paper reviews work that pushes that singular identity framework beyond either/or binary constructs of identity. Specifically, through exploring racial identity flexibility for biracial populations and activating a flexible, multiple identity mindset more broadly outside of racial domains, these results demonstrate the potential impact of multifaceted self-views on flexible behaviors. Related work concerning other multiply belonging individuals are also discussed in line with a call for needed research to pinpoint new models and mechanisms for understanding the multiplicity of belonging.     

Evidence that anticipated stigma predicts poorer depressive symptom trajectories among emerging adults living with concealable stigmatized identities

People living with concealable stigmatized identities are vulnerable to experiencing greater depressive symptoms as a result of occupying a lower social status. In the present research, we examine the effect of changes in enacted stigma and changes in anticipated stigma on trajectories of depressive symptoms over time. A sample of 192 college-aged emerging adults (81.0% female, 81.9% Caucasian, M_age = 18.82 years) living with a concealable stigmatized identity (e.g., mental illness and sexual minority status) completed measures of enacted stigma, anticipated stigma, and depressive symptoms at two time points across eight weeks. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicate that increases in anticipated stigma, but not enacted stigma, predicted poorer trajectories of depressive symptoms, controlling for the effect of baseline rumination and other identity-related variables. These data are among the first to demonstrate that worries about future devaluation predict poorer depressive symptom trajectories over time among college-aged emerging adults.