Expanding the Margins of Identity: A Critique of Marginalization in a Globalized World

Abstract

In an increasingly globalized world, global culture may constitute an alternative cultural resource, especially for members of ethnic minority groups who have often been described as marginalized in acculturation research. In the present study, we investigated the role that global identity may play for the self-concept and the psychological and sociocultural adaptation of ethnic minority members, especially those who score high on marginalization. We explored these relationships in 848 European Muslim minority members. Marginalized participants showed lower ethnic identity but the same or even stronger global identity compared with nonmarginalized participants. No difference in sociocultural adaptation was observed between nonmarginalized participants and marginalized individuals, when the latter expressed strong global identification. Moreover, in terms of ethnic discrimination, increasing one’s global identity was related to better psychological adaptation compared with increasing one’s ethnic identity, although coefficients remained small. Based on our results, we, in line with other researchers, argue for a reevaluation and differentiation of the concept “marginalization,” which has mostly been viewed in negative terms. Additional available cultural resources, such as global identity, may offset the negative relation between marginalization and adaptation and may mediate the effect of ethnic discrimination on psychological adaptation.