Adolescent Ethnic Identity in Social Context: A Commentary

Inter-Relations Between Ethnic-Racial Discrimination and Ethnic-Racial Identity Among Early Adolescents

The authors examined whether the longitudinal inter-relations between ethnic-racial discrimination and ethnic-racial identity vary according to the perpetrator of discrimination. The authors used three waves of data from early adolescents (n = 387; ages 11-12 at Wave 1) to assess the strength and direction of relations between perceived discrimination from non-school adults and peers vis-à-vis ethnic-racial identity exploration, commitment, private regard, and public regard. Cross-lagged autoregressive path analyses showed that more frequent discrimination, regardless of source, had reciprocal and significant longitudinal inter-relations with exploration and public regard. Peer discrimination predicted lower commitment and private regard 1 year later, whereas non-school adult discrimination did not. Implications are discussed in relation to the role of peers and ethnic-racial identity processes.

Identity Development in Immigrant Youth

Abstract. Rates of immigration are at an all-time high in many Western countries, and immigration can exert profound influences on identity development. These influences occur both at the individual level and at the group level, but these two sets of influences have rarely been considered simultaneously. Accordingly, this article adopts a multilevel approach to identity development among immigrant youth, with a focus on North American receiving contexts. We focus not only on individual ethnic, national, and personal identity development, but also on the societal-level intergroup processes (e.g., threats and stereotypes) that constrain the identity options available to immigrants. We highlight the prominence of biculturalism – endorsement of both heritage and destination-country identities – but also discuss ways in which biculturalism may be difficult to attain for some immigrants and immigrant groups. We also emphasize the interplay between individual immigrants’ identities and the mechanisms through which defensive policies enacted by “threatened” majority groups may harm identity development among immigrant youth. The article concludes with a listing of priorities for future work.

Identity Development Among Ethnic Minority Youth

Abstract. In the context of increasing ethnic diversity in many European countries, a successful development and integration of ethnic minority youth becomes a central concern for the future of Europe. It is particularly important to understand specific challenges and opportunities related to identity development among ethnic minority youth. The aim of this review is to integrate recent findings on identity development among ethnic minority youth in Europe. We identified three crosscutting themes in the literature. The “intensified identity work” approach suggests that ethnic minority youth are more engaged in identity work compared to their mainstream peers. The “diverging identity outcomes” themes represents a discussion on the opposite outcomes of identity development among ethnic minority youth. The “third way or hybrid identity” approach suggests that ethnic minority youth can build on globalization and other cultural resources, as well as on their own developmental flexibility to form novel, adaptive patterns of identity. We discuss the complementarity of the three approaches and suggest directions for further studies with ethnic minority youth. We also show how the findings of this review can help practitioners and policy makers in Europe to support ethnic minority youth in their identity development.