Intersectionality and Youth Identity Development Research in Europe

Abstract

The increasing application of intersectionality to the psychological study of identity development raises questions regarding how we as researchers construct and operationalize social identity categories, as well as how we best capture and address systems of oppression and privilege within our work. In the continental European context, the use of the intersectionality paradigm raises additional issues, since "race" was officially removed from the vernacular following the atrocities of WWII, yet racialized oppression continues to occur at every level of society. Within psychological research, participants are often divided into those with and without "migration background," which can reiterate inequitable norms of national belonging while washing over salient lived experiences in relation to generation status, citizenship, religion, gender, and the intersection between these and other social locations. Although discrimination is increasingly examined in identity development research, rarely are the history and impact of colonialism and related socio-historical elements acknowledged. In the current paper, we aim to address these issues by reviewing previous research and discussing theoretical and practical possibilities for the future. In doing so, we delve into the problems of trading in one static social identity category (e.g., "race") for another (e.g., "migration background/migrant") without examining the power structures inherent in the creation of these top-down categories, or the lived experiences of those navigating what it means to be marked as a racialized Other. Focusing primarily on contextualized ethno-cultural identity development, we discuss relevant examples from the continental European context, highlighting research gaps, points for improvement, and best practices.

Understanding Ethnic-Racial Identity in a Context Where “Race” Is Taboo

“…This colorblind approach where race is ignored (Roig, 2017) makes it more difficult for young people to engage in important discussions regarding the relevance of race (understood as a social construct with myriad material impact) in their own lives and identities. Consequently, erasing "race" as a construct altogether, impedes a collective understanding of how it is relevant and salient for youth's identity development in Germany (Moffitt et al, 2020).…”

“…A Turkish-heritage girl versus Turkish-heritage boy versus Turkish-heritage diverse 9 person may face different issues, have access to different opportunities, and confront different expectations from teachers, other adults, and peers. Emphasizing an intersectional perspective encourages adolescents to see beyond broad categories (such as "immigrant" vs. "German") to be more sensitized to shifting power dynamics depending on situation and context, to find commonalities across social groups and, importantly, with their classmates (e.g., Moffitt et al, 2020).…”

Why Developmental Research on Social Categorization Needs Intersectionality

“…Additionally, although we focus on the nexus of race and gender in the United States for historical and theoretical reasons, this imposes cultural limitations. Researchers who consider adopting an intersectional lens in other cultural contexts should think about how sociohistorical forces shape which categories are salient and likely interact in early childhood, and tailor their questions to fit the local social environment (e.g., Moffitt et al., 2020).…”

Researching race-ethnicity in race-mute Europe

“…This makes it very difficult to distinguish both conceptually and empirically between concepts like nationality, ethnicity, and culture (Ditlmann et al, 2011;Mecheril, 2003) in the German context. As a consequence, words like race and ethnicity are not anchored in public discourse and are instead replaced with words like culture, migration background or country of origin (Moffitt et al, 2020). Researchers are left to wonder how to address race and ethnicty and the importance they have in everyday life with their participants, particularly with children and adolescents who may have never heard of these terms.…”

“…This power dynamic is often reflected in psychological research where only the behaviour of ethnic minority individuals is attributed to culture (Causadias et al, 2018). Promising directions are first studies that examine ERI exploration among ethnic majority adolescents (Juang et al, 2020;Spiegler et al, in press) but we need more research examining how ethnic majority youth conceptualize their ethnic and racial identities vis-à-vis a context that delegates identity work to immigrants and their descendants under the framework of "integration" (Moffitt et al, 2020). Of course, this should not undermine empowering research on racialized groups and the pernicious consequences of discrimination but be seen as an important complementary missing puzzle to better understand and overcome racial and ethnic inequalities.…”