A Preliminary Examination of Ethnic Identification among Whites

Abstract

The issue of ethnic identity has received little attention in the empirical literature on ethnicity, despite its importance in the light of the currently high rates of intermarriage and mixed ancestry. In a preliminary way, we examine the variation of a skeletal form of ethnic identity: namely, ethnic identification, the individual's self-placement in terms of ethnic categories. We concentrate on the distinction between those who identify with a single group and others who do not and analyze its association among native-born whites with such variables as education and generation in the U.S. A key finding is the rising number of individuals who have mixed ethnic ancestry but identity themselves in terms of one group. This occurrence appears to corroborate assertions of a resurgence of ethnicity but points as well to a fundamental change in the nature of ethnicity, as ethnic identifiers are increasingly individuals with mixed ethnic ancestry, who are likely to have a muted ethnic identity.