Salience Of Ethnic Identity Research Articles

Competing Visions at the EU’s Edge: Liberal vs. Conservative-Christian Notions of Europe in the Ukrainian–Hungarian Borderland

ABSTRACT Across Europe there is a plurality of competing visions on what Europe means, each appealing to identity and bringing along potential (geo)political implications. Identification with such visions are particularly worth investigating along the EU external boundary, some sections of which divide ethno-linguistic and religious communities. This paper is based on interviews with 23 elites in the Ukrainian–Hungarian borderland conducted some weeks before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian responses were marked by an overridingly positive view on Europe, while those of the Hungarians on both sides of the border were overall clearly more skeptical, with attitudes strongly overlapping with current hegemonic discourses on the EU in Hungary. The paper points to the salience of ethnic identities and the resonance of narratives in Budapest and Kyiv among these borderland communities. It also draws out tensions between the benefits of EU membership and a Hungarian national identity increasingly framed in opposition to the Union.

Lived experiences of diverse university staff during COVID-19: an examination of workplace wellbeing

ABSTRACT Survey research has evidenced the work-related stresses reported by higher education staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, with indications that some groups may have been more vulnerable than others. However, for the most part, this research has not taken into account individuals’ intersecting identities and their circumstances, which are likely to influence the strategies which are best placed to support their wellbeing. This qualitative study contributes to this area of research through an examination of workplace wellbeing for diverse professional and academic staff, providing a more in-depth understanding of their lived experiences during the pandemic. Data were 36 open-ended questionnaires and 20 interviews from diverse academic and professional staff, in terms of their intersecting gender, sexual and ethnic identities; age; job role and grade scale; caregiving responsibilities and disability status, at a large UK public research university. Using inductive thematic analysis, the findings support key influences identified in the quantitative studies but also highlight new themes such as the salience of ethnic, religious and gender identities and anxiety and trauma from the pandemic. The findings further emphasise the importance of the organisational infrastructure to support staff welfare. Evidence-based, workplace strategies are offered to address the key findings. Overall, our study highlights the importance of providing targeted support and acknowledging the traumatic experiences of university staff during crisis situations and underscores how equity, diversity and inclusion are key considerations for wellbeing practices and policies in the workplace.

Mineral Resources and the Salience of Ethnic Identities

Abstract This paper shows how ethnic identities may become more salient due to natural resources extraction. We combine individual data on the strength of ethnic—relative to national—identities with geo-localised information on the contours of ethnic homelands, and on the timing and location of mineral resources exploitation in 25 African countries, from 2005 to 2015. Our strategy takes advantage of several dimensions of exposure to resources exploitation: time, spatial proximity and ethnic proximity. We find that the strength of an ethnic group identity increases when mineral resource exploitation in that group’s historical homeland intensifies. We argue that this result is at least partly rooted in feelings of relative deprivation associated with the exploitation of the resources. We show that such exploitation has limited positive economic spillovers, especially for members of the indigenous ethnic group; and that the link between mineral resources and the salience of ethnic identities is reinforced among members of powerless ethnic groups and groups with strong baseline identity feelings or living in poorer areas, or areas with a history of conflict. Put together, these findings suggest a new dimension of the natural resource curse: the fragmentation of identities, between ethnic groups and nations.

Ethnic identity‐based motivation: A model emergent from US Hispanic consumers

AbstractA great deal of research has investigated how various aspects of ethnic identity influence consumer behavior, yet this literature is fragmented. The objective of this article was to present an integrative theoretical model of how individuals are motivated to think and act in a manner consistent with their salient ethnic identities. The model emerges from a review of social science and consumer research about US Hispanics, but researchers could apply it in its general form and/or adapt it to other populations. Our model extends Oyserman's (Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19, 250) identity‐based motivation (IBM) model by differentiating between two types of antecedents of ethnic identity salience: longitudinal cultural processes and situational activation by contextual cues, each with different implications for the availability and accessibility of ethnic cultural knowledge. We provide new insights by introducing three ethnic identity motives that are unique to ethnic (nonmajority) cultural groups: belonging, distinctiveness, and defense. These three motives are in constant tension with one another and guide longitudinal processes like acculturation, and ultimately influence consumers' procedural readiness and action readiness. Our integrative framework organizes and offers insights into the current body of Hispanic consumer research, and highlights gaps in the literature that present opportunities for future research.

A Study of the Relationship between New Mainstream Chinese Cinema and the Chinese Cultural Identity of the Youth in Hong Kong

This paper mainly explores the impact of new mainstream Chinese cinema on the Youth in Hong Kong's cultural identity. "Do Hong Kong youth deconstruct the messages conveyed by the new mainstream Chinese cinema when they watch it? Does the film medium strengthen and weaken the Youth in Hong Kong's cultural identity, and thus affect the Youth in Hong Kong's own identity?". In order to measure and analyze it, this paper constructs a model of the influence of the film medium on identity, in which we use the concept of ethnic identity salience which is highly relevant to cultural identity. Furthermore, we propose four themes (variables) that can measure ethnic identity salience, namely ethnic identity, achieving ethnic identity, ethnic practices, and orientation towards intra-ethnic membership. Under this model, the medium of film affects the four themes of ethnic identity, achievement of ethnic identity, ethnic practices, and orientation towards intra-ethnic membership simultaneously, thus influencing the degree of ethnic identity salience and hence the identity of the Youth in Hong Kong. This paper adopts an experimental method to measure people's ethnic identity salience before and after viewing the film.

Identity and conflict: Evidence from Tuareg rebellion in Mali

Does internal conflict erode national identity in Sub-Saharan Africa? We explore this question in the context of the 2012 Tuareg rebellion in Mali. The timing of the conflict was plausibly exogenous: the fall of al-Gaddafi’s regime in Libya in 2011 triggered the return of the Tuareg fighters from the demised leader’s Praetorian guard to their homeland in Northern Mali. Using representative survey data on the salience of national and ethnic identities, we perform a difference-in-differences estimation and find that the outbreak of the conflict prompted Malian residents living closer to the conflict zone to decrease their national identity more than the residents further away. We argue that this effect is likely to have been driven by proximity to violent events perpetrated by separatist groups and not by selective migration, exposure to internally displaced persons, communal violence, or other potential alternative explanations. Our results are consistent with the qualitative evidence on the matter. We place these findings in the context of recent theoretical advances in identity economics.

Этническая идентичность и благополучие русских на постсоветском пространстве: роль диаспоры

The article analyzes the role of different forms of diaspora activity as a mediator of the relationship between ethnic identity and psychological well-being of Russians in Kyrgyzstan and Estonia (N = 609). The results of structural equation modeling showed that ethnic identity salience is significantly positively associated with the involvement in all types of Russian diaspora activities both in Kyrgyzstan and in Estonia. Russians’ participation in all types of diaspora activity is significantly higher in Kyrgyzstan than in Estonia. Participation in different types of diaspora activity mediates the relationship of ethnic identity and psychological well-being: in Kyrgyzstan — participation in public actions and activity aimed at preservation of collective historical memory; in Estonia — activity aimed at maintenance of Russian language and culture. The results can serve as the basis for practical recommendations for supporting the Russian diaspora in the post-Soviet space.

Identity crisis, contested citizenship and the challenges of democratic governance in Nigeria since 1999

The article focuses primarily on the issue of identity and contested citizenship within the context of democratic governance in Nigeria since 1999. A deep understanding of the workings of Nigeria’s democratic terrain may not be possible without some understanding of the identity. Given the political salience of ethnic, religious, and other social forces identities, it has led to a bifurcated citizenship crisis such as the dichotomy between “settlers” and “natives” and “indigenes” and “non-indigenes” or local citizenship. These centripetal and centrifugal forces have not only has become the rule for distributing position, power, and resources in Nigeria but have also coalesced to give rise to an identity crisis and contested citizenship. Different explanations have been offered regarding the implication of the above subject matter for democratic governance. However, the article tries to subsume these explanations under the indigene-settler perspective. Hence, the emergence of federal character, quota system, and true federalism as well as several socio-economic and political crises that became heightened since the beginning of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic are the manifestation of identity and citizenship crisis. The article, therefore, articulates viewpoints that bring into forefront intellectual debate on the future of Nigeria's democratic governance amidst identity crisis and contested citizenship. The article adopts a historical research methodology and relies on secondary sources of data.

The salience of ethnic identity in entrepreneurship: an ethnic strategies of business action framework

The salience of ethnic identity in entrepreneurship: an ethnic strategies of business action framework

Belonging, believing, behaving, and Brexit: Channels of religiosity and religious identity in support for leaving the European Union.

Having an Anglican affiliation is known to be associated with support for leaving the European Union (EU) in Britain. Religiosity, conceived as strength of religious attachment, has received comparatively little treatment. We investigate religiosity via electoral, household, and attitudinal surveys, distinguishing the effects of "behaving" and "believing." The association between religiosity and EU Referendum vote choice and position is identified before and after inclusion of values, attitudinal, and civic engagement measures. Consistent with established findings, in socio-structural models Anglicans are more likely to support Brexit than religious Nones. More frequent church attendance is associated with being more pro-Remain. The Anglican effect is primarily mediated by anti-immigrant attitudes, authoritarianism, and salience of ethnic identity, suggesting a Christian nationalist aspect to Leave support. The attendance effect is mediated by warmer attitudes toward immigrants, and social capital. Notably, those exhibiting stronger orthodox belief tend to feature a stronger attachment to "Leave," with this partly mediated by authoritarianism. To evaluate the net effect of religion on civic life, we should pay more attention to the cultural content of religious beliefs, and how they structure other values and attitudes.

Parental Cultural Socialization Practices among Underrepresented Ethnoracial Groups in a Predominantly White Rural College Community

Prior research indicates that parents adapt their cultural socialization approaches to their community contexts, however few studies have directly examined the influence of the community context in increasingly diverse rural communities in the United States. This study examined parental cultural socialization practices among individuals from underrepresented ethnoracial groups and the perceived influence of their predominantly White rural community. Parents employed at a university in the Northeast of the U.S. participated in this study which involved in-depth semi-structured interviews and used Grounded Theory as the analytic approach. Findings include three interrelated themes: (1) the community context increased ethnic and racial identity salience, (2) parents exerted deliberate efforts to culturally socialize their children and to teach their children to develop an appreciation for diversity, multiculturalism and inclusivity, and (3) parental cultural socialization behaviors were influenced by the 2016 presidential campaign and election. The findings show that the hegemonic, White-normative and exclusionary environment created in part by the demographics of this community influenced how they socialized their children about their cultural group memberships. The findings also suggest that community-university partnerships, support to families from underrepresented ethnoracial groups and community diversity education are promising strategies to strengthen community relations.

Identity salience facilitates Tibetan students’ group-reference effect using a remembering-knowing recognition paradigm

Social identity theory shows that individuals’ social identity can become salient in some contexts and affect their cognition and behavior. Little research has focused on the impact of ethnic identity salience on the group-reference effect in the remembering-knowing recognition task. Thus, the current study aims to examine this effect of ethnic identity salience. In Experiment 1 we recruited 26 Tibetan students and 30 Han Chinese students from a predominantly Han Chinese university. In Experiment 2, we selected 26 Tibetan students and 30 Han Chinese students from a predominantly Tibetan university. Two weeks before the experiment, all participants reported the baseline level of their social identity salience. After two weeks, each participant underwent a memory test. Tibetan students at the predominantly Han Chinese university showed evidence of higher ethnic identity salience and superior recognition memory performance during a Tibetan reference encoding task than during a Han Chinese reference encoding task (Experiment 1). However, Tibetan students at the Tibetan-majority university did not show this effect (Experiment 2). In comparison, Han Chinese participants did not show any social identity salience in the two experiments. The results show that the salient social identity had an effect on the group reference effect in a remembering-recognition memory test. The current study contributes to the past literature by providing a tentative further understanding of the relationship between social identity salience and remembering judgments.

Does Ethnic Inequality Increase State Repression?

AbstractWe argue that economic inequality between ethnic groups increases state repression. We contend that a high level of ethnic inequality fuels distributional conflicts between poor and rich ethnic groups. It also increases the salience of ethnic identity and promotes ethnic mobilization to challenge the status quo. This between-group tension creates collective grievances for ethnic groups, mounts challenges to incumbent governments and increases perceived threats to governments. The greater the perceived threats, the more likely that governments will employ coercive measures. We further argue that the impact of ethnic inequality on state repression is moderated by the level of democracy. Various institutional mechanisms in democracies increase the costs of repression, reducing leaders’ incentives to employ coercive measures, even when facing high levels of ethnic inequality. Evidence from 152 countries between 1992 and 2011 supports our arguments.

The Moderation Effect of Self-Enhancement on the Group-Reference Effect.

Previous studies have documented that people tend to respond faster and memorize better to the in-group traits. It may be particularly manifest for ethnic minorities, due to their salient ethnic identity. However, few studies have explored how the valence of traits modulates the in-group preference effect. The present study examined the impacts of ethnic identity salience and the valence of traits on the group-preference effect among 33 Han Chinese in a Tibetan-dominant area and 32 Tibetan participants in a Han-dominant area. Two weeks before the experiment, we measured the ethnic identity salience of participants in both groups. In the formal experiment, we used the group-reference effect (GRE) paradigm with three encoding tasks. The results showed that, regardless of whether ethnic identity was salient, both groups responded faster to positive traits than to negative traits when evaluating their own group, whereas there were no significant difference between the processing of positive traits and negative traits in the out-group evaluation and font judgment tasks. This suggested a pervasive processing advantage of the in-group positive characteristics. The results imply that self-enhancement motivation had a moderation effect on the GRE, as well as the ethnic identity salience may not be necessary for a GRE.

Cultural festivals as intergroup settings: a case study of Pacific Islander identification

ABSTRACTAddressing the current gap in the literature regarding cultural festivals as a unique site of intergroup discourse, we invoke social identity and group vitality theories to explore the effect of attending an international cultural festival on members of different groups. A total of 143 participants at the 2016 Festival of Pacific Arts in Guam completed surveys and interviews concerning identity salience. Measures of ethnic identity and meta-identity salience both increased (and interacted) after participation in the Festival, and the region of origin also had moderating effects. Standard paradigms regarding single identity salience are discussed as well as future avenues for intercultural work.

National versus ethnic identification in countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)

This study investigated relationships between national and ethnic identities in eleven countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Ethnic versus national identification, experiences of unfair treatment of ethnic groups, and like versus dislike of out-group neighbours were investigated. Round 6 Afrobarometer surveys data from Botswana (n = 1 200), Lesotho (n = 1 200), Madagascar (n = 1 200); Malawi (n = 2 400), Mauritius (n = 1 200), Mozambique (n = 2 400), Namibia (n = 1 200), South Africa (n = 2 400), Tanzania (n = 2 400), Zambia (n = 1 200), and Zimbabwe (n = 2 400) were utilised for the analysis. Majorities of respondents in most countries, especially in those with a dominant majority group, identified equally as much with the nation and ethnic group, or more with the nation. However, ethnic identities remain relevant despite nation-building strategies, even in relatively ethno-culturally homogeneous countries. Ethnic identity salience was enhanced by unfair treatment. Findings suggest recognition and accommodation of diversity to be a prospective strategy to foster stability and peace.

Let’s Be Friends: National Homophily in Multicultural Newcomer Student Networks

Understanding the relational and network dynamics among newcomer networks is important to devising appropriate strategies that will maximize the productivity of the incoming workforce. Nevertheless, there are limited empirical contributions on newcomer networks with few studies examining newcomer networks in international environments. This study focuses on national homophily and examines whether ethnic identity salience, self-efficacy, individualism and ethnocentrism are associated with the occurrence of national homophily in newcomers networks. Using a multicultural student sample drawn from newly formed networks, the study found that ethnic identity salience and academic self-efficacy are associated with national homophily positively and negatively, respectively. Individualism is not found to be related to homophily while, contrary to our hypothesis, ethnocentrism is found to be negatively related to homophily. Through its examination of the effect of attitudinal variables on homophily, this study contributes to the broader literature on homophily and provides implications for managers and researchers.

Substance use among urban youth of color: Exploring the role of community-based predictors, ethnic identity, and intrapersonal psychological empowerment.

Advances in the etiology of substance use in ethnic minority youth over the last 30 years have not adequately addressed factors and conditions that protect youth from substance use. This research has also failed to consider the impact of ethnic identity and empowerment-based processes among urban youth of color. The aim of the present study was to uncover, first, the mediating effect of ethnic identity between community-based predictors (e.g., community participation and neighborhood sense of community) and 30-day substance use, and second, the mediating effect of intrapersonal psychological empowerment (PE) between ethnic identity and 30-day substance use. Data were from a sample (N = 1,480) of African-American/Black (30.4%) and Hispanic/Latinx (59.1%) urban adolescents, who were largely female (61%) and between 16 and 18 years of age (70.5%). Main analytic procedures were carried out through AMOS structural equation modeling software. Results from this study displayed the importance of ethnic identity and PE as mechanisms associated with reducing 30-day substance use. Both PE and ethnic identity mediated the effect community-based predictors had in reducing 30-day substance use. In addition, PE was observed to also mediate the effect between ethnic identity and 30-day substance use, providing insight into the relationship between ethnic identity and PE. The salience of ethnic identity and PE as mechanisms associated with reducing 30-day substance use are discussed. In addition, findings provide useful insight into the development of youth- and community-based prevention policies and programming to help reduce substance use and empower adolescents of color. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Ethnic Inequalities in Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death globally, and a major risk factor is obesity in early age groups. Obesity in children and youth is a growing public health concern, and inequalities exist across social groups. Evidence on ethnic disparities in obesity risk is mixed, and little is known about ethnicity and obesity in late adolescence. Moreover, broad ethnic identity categories may be less informative for understanding disparities in obesity risk than the psychosocial process of ethnic identity development during this unique developmental period. Differences in the salience of ethnic identity seem particularly relevant to examining obesity inequalities in multicultural, multigenerational settings. Aims and Objectives: To examine the gender-specific associations of strength of ethnic identity with the obesity prevalence in ethnically diverse urban youth from British Columbia (BC), Canada. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study of an adolescent cohort with self-reported data on ethnic identity, sociodemographics, height and weight using regression modeling with interaction terms. Results: Above-average ethnic identity was associated with the higher obesity prevalence in young men only. Multivariable-adjusted models showed that young men reporting the strongest ethnic identity had 57% higher odds of being obese (odds ratio 1.57 [95% confidence interval: 1.05–2.37]). Conclusion: Associations varied by gender and ethnic group: stronger ethnic identity was significantly associated with the higher obesity prevalence in young men from Asian and Indigenous cultural heritage, whereas young women from Indigenous backgrounds with stronger ethnic identity showed a nonsignificant lower obesity prevalence. Future research directions and public health program implications are discussed.

The political role of ‘cultural entrepreneurs’ in Kenya: Claiming recognition through the memorialisation of Koitalel Samoei and Nandi heritage

ABSTRACTSince 2010, negotiations surrounding the political interpretation of the past in Kenya are taking place within a new constitutional framework. With the implementation of devolution supposed to be at the core of democratisation, socioeconomic and political claims at a county level are increasingly taking shape on an ethno-cultural basis, nurtured by communities’ long-term constructions of memory. Under the guise of preserving and promoting cultural heritage, this article argues that the contemporary emergence of community museums in Kenya illustrates the growing salience of ethnic identities in the political sphere, used as a resource and a category of action both by the state and cultural entrepreneurs. By occupying an intermediary position in negotiations and public decision-making and using a new kind of capital – cultural heritage and its conservation – the latter strengthen their position both as ‘entrepreneurs of themselves’ and ‘entrepreneurs of a collective memory’ or ‘we-entrepreneurs’, here understood as a set of representations of the past shared by a social group. The article will discuss not only what politics do to museums but also how museums impact on political dynamics, drawing on research that centred on a case study of an ethnographic community museum and a mausoleum dedicated to Nandi culture and the ‘hero’ Koitalel Samoei in the Northern Rift Valley. By focusing on the role played by these new cultural actors in the (re)writing of local history, this article explores the use of cultural heritage in the reconfiguration of political competition and the making of land claims at a grassroots level in contemporary Kenya.