Abstract
Understanding the experiences of multicultural individuals is vital in our diverse populations. Multicultural people often need to navigate the different norms and values associated with their multiple cultural identities. Recent research on multicultural identification has focused on how individuals with multiple cultural groups manage these different identities within the self, and how this process predicts well-being. The current study built on this research by using a qualitative method to examine the process of configuring one's identities within the self. The present study employed three of the four different multiple identity configurations in Amiot et al. (2007) cognitive-developmental model of social identity integration: categorization, where people identify with one of their cultural groups over others; compartmentalization, where individuals maintain multiple, separate identities within themselves; and integration, where people link their multiple cultural identities. Life narratives were used to investigate the relationship between each of these configurations and well-being, as indicated by narrative coherence. It was expected that individuals with integrated cultural identities would report greater narrative coherence than individuals who compartmentalized and categorized their cultural identities. For all twenty-two participants, identity integration was significantly and positively related to narrative coherence, while compartmentalization was significantly and negatively related to narrative coherence. ANOVAs revealed that integrated and categorized participants reported significantly greater narrative coherence than compartmentalized participants. These findings are discussed in light of previous research on multicultural identity integration.
Highlights
As our societies become more culturally complex, it is vital that we understand how individuals deal with diverse cultural contexts
Frontiers in Psychology | Cultural Psychology study examines the experiences of multiculturals who have already grown up with multiple cultural groups, we focus on the categorization, compartmentalization, and integration configurations
We considered coherence to be an especially relevant indicator of well-being for this population because multicultural individuals live with multiple cultural meaning systems, each with their own varied set of values, norms, and practices to follow (Giguère et al, 2010)
Summary
As our societies become more culturally complex, it is vital that we understand how individuals deal with diverse cultural contexts. People who belong to more than one cultural group must navigate the diverse norms and values from each of their cultural affiliations Faced with such diversity, multicultural individuals need to manage and organize their different and possibly clashing cultural identities within their general sense of self. The primary objective of the present research is to gain deeper insight into this multicultural identification process by first, qualitatively investigating the identity experiences of multicultural individuals, and second, by investigating several patterns or configurations for identifying with multiple cultural groups. This was achieved by using a cognitive-developmental model developed by (Amiot et al, 2007). I’d like you to construct the story of your own past and present in relation to your cultures
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