One of few or one of many: Social identification and psychological well‐being among minority youth

Abstract

Feeling belongingness with small social groups such as the family or a group of friends predicts psychological well-being. Acculturation research has argued for similar effects of belongingness with large social groups. In particular, a strong ethnic identity is assumed to improve psychological well-being among members of minority groups, but this conclusion has been drawn based on cross-sectional data. This study uses three-wave longitudinal data collected among adolescents from ethnic minority groups (N = 705), comparing identification with small groups (the family and the school class) with identification with large groups (the ethnic in-group and the nation) as predictors of psychological well-being (self-esteem, mental health problems, and life satisfaction). Analyses suggest that identification with small groups, in particular with the family, can predict developments in psychological well-being (self-esteem and mental health). In contrast, the data gave no support for causal effects from ethnic identity or national identity, in spite of substantial bivariate correlations with all three dimensions in psychological well-being. The findings have implications for acculturation research. In particular, research on ethnic or national identity as predictors of psychological well-being will benefit from adding small-group identities as covariates and using longitudinal data.

‘Healthy’ identities? Revisiting rejection‐identification and rejection‐disidentification models among voluntary and forced immigrants

“…Among two groups of voluntary migrants in Spain, namely, Colombians and Romanians, we did not find a significant relationship between host national identification and well-being, thereby failing to find support for the RDIM for these groups. These results are in line with some other studies that did not find a relationship between national identity and well-being among minorities (Bratt, 2015;Jasinskaja-Lahti et al, 2009).…”

“…For instance, in the case of immigrants, Jasinskaja‐Lahti et al () found that ethnic identification was unrelated to both perceived discrimination and stress symptoms. In the same vein, in Bratt's study () with minority youth, there was no link between ethnic identity and well‐being. Cronin et al () did not find a direct effect of perceived discrimination on higher ethnic identification over time among Latino students either.…”

“…Participants' average length of residence was 6.2 years (SD = 4.83). Thirteen per cent of the respondents had no formal education, 30.3 per cent had completed primary education, 41.4 per cent had completed secondary education, and 14.1 per cent had a university degree (for more information about the sample characteristics, see Bobowik, Basabe, & Páez, 2014, 2015Sevillano et al, 2014).…”

“…Yet it should be noted that evidence for RDIM is still limited and inconclusive. A recent study by Bratt () revealed that host national identity is unrelated to well‐being among minority youth, and Jasinskaja‐Lahti et al () did not find any effect of national identification on stress symptoms.…”

“…In fact, most evidence for this link comes from research with relatively high-status groups (e.g., international students), groups for which boundaries with other groups are relatively permeable (e.g., older adults), or indigenous populations. In contrast, research on the rejection-identification mechanism with forced migrants is practically non-existent, and the limited number of studies with voluntary immigrants found mostly no evidence for the RIM (Armenta & Hunt, 2009;Badea, Jetten, Iyer, & Er-Rafiy, 2011;Bratt, 2015;Jasinskaja-Lahti et al, 2009;Jasinskaja-Lahti, Mähönen, & Ketokivi, 2012;Wiley, 2013;Wiley et al, 2013; but see Bourguignon et al, 2006). For instance, in the case of immigrants, Jasinskaja-Lahti et al (2009) found that ethnic identification was unrelated to both perceived discrimination and stress symptoms.…”