Living with Multiple Cultural Identities and its Effects on Self-Esteem

Abstract

The current research examines the role of balancing various cultural memberships during adolescence on identity development. We examine cultural coexistence abilities and internal cultural reconciliation as predictors of self-esteem in students living with multiple cultural identities. One hundred sixty university students (Mage = 19.23) completed the modified Multicultural Identity Integration (MII) Scale, the Multicultural Identity Integration Scale (MULTIIS), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). The analysis revealed that higher MII scores, which indicate lower cultural compatibility, were associated with lower self-esteem. Moreover, increased MULTIIS integration scores, signifying higher identity integration, were associated with improved self-esteem. However, self-esteem was not predicted by gender or age. These findings support the existence of a relationship between one’s capacity to hold multiple cultural identities and their self-esteem, but do not support previous findings linking gender to self-esteem.