The motivation to integrate and perceived discrimination as antecedents of cultural identity styles.

Abstract

Objectives: The research examined the motivation to integrate and perceived discrimination as antecedents of cultural identity styles, the cognitive and behavioral strategies that bicultural individuals use for decision making in managing and maintaining their ethnic and national identities. Two major cultural identity styles have been distinguished: the alternating identity style (AIS, changing cultural identities depending on the circumstances) and the hybrid identity style (HIS, blending selected aspects of these identities in a unique way). Based on earlier cross-sectional research, we tested the hypotheses that the motivation to integrate would predict greater use of both styles and that perceived discrimination would predict greater use of the AIS, but not the HIS, over time. Method: A community sample of 493 Chinese Americans (56% female, 51.5% first generation, M age = 53.27 years) completed an online survey at two points in time with approximately a 1-month interval. Path modeling controlling for demographic factors (age, generation) and cultural identity style (AIS and HIS at T1) was used to test our hypotheses. Results: Analyses revealed that younger Chinese Americans made greater use of the AIS and that both the motivation to integrate and perceived discrimination were significant predictors of the AIS at T2. In contrast, only the motivation to integrate predicted the HIS at T2, confirming our hypotheses. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that both personal and situational factors affect the management of cultural identities. The findings are discussed in relation to research on acculturation and integration and theories of social and situated identity identities. Public Significance StatementThe study shows that Chinese Americans are more likely to both blend and alternate their ethnic and national identities when they are motivated to maintain bicultural affiliations. Their management of cultural identities can also be affected by social circumstances with perceived discrimination leading to increased identity alternation. The findings are important because they provide insights into how bicultural individuals navigate their cultural orientations and what factors influence their choices.

‘Am I both or not?’: The role of perceived societal norms of multiculturalism in negotiating bicultural identities

“…Modification indices were consulted for a best fitting model, and significant improvements in fit were tested. Based on previous studies (e.g., Ward et al, 2024;Ward, Ng Tseung-Wong, et al, 2018), we checked whether generation and age needed to be controlled for.…”

“…Strong norms of contact would be associated with less cultural identity conflict (H4c) because cultural heterogeneity in everyday interactions is viewed as consensual. Drawing from studies that have found that perceived discrimination was associated with the use of more AIS (Qumseya, 2018;Ward et al, 2024), we extrapolate that perceived discrimination is less likely in context where contact across cultures is normative and therefore multicultural contact would be negatively linked to AIS (H4d).…”

“…As cultural identities are not lived in a vacuum, more attention should be paid to the social contexts of identity negotiation and integration. Researchers are starting to look at the social determinants of multicultural identities in terms of contextual variables, such as perceived discrimination (Ward, Szabó, & Ng Tseung-Wong, 2024) and perceived diversity norms (Ng Tseung-Wong, Dandy, & Lane, 2022). Research investigating social determinants is warranted because norms-whether real or perceived-are known to affect attitudes and behaviours and provide the societal atmosphere in which minorities can afford (or not) their multiple identities (Szabó, 2022).…”