Identity Approach Research Articles

A social identity perspective on dark tourism impacts

This theoretical paper investigates the potential of social identity theory to promote reconciliation in the context of dark tourism associated with conflicts. While tourism scholars consider an opportunity for leveraging dark tourism in peacebuilding, there must be more evidence of its effectiveness in promoting peace, especially in the reconciliation process. Through a social identity approach, this paper sheds light on the inconsistency of reconciliation in the geopolitics of dark tourism. It develops a conceptual framework of three design dimensions to dissuade animus and promote reconciliation through dark tourism settings of conflicts. The conceptual discussion in this study is of high value for dark tourism stakeholders and governance actors aiming at developing solutions for reconciliation through tourism.

Coherent lives: Making sense of adoptees’ experiences in education through narrative identity

AbstractChildren adopted from care become part of a hidden, but no less vulnerable, group in the education system and may be overlooked for allocation of additional support and guidance. Adoption is a relatively unique experience and adds layers of complexity, difference and vulnerability to young people's lives that are poorly understood and under‐researched. Adopted adolescents face significant challenges in social, emotional and behavioural aspects of school life. An attainment gap persists throughout their educational career. Adoptees are strikingly absent from many conversations regarding care‐experienced young people yet their needs and challenges are comparable with those of their peers remaining in the care system. Assumptions are made about adoptees’ opportunity and capacity to recover, concealing challenges faced in adjusting to adoptive life, including education. The impact of adoptees’ early experiences could lead to complex identity formation processes during adolescence, with potential implications for education experience and performance. This paper explores the potential of applying a narrative adoptive identity perspective to answer questions about how adopted children and young people experience school as an adopted person, i.e. how does their lived experience as an adopted member of a school community impact on their engagement with school, schoolwork and peer networks? The concept of ‘communicative openness’ is used to illustrate the vital role the school community plays in enabling adopted children to transition into and thrive in school. Taking a narrative adoptive identity approach may enable teachers to better meet adoptees’ specific learning and teaching needs as dictated by their unique experiences and enhance opportunities for better educational progress.

Perceived stigma and post‐traumatic growth among potentially COVID‐19‐infected individuals inside and outside Wuhan: The mediating role of identity

AbstractDrawing upon the social identity approach, the present study explored the interrelationships among perceived stigma (both group‐based and personal), post‐traumatic growth (PTG), and their underlying mechanisms. Cross‐sectional data were collected from 3100 residents (female: n = 1667, 53.77%; male: n = 1433, 46.23%) of Hubei Province, China, aged between 12 and 65 years. The PROCESS macro (Model 7) in SPSS was employed to examine the moderated mediation effect of Inside/Outside Wuhan status on perceived identity and its associations with perceived stigma and PTG. The measurements included a brief scale assessing COVID‐19‐related stigma, the Multigroup Measure of Ethnic Identity, and the short form of the Post‐Traumatic Growth Inventory. Results showed that perceived stigma was positively associated with PTG, which was mediated by perceived identity. The moderation analysis suggested that the mediating effect of perceived identity on the courtesy stigma–PTG linkage was more pronounced in the Outside Wuhan group compared to the Inside Wuhan group. However, such an effect was not observed when personal affiliate stigma was the antecedent. In conclusion, this study suggests that positive contact and interaction can help reduce discrimination and stigma. Enhancing the perceived identity of stigmatized individuals can ultimately contribute to the achievement of PTG.

The Conundrum of Identity in the Omani Higher Education: A Case Study of an English Language Teaching (ELT) Context

The developing status of the Omani higher education has made this sector subject to both national and global influences. Such influences created inconsistencies between the demands of the local context and those of the increasingly globalizing context, which resulted in a nationally diverse faculty body. This paper draws on the Social Identity Approach (SIA) and the intersectionality theory to argue that identity in the workplace could be understood better through focusing on processes rather than individual narratives since processes reveal much of the complexity of prototypes especially when applied to workgroups. The paper reports the findings of a qualitative case study conducted in an English language-teaching department in Oman. The study explored identity intersectionalities within a workgroup by analyzing the data generated through 16 interviews, eight meeting observations and document analysis. The thematic analysis reveals that identities are constructed based on intersections of language, nationality, contract and professional identity. Such intersections were evident in relation to the process of recruitment, employment security and retention, staff inclusion, and professional identity enactment. These findings demonstrate that analyzing identity at the intra-categorical level sheds light on its effects at the individual level. The paper concludes by highlighting theoretical and practical implications that are relevant to ELT contexts internationally.

The identification environment matters: Students' social identification, perceived physical school environment, and anxiety - A cross-level interaction model.

The social identity approach to health argues that well-being depends on the psychosocial circumstances of the groups to which individuals belong. However, little is known about how the average level of identification in the group - 'the identification environment' - buffers the negative health consequences of stressors. We used multilevel modelling to investigate whether identification environment in a school modified the association between the students' perceptions of the quality of their school's physical environment and their reported levels of anxiety. In two representative samples of Finnish school students (N = 678 schools/71,392 students; N = 704 schools/85,989 students), weak identification environment was related to increased anxiety. In addition, in schools where identification environment was weaker, the student level relationship between perceived physical environment and anxiety was stronger, and students were more anxious. Our results provide evidence that identification environment needs to be considered when we analyse how group membership affects well-being.

Social identity emergence in attitude interactions and the identity strengthening effects of cumulative attitude agreement

AbstractThe social identity approach asserts that self‐categorization is fluid and created anew in context. Despite this, research often conceptualizes identities as being based on static categories. In this article, we assess: how attitudes may be relevant attributes used to categorize the self and others, and therefore have the potential to foster social identification; how such categories/identities can be updated with new attitudinal information; and how attitudes have greater impact when socially expressed. Across three preregistered computer‐mediated interactive experiments (N = 3087), involving attitudes relating to the Ukraine‐Russia conflict of 2022, we find, identities can be updated with the introduction of new attitudes in interaction; cumulative attitude congruence strengthens identification; attitudinal interaction strengthens opinion‐based group identification and activism intentions, and ingroups can strategically align their attitudes. We conclude that to fully understand identity formation, we must acknowledge the fluidity of self‐categories and resultant identities, in line with the original specifications of the social identity approach.

A social identity approach to facilitating therapy groups.

A social identity approach to facilitating therapy groups.

‘It’s not fantasy storybooks’: The funds of identity approach in creating storybooks for deaf pupils

As a Special Education Teacher, the lack of language learning materials for deaf pupils is a challenge. Storybooks are a crucial resource for helping pupils understand the world and connect it to their real-life experiences. The ‘funds of identity’ approach has been used across a range of research studies to create storybooks for deaf pupils. To further probe its potential, an action research study involving a ‘self-reflection’ cycle process was conducted in a primary school in Sabah, Malaysia involving eight deaf students. The qualitative and narrative findings of the study indicate that storybooks based on the funds of identity have increased pupils’ interest in reading and helped them connect the story with their reality. In short, these books are important in improving the reading skills of deaf pupils. Abstrak Sebagai Guru Pendidikan Khas, kekurangan bahan pembelajaran bahasa untuk murid-murid pekak masih menjadi cabaran. Buku cerita adalah penting untuk membantu murid memahami dunia dan mengaitkannya dengan pengalaman hidup sebenar. Maka, pendekatan ‘identiti dana’ telah diadaptasikan dalam membina buku cerita yang bersesuaian dengan keperluan murid pekak. Kajian Tindakan menggunakan proses kitaran ‘refleksi-kendiri’ telah dijalankan di sebuah sekolah rendah di Sabah, Malaysia melibatkan lapan orang murid pekak. Dapatan kajian kualitatif dan naratif menunjukkan bahawa buku cerita berasaskan identiti dana telah meningkatkan minat murid dalam membaca, membantu murid membuat perkaitan dengan cerita sekali gus menambah baik penguasaan kemahiran membaca mereka.

Climate distress and social identity: bringing theory to clinical practice.

Guidance for supporting individuals with climate distress often lacks a theoretical foundation to account for its social dimension. This paper argues for the value of the social identity approach (SIA) for understanding and supporting individuals with climate distress in clinic. Three aspects of climate distress are considered: social isolation, collective emotions, and climate action. It is posited that the SIA can guide interventions in a way that is tailored to the specific social dynamics entailed in each client's climate distress. The paper also considers how clinicians can weigh up the potential advantages and disadvantages of interventions that are commonly advised for these individuals, such as contact with nature and engaging in collective action. The author is a clinical psychologist and lecturer researching climate distress.

A new generation of consumers? A study on the pro-environmental behavior of the Fridays for Future generation based on the social identity approach

Especially for the younger generation, climate change is a threat, and therefore, environmental protection and pro-environmental behavior (PEB) are most important. The Fridays for Future movement speaks up for the young generation. Based on the social identity approach, the study is the first to investigate the role of stereotypes related to identification with the movement as a political expression of youth. Using structural equation modeling (n = 543), the study demonstrates that identification is higher when pupils connect the movement with positive stereotypes, aligning with previous research findings for other activists, such as feminists. Whereby environmental concern has an additionally significant but low impact on identification, pro-material value orientation has no effect. Furthermore, the study investigates the relationship between identification with the movement and different types of PEB. The relationship is strongest with public sphere PEB in the form of future participation in a demonstration of the movement. Nevertheless, there is also a positive relationship with private sphere PEB such as nature-compatible actions in everyday life, for example, a meat-free diet and buying an environmentally friendly product. This is partly additionally confirmed through a conjoint analysis also conducted as part of the study. These findings enhance the understanding of the relationship between activism and different types of PEB among pupils and they contribute to closing this research gap. Finally, the implications and limitations of the work are discussed, along with an outlook for future research.

Amplitude and inter-event time statistics for the island volcanoes Stromboli, Mount Etna, Yasur, and Whakaari

Detailed analyses of past major and minor seismo-volcanic events can help to understand the eruptive behavior of volcanoes and the underlying physical and chemical processes. Catalogs of these eruptions and, specifically, seismo-volcanic events may be generated using continuous seismic recordings at stations in the proximity of volcanoes. Here, we apply a recently-developed automated approach Adaptive-Window Volcanic Event Selection Analysis Module (AWESAM) to seismic data from Stromboli (Italy), Mount Etna (Italy), Yasur (Vanuatu) and Whakaari (New Zealand). We perform an inter-event time analysis to identify characteristic patterns in the events’ recurrence time and the volcanic activity. Using this identical approach for all volcanoes, we were able to discover that despite their differing types and activity, they exhibit similar statistical behaviors. For Whakaari, we noticed a bimodal inter-event time distribution for large events. Since this observation is based on single station data, further in-depth investigations are needed once more data is available in future. We also derive a new amplitude-frequency relationship from seismo-volcanic events. With this relation, we can confirm a change in slope for large events at Stromboli, which is based on 10 years of data. Additionally, we apply a classification model to events from Stromboli to differentiate between low-period (LP) events and high-frequency (HF) events and found an alternating behavior in the frequency of these events before and after the two paroxysms in 2019.

Social support and self‐efficacy serially mediate the association of strength of identification with text‐based crisis support line volunteers' compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction

AbstractHelp‐line services provide a vital support to individuals experiencing mental or personal crisis. Recent years has seen a rise in both text‐based services as well as remote working conditions for those who offer help‐line services. Previous research has demonstrated positive and negative outcomes for individuals voluntarily offering support at crisis‐line services. However, few studies have focused on the mechanisms at work. The social identity approach offers one potential avenue for exploration. Specifically, individuals who meaningfully identify as a volunteer can unlock the benefits of the social cure. However, this pathway has not been tested for volunteers in remote working environments. The current study tested associations between identification with a crisis support organisation, well‐being outcomes, perceptions of social‐support, and self‐efficacy in remote text‐based services. This study collected data from 157 crisis‐support line volunteers in two remote‐working contexts. Results indicated a serial mediated indirect effect. Specifically, increased identification as a volunteer predicted increased perceptions of social support. In addition, social support predicted higher levels of self‐efficacy, resulting in increased levels of compassion satisfaction along with decreased levels of burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Results emphasise the role of social identity and perceptions of social support in promoting positive outcomes for remote‐working volunteers.

Social Identity and Online Support Groups: A Qualitative Study with Family Caregivers

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to explore whether a sense of collective or shared group identity was developed in one established online social support group for family caregivers and, if so, what did group identification mean for the group members and how was this cultivated in the group.MethodsEighteen semi-structured interviews were carried out with members of a family caregiver online support group in Ireland. Inductive and deductive reflexive thematic analysis drawing on the social identity approach (SIA) generated four main themes and several related subthemes.ResultsThe first main theme generated was The group are a Tribe and the Tribe gets it, with subthemes: Invisibility as a common experience, my Tribe understands I am more than just a carer and Just being part of the Tribe can be enough. The second main theme generated was the Tribe is a lifeline and life-changing, with related subthemes: Our connection relieves experiences of loneliness and social isolation and Sharing knowledge, experience and support made me feel visible. The third and fourth main themes generated were The leadership of group moderators helped create the Tribe identity and Lessons that can be learnt. These findings are discussed in relation to the social identity approach, social isolation and loneliness.ConclusionsWe concluded that group identity can be cultivated through considered, active and balanced moderation, creating a safe, welcoming and supportive space where family caregivers are able to have fun and seek information, advice and emotional support, which helps relieve loneliness and social isolation.

Disclosing an autism diagnosis: A social identity approach.

Autistic people face a difficult dilemma around whether or not to disclose their diagnosis because autistic people are a stigmatized socialgroup. The central aim of this study was to examine if a social identity approach could be useful in understanding the factors that predict the likelihood of autistic adults disclosing their autism diagnosis in social settings, in the workplace, in educational settings and in the family. The social identity approach predicts that autistic people may cope with this dilemma by using an individualistic strategy to distance themselves from their autistic social identity. Alternatively, they may embrace their autistic social identity and use a collective strategy to resist stigma and advocate for autistic people. We present a survey based cross-sectional study (n = 175) with autistic adults living in Ireland. Participants completed a series of measures; autism social identification, stigma consciousness, and individualistic and collective strategy use to assess disclosing in the four settings. The overall models in each of the four regressions were significant. Autism social identification positively predicted disclosure in social, workplace and educational settings, while stigma consciousness negatively predicted disclosure in the family and in the workplace. Interestingly, over and above these predictors individualistic strategy use negatively predicted disclosure in each of the four settings, while collective strategy use positively predicted disclosure in social, educational and family settings. Our novel social identity approach was useful for explaining autistic adults' strategies to cope with the complex disclosure dilemma. Strengths, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

A social identity approach to mental health help‐seeking behaviour in prisoners: A systematic review

AbstractPrevalence of mental health difficulties is demonstrably higher in prison rather than general populations. Compounding this, prisoners often display a reluctance to seek help, which can undermine rehabilitation. Recent years has seen an increase in studies exploring the factors involved in help‐seeking behaviours amongst prisoners. However, many of these studies come from different disciplines and do not use an overarching theoretical approach. Consequently, policymakers face a difficult task of synthesising and interpreting the findings from different perspectives. Using a deductive thematic analysis informed by a social identity framework, this current study aims to synthesis the existing research and provide an overarching theoretical perspective. Eleven databases were systematically searched for studies exploring help‐seeking behaviours in prisoners with mental health difficulties. Results indicate that prisons represent sites of enactment of a specific institutionalised identity that inhibits help‐seeking behaviour. Three themes relating to (1) the maintenance of positive group identity, (2) ‘us’ and ‘them’, and (3) inhibiting prison context were identified. This review provides an overarching coherent narrative of the experiences and perspectives of prisoners help‐seeking behaviour. This can enable policymakers develop theory‐based approaches to support this vulnerable cohort. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

An Identity Approach on the Entrepreneurial Passion, Illusion of Control and Risk Propensity

An Identity Approach on the Entrepreneurial Passion, Illusion of Control and Risk Propensity

A Conceptual Analysis of the Funds of Knowledge and Identity Approach from an Eco-functional Perspective

AbstractThe article situates the Funds of Knowledge (FoK) approach and the Funds of Identity (FoI) theory in the context of the eco-functional perspective. It proposes to understand the “funds” as external factors of extra-cerebral organizations, as both refer to products of historically accumulated social labor. Furthermore, the article lays out that similar to the dynamic features of external factors in developing functional psychic organizations, funds of knowledge and identity have to be considered specific to a social and developmental context. It is found that Vygotsky’s concept of perezhivanie and Holzkamp’s concept of position-specificity may provide a valid framework for realization of this dynamic understanding of FoK and FoI.

Power to the people: A social identity perspective on organizational decentralization and employee well‐being

AbstractOrganizational identification underpins a range of important outcomes in the workplace, including workers' well‐being. Drawing on the social identity approach to health (SIAH), here we explore whether certain organizational forms—specifically, organizational decentralization—can boost organizational identification and, in this way, employee well‐being. We test this possibility in four high‐powered samples of workers in the UK, US and Italy (N total = 1960). Results confirm that workers are more likely to identify with an organization when they perceive power to be decentralized. Importantly, we find the expected indirect effects between increased decentralization perceptions and ratings of improved well‐being (including job satisfaction, work engagement and reduced burnout) through organizational identification. These results were consistent across samples, proving the generality of the findings across different cultural contexts. Empirical and practical implications of shared decision‐making power to increase workers' well‐being are discussed. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

At Risk? A Critical Reflection on Youth that Identify as Furries in South Africa

Youth is a broad developmental age-range, marked by contextual and behavioural risk factors. Marginalised youth cohorts may be additionally at risk. International studies indicate that “furries,” briefly defined by their interest in anthropomorphic animals, may be one such cohort. However, little is currently known about furries in the South African context. Using the social identity approach as a theoretical underpinning, this article draws on research that formed part of a broader master’s dissertation mixed-methods study. Firstly, using quantitative analysis, this article presents the demographic prototype of furries collected from 98 furries by means of the “ZA Fuzzbutts SFW” group chat on Telegram and the “ZA Furries” online forum. This demographic profile provides the first empirical data to map a prototypical profile of the South African furry. Secondly, the article uses qualitative data to explore the risks of bullying and discrimination that this predominately youth cohort is subjected to, with specific focus on the occurrence of bias-based bullying. The study found that the prototypical South African furry is a 25-year-old white, non-heterosexual male who has completed high school, has at least some tertiary education, and is employed. Furries in South Africa also appeared to be bullied more in high school than their peers. While evidence showed that discrimination against furries exists in South Africa, it did not appear to be a primary factor in bullying.

Felt understanding as a bridge between social identity and wellbeing among international university students

AbstractWellbeing issues among international students in the UK higher education have been recognised as a crisis. To address this, we integrate social identity and felt understanding approaches to wellbeing and mental health, testing whether felt understanding (the belief that others understand oneself) is an important process through which social identity predicts better wellbeing, over and above other, more established mediators (social support, life meaning, and personal control). International university students (including both undergraduates and postgraduates, N = 301) completed an online survey that measured three sets of variables: social identity variables (ingroup identification, multiple identities, multiple identity compatibility); process variables (social support, felt understanding, life meaning, personal control); and wellbeing outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety, stress). Path analyses confirmed that felt understanding predicted better wellbeing outcomes over and above the other mediators. Additionally, indirect effects from social identity variables to wellbeing via felt understanding were consistently significant, even when adjusting for the other mediators. The results are consistent with the idea that felt understanding is an under‐acknowledged resource through which social identities protect wellbeing. The findings contribute to “social cure” research and have implications for promoting wellbeing services from the perspective of group memberships. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.