Ethnic Identity among Immigrant and Minority Youth

Abstract

This chapter takes a social-developmental perspective that draws on both developmental and social psychological theories to discuss ethnic identity among immigrant and minority adolescents. The more variable aspects of ethnic identity are then discussed in terms of situational salience and identity enactment. Minority and immigrant youth not only belong to their ethno-religious community but are also involved in developing a sense of belonging to the society they grow up in. Research among ethnic minority youth shows that higher perceptions of discrimination indeed predict increased ethnic group identification. Survey research among late adolescent and early adult Turkish and Moroccan immigrants in some European countries showed that perceptions of discrimination were related to higher levels of religious group identification. These studies suggest that, like ethnic identity, religious identification increases in the face of discrimination. In the literature a distinction can be made between approaches that focus on the stability or variability of ethnic identity.