Social Identity Change Research Articles

F05 The experience of a genetic brain disorder: cultural and social perspectives on huntington's disease

BackgroundApart from the medical effects present in Huntington's Disease (HD), the lives of affected individuals are also influenced by cultural and social frameworks within the society. These aspects give rise...

Social identity change: Shifts in social identity during adolescence

This study investigated the proposition that adolescence involves significant shifts in social identity as a function of changes in social context and cognitive style. Using an experimental design, we primed either peer or gender identity with a sample of 380 early- (12–13 years), mid- (15–16 years), and late-adolescents (18–20 years) and then measured the effect of the prime on self-stereotyping and ingroup favouritism. The findings showed significant differences in social identity across adolescent groups, in that social identity effects were relatively strong in early- and late-adolescents, particularly when peer group identity rather than gender identity was salient. While these effects were consistent with the experience of change in educational social context, differences in cognitive style were only weakly related to ingroup favouritism. The implications of the findings for theory and future research on social identity during adolescence are discussed.

Education and the masculinization of hospital administration

Purpose – Hospital administration in the USA represents a rare instance of a female‐dominated occupation that masculinized. Advocacy for the change in social identity began in the early decades of the twentieth century and had succeeded by the second half of the century. The purpose of this paper is to explore the contribution of university programs in hospital administration to the change.Design/methodology/approach – Analysis of the American Hospital Association's Guide to Hospitals, of journals published during the study period, and of archival material from universities, hospitals, as well as the American College of Healthcare Executives.Findings – Graduate programs in hospital administration contributed to the occupation's masculinization because they admitted virtually no female students. At the same time, many hospitals switched to untrained male administrators even before graduates became available in significant numbers. This reflects normative and mimetic pressures to retain a male administrator...

Immigrants in Québec: Toward an Explanation of How Multiple and Potentially Conflictual Linguistic Identities Become Integrated

The aim of this paper is to apply a newly developed theoretical model to the understanding of how a new linguistic identity becomes integrated in immigrants’ self-concept. While intergroup theories have addressed the situational changes in social identities, the longer-term processes underlying developmental changes in identities and their integration within the self remain to be identified. Relying on developmental and social cognitive principles, we aim to explain the specific processes by which a new linguistic identity develops and becomes integrated within the self over time. We focus on the particular situation of new immigrants in Québec who need to integrate new linguistic identities (French, English). The social factors that facilitate versus impede these change processes and the consequences associated with the integration of a new linguistic identity are also discussed.

Tveskov's Straw Man: A Response to “Social Identity and Culture Change on the Southern Northwest Coast”

Some anthropologists, however, suggest that indigenous people are often inventing tradition and identity in a politically expedient and historically spurious way, sometimes even by reading or misreading anthropological texts. Brian Haley and Larry Wilcoxon, for example, suggest that the identities and traditions of the contemporary Chumash of southern California are best described as a “tale” of “ethnogenesis.” [p. 431]

Integration of Social Identities in the Self: Toward a Cognitive-Developmental Model

This article presents a model of social identity development and integration in the self. Classic intergroup theories (e.g., social identity theory, self-categorization theory) address the situational, short-term changes in social identities. Although these theories identify the contextual and environmental factors that explain situational changes in social identification, the intraindividual processes underlying developmental changes in social identities and their integration within the self remain to be identified. Relying on recent intergroup models as well as on developmental (i.e., neo-Piagetian) and social cognitive frameworks, this article proposes a four-stage model that explains the specific processes by which multiple social identities develop intraindividually and become integrated within the self over time. The factors that facilitate versus impede these identity change processes and the consequences associated with social identity integration are also presented.

Social Identity and Culture Change on the Southern Northwest Coast

Driven by the participation of Native American people in the contemporary political, cultural, and academic landscape of North America, public and academic discussions have considered the nature of contemporary American Indian identity and the persistence, survival, and (to some) reinvention of Native American cultures and traditions. I use a case study—the historical anthropology of the Native American people of the Oregon coast—to examine the persistence of many American Indian people through the colonial period and the subsequent revitalization of “traditional” cultural practices. Drawing on archaeological data, ethnohistorical accounts, and oral traditions, I offer a reading of how, set against and through an ancestral landscape, traditional social identities and relationships of gender and authority were constructed and contested. I then consider how American Indian people negotiated the new sets of social relationships dictated by the dominant society.

Many Teenagers Who Say They Have Taken a Virginity Pledge Retract That Statement After Having Intercourse

Teenagers responses to questions about their sexual intentions and behavior often are inconsistent over time possibly because of changes in young peoples social circumstances and identities according to an analysis of data collected in two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health).1 Half of youth who reported in Wave 1 that they had committed themselves to remaining abstinent until marriage reported no such commitment when interviewed again roughly a year later. The odds of such a reversal at Wave 2 were elevated among adolescents who had initiated intercourse between interviews and among those who repudiated born-again Christianity in the second interview. Similarly one in 10 teenagers who initially reported being sexually experienced claimed never to have had sex when asked in the second interview; the odds of this change were raised among those who had taken a virginity pledge and those who said they had been born again since Wave 1. (excerpt)

Spontaneous geographical maps of Europe by Italian school children

Keywords Europe x Maps x Spontaneous notions x Children Background This preliminary investigation is part of a wider research on children’s spontaneous ideas and representations of Europe (Amann Gainotti 2006) that include different conceptual areas and notions. These have to do with spatial and geographical notions, naive physical models of the earth and also with developmental changes in personal and social identity. Researches on cognitive development inspired by Piaget and neo-Piagetians have shown that before individuals adopt scientifically accepted concepts, they have intuitions, presuppositions and naive theories that guide or constrain the acquisition of knowledge. Even young children have ‘‘theories’’ which are internally consistent representations. For instance, where children’s understanding of the earth is concerned, it has been shown by Vosnadiou and Brewer (1992) and Nobes et al. (2005) that children’s thinking is strongly influenced by observations of the local environment. Children may think that landscapes are generally flat and that objects and persons need to stand on something; they may claim that it is possible to fall off the edge of the flat earth and that the sky ‘is on top’ of the earth. Other studies on children’s ideas about the social world, other countries than one’s own, and also about political and economical institutions (Piaget and Weil 1951; Berti and Bombi 1981; Vianello and Lucangeli 2004) have confirmed that at young ages, children’s ideas and representations are strongly dependent on observations and experiences made in the local and nearby environment.

Social transformation, collective categories, and identity change

Changes in collective categories of identity are at the core of social transformation. The causal linkages among identity change, institutional change, and change in modes of practice are, however, complex. Developing and adapting ideas from Pierre Bourdieu's work, this article shows the coexistence in tension of a plurality of elements within each collective identity category. On this basis, it proposes a typology of responses at the level of identity to socio-political change. This allows an explanation of patterns of identity change in terms of wider social processes and resource distribution, while remaining open to the sense and complexity of the individual's experience and the moments of intentionality that arise when individuals face choices as to the direction of change. The worth of the model is shown by analysis of modes of identity change in a society now experiencing radical change in socio-political structures, namely post-1998 Northern Ireland.

‘May be I’ll Need a Pair of Levi’s Before Junior High?’

Changing schools at the age of 12 also represents a change in social age identity. Children prepare for this change of age identity in different ways, and their strategies vary across sociocultural contexts as well as between individuals. In this article, some of these strategies are explored through ethnographic observation and interviews with Norwegian 12-year-olds preparing and anticipating a change of school, making use of Robert Merton’s concept of ‘anticipatory socialization’. Merton’s concept describes the building of personal abilities, alienation from one’s former group and adaptation to new norms as social processes identifying change of social reference group. These terms are employed here to identify social processes initiating children’s orientation to a youth identity. The functions that material possessions fulfil are related to the ability to symbolically communicate both categorically and self-expressively a growing normative awareness and a sense of value.

Dayton, dix ans après : le leurre des bilans ?

Much scholarship on postwar Bosnia uses the Dayton Accords as a yardstick by which to measure the social and political transformations that have occurred over the past ten years. In so doing, such research remains trapped by the political vocabulary and agenda of the “international community,” leaving outside the field of analysis such significant phenomena as the changes in social identities that grew out of the war or new clientelistic modes of allocating resources. Only by taking into account these complex factors can we understand the state of contemporary Bosnian society and the true impact of international action, and hence examine the conditions in which a shared political community in Bosnia-Herzegovina is emerging today.

Acupuncture as a Complex Intervention: A Holistic Model

Our understanding of acupuncture and Chinese medicine is limited by a lack of inquiry into the dynamics of the process. We used a longitudinal research design to investigate how the experience, and the effects, of a course of acupuncture evolved over time. This was a longitudinal qualitative study, using a constant comparative method, informed by grounded theory. Each person was interviewed three times over 6 months. Semistructured interviews explored people's experiences of illness and treatment. Across-case and within-case analysis resulted in themes and individual vignettes. Eight (8) professional acupuncturists in seven different settings informed their patients about the study. We interviewed a consecutive sample of 23 people with chronic illness, who were having acupuncture for the first time. People described their experience of acupuncture in terms of the acupuncturist's diagnostic and needling skills; the therapeutic relationship; and a new understanding of the body and self as a whole being. All three of these components were imbued with holistic ideology. Treatment effects were perceived as changes in symptoms, changes in energy, and changes in personal and social identity. The vignettes showed the complexity and the individuality of the experience of acupuncture treatment. The process and outcome components were distinct but not divisible, because they were linked by complex connections. The paper depicts these results as a diagrammatic model that illustrates the components and their interconnections and the cyclical reinforcement, both positive and negative, that can occur over time. The holistic model of acupuncture treatment, in which "the whole being greater than the sum of the parts," has implications for service provision and for research trial design. Research trials that evaluate the needling technique, isolated from other aspects of process, will interfere with treatment outcomes. The model requires testing in different service and research settings.

Acupuncture for people with chronic illness: combining qualitative and quantitative outcome assessment.

Many people with chronic disease seek acupuncture treatment, despite it being largely excluded from Western state-funded health care systems. What benefits and problems do such people perceive and experience as important? To what extent do three subjective health questionnaires encompass and measure these treatment effects? A longitudinal qualitative study, using a constant comparative method, informed by grounded theory. Each person was interviewed three times over 6 months and before each interview participants completed three health status questionnaires, EuroQol, COOP-WONCA charts, and MYMOP2. Semistructured interviews used open-ended questions to explore peoples' experiences of illness and treatment, and then used the cognitive interview technique to discuss their questionnaire responses. Eight professional acupuncturists in seven different settings publicized the study to their patients. We interviewed a maximum variation sample of 23 people with chronic illness, who were having acupuncture for the first time. In addition to changes in their presenting symptoms people experienced whole-person effects that were characterized by changes in strength and energy, and changes in personal and social identity. These effects were distinct but not divisible because of their interdependence and their complex and individual development over time. The health status questionnaires varied in their ability to reflect and measure these changes, and the whole person effects were often missed. After 6 months some people had changed their treatment goals and some individuals were still seeing health improvement. One person found that acupuncture exacerbated her symptoms. Knowledge of the range, individuality, and varied temporal patterns of treatment outcomes can guide potential patients, clinicians, health care providers, and researchers. Qualitative methods have highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of different outcome questionnaires, and the importance of long-term follow-up. We plan to do further work on appropriate outcome questionnaire selection and development.

Some Reflections on Samoan Cultural Practice and Group Identity in Contemporary Wellington, New Zealand

The relationships between social and cultural transformation and identity change are subtle and complex. This paper reflects on trends in these relationships in the Samoan community in Wellington, New Zealand through an examination of the content of interviews about an important cultural practice (fa'alavelave). After discussing fa'alavelave and its importance to Samoan life four themes are presented that show how our informants perceive the interrelations between social change and cultural continuity. Although the body of data discussed does not provide a sufficient basis for speaking with any certainty about prevailing trends, it is a useful ingredient to a discussion of how we might proceed to gain a clearer understanding of the balance between the forces impinging upon Samoan identity in New Zealand.

The role of social networks: A novel hypothesis to explain the phenomenon of racial disparity in kidney transplantation

COMPARED WITH dialysis therapy, it has been shown that kidney transplantation provides patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) improved physical and mental health, and is more cost-effective.1,2 However, rates of transplantation referrals are not consistent among ethnic groups of patients with ESRD. African Americans are much less likely than white patients with ESRD to be referred for a renal transplant, placed on a waiting list for a kidney, or receive a kidney transplant.3-5 Conclusions on these disproportionate levels of transplantation referrals have not included many theoretically substantiated causes or solutions. The US Department of Health and Human Services, commenting on this problem, reported: “This and other research does not allow us to identify with certainty the factors which prevent equitable access to organ transplantation.”6 Explanations for minority underutilization of transplantation as a treatment modality for ESRD have included socioeconomic, medical, and patient-preference factors. Because African Americans are less likely to have health insurance and generally have lower socioeconomic status than Caucasians,5,7 many have theorized that insurance and socioeconomic status are determining factors regarding the significant racial disparity among kidney transplantation referrals. However, there is no evidence that inadequate black insurance coverage is responsible for the grossly disproportionate rates of transplantation referrals because this significant disparity exists even after controlling for socioeconomic and insurance status.4,8 There may be medical factors explaining lower transplantation rates for black patients with ESRD because African Americans wait longer for a kidney transplant than white patients.6 However, an extensive literature search was unable to show evidence linking a longer wait time for a kidney transplant to less interest or evaluation for such among black patients with ESRD. Fewer organ donations among blacks may be caused by the third explanation offered to date regarding the incongruity of kidney transplantation referrals in black patients: patient preference and distrust of the medical community. Black patients have been found to be more likely than white patients to have religious objections or problems with the concept of cadaveric transplantation.5 However, a literature review failed to find evidence that religious objection is linked to a majority of black disinterest in transplantation and also failed to locate a religious doctrine against transplantation. When studying reasons for African Americans refusal of organ donation, religious myths and misperceptions, distrust of the medical community, and racism have been among the reasons for refusal.9,10 However, there is yet to be evidence linking this distrust to less interest in obtaining a kidney transplant.

The Sequestration of Experience: Rights Talk and Moral Thinking in `Late Modernity'

Giddens argues that modernity is characterized by the separation of time and space, by disembedding mechanisms and by institutional reflexivity. These characteristics combine with a dynamic pace and scope of change and contribute to modernity's emphasis on institutional control. Internally referential systems exclude those moral and existential issues that threaten `ontological security'. Bauman similarly emphasizes modernity's passion for order and `progress', the fragmentation of social roles and personal identity and rapid technological change. In both these scenarios modernity must necessarily be morally arid. In late modernity Giddens suggests that radical doubt and the threat of meaninglessness encourage the `return of the repressed' and Bauman cautiously indicates that humankind may be willing to struggle with issues of moral responsibility. I would argue that Bauman and Giddens are mistaken in viewing late modernity as a time of moral renewal. Rather, rights talk has come to colonize moral thinking. Giddens and Bauman fail to give sufficient attention to the invocation of rights in the governance of human affairs and, therefore, fail to recognize the way in which rights talk constitutes the sequestration of morality in late modernity.

On the Dynamics of Changes in Social and National Identity in Slovakia in the 19th and 20th Centuries

On the Dynamics of Changes in Social and National Identity in Slovakia in the 19th and 20th Centuries

Social Role Identities among Older Adults in a Continuing Care Retirement Community

Basing their hypotheses on identity and life-course theories, the authors examine the social role identities of a group of older adults ( N = 92) both before and after their move into a new continuing care retirement community (CCRC) to investigate whether this transition is linked to changes in social role identities. The congruence between actually enacting a role and choosing it as a role identity varies with the role. Current role behaviors and satisfaction predict role identity for two institutionalized, public roles (volunteer and church/synagogue member) but are less related to two more private roles (parent and friend). Cluster analysis reveals a typology of three discrete groups, based on social role identities: an involved group with a high number of role identities, a group focused on family roles identities, and a group focused on the friend role identity. The social role identities of the three groups changed in different ways after moving to the CCRC.

Cancer survivor identity and quality of life.

The purpose of this article is to propose a framework for enhancing an understanding of quality of life among cancer survivors that takes into account individuals' subjective experiences and attributions of self as they relate to their own experience with cancer. This review of a small yet burgeoning cancer survivorship literature posits that there is room to expand the theoretical context for understanding cancer and its impact on quality of life by assuming that the experience of cancer involves changes in social roles and identity. In turn, changes in the way cancer survivors see themselves in relation to the world, including the ability to carry out roles and responsibilities, may affect quality of life. This perspective suggests that a cancer diagnosis initiates a survival trajectory and a social role that extends over the remainder of one's life, regardless of life expectancy. Expanding the understanding of quality of life and the factors that contribute to it should help subsequent investigations of who might benefit from which psychosocial support interventions provided when (i.e., during early diagnostic stage, treatment stage, or both or in the long term). Equipped with this understanding, clinicians and agencies providing services to cancer survivors and their families can develop appropriate supportive interventions that facilitate and enhance quality of life.