Generational differences in vulnerability to identity denial: The role of group identification

Abstract

Identity denial, or having one’s group membership go unrecognized by others, is a form of discrimination and a common experience for ethnic minorities whose national identities are routinely questioned. Three studies found that being denied one’s national identity generated greater negative emotions for second+ generation (i.e., U.S.-born) compared to first generation (i.e., foreign-born) Asian Americans, and for those first generation Asian Americans who arrived to the USA earlier in their lives compared to later. Negative emotions in response to identity denial were mediated by American identification, specifically greater self-stereotyping as American, among second+ generation Americans. The present work thus identifies which group members are most vulnerable to the negative effects of identity denial and further suggests that identity denial is a self-definitional threat in which one’s view of oneself is not validated by others.