Relationships between identity domains and life satisfaction in minority and majority youth in Albania,Bulgaria, Czech Republic,Kosovo, and Romania |
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Authors: | Radosveta Dimitrova Carmen Buzea Jitka Taušová Fitim Uka Skerdi Zakaj Elisabetta Crocetti |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SwedenDimitrova.radosveta@gmail.com radosveta.dimitrova@psychology.su.se;3. Department of Sociology and Communication, Transylvania University of Brasov, Brasov, Romania;4. Department of Psychology, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic;5. College Heimerer, Prishtina, Kosovo;6. Department of Psychology, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania;7. Department of Psychology, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy |
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Abstract: | AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine relationships between identity domains (educational and relational identity) and life satisfaction in a cross-national perspective, by targeting minority (Roma) and majority youth in Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Kosovo, and Romania. Based on the three-factor identity formation model, we investigated the interplay between three identity processes (i.e., commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment) and life satisfaction. Participants were 1860 adolescents aged 12–19 years from Albania (n = 350), Bulgaria (n = 398), the Czech Republic (n = 293), Kosovo (n = 542), and Romania (n = 277). They completed self-reports of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) and the Life Satisfaction Scale (SWLS). We adopted a structural equation modelling approach to test (a) measurement invariance of identity and life satisfaction models across groups and (b) associations between identity domains (educational and relational) and life satisfaction. Findings indicated measurement invariance for identity and life satisfaction measures across cultural groups. In the total sample, life satisfaction was consistently associated with high commitment, high in-depth exploration, and low reconsideration of commitment in the educational identity domain. Sample-specific associations highlighted important cultural differences. Implications of these findings for identity and well-being in minority and mainstream youth across the countries under investigation are discussed. |
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Keywords: | Identity life satisfaction Roma minority Albania Bulgaria Czech Republic Kosovo Romania |
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