International Perspectives on Identity and Acculturation in Emerging Adulthood

Abstract

This article introduces the special issue, International Perspectives on Identity and Acculturation in Emerging Adulthood. The idea for this issue was put forward by emerging scholars at the 7th Biennial Conference of the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood in Miami, FL, in October 2015. This special issue gathers qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies from North America, Europe, and South Africa on identity and acculturation in diverse samples. The five papers seek to shed light on the interplay of ethnicity, identity, and acculturation processes in underresearched contexts, in terms of either country or subpopulations within a country.

Keywords

identity acculturation qualitative quantitative emerging adulthood

In today’s globalized and increasingly multicultural society, identity and acculturation have become salient markers of the complex way individuals negotiate and internalize multiple identifications and cultures (Jensen, 2003; Manago, 2015). In recent years, there has been an increase in research on multiple identity domains and acculturation as dynamic processes intertwined with social and cultural behaviors in a variety of cultural contexts. Identity development is a key developmental task in emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2015; Erikson, 1968; Schwartz, Zamboanga, Luyckx, Meca, & Ritchie, 2013). This comes with special challenges for developing an ethnic identity in terms of exploring the own background and integrating it into one’s own life (Phinney, 2006; Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014; Verkuyten, 2016). This process, for example, might lead to conflicts and estrangement between parents and their adolescent and emerging adult children (Jensen & Arnett, 2012).

Extant empirical work with quantitative and qualitative foci has advanced our knowledge about identity development (Crocetti, Rubini, Luyckx, & Meeus, 2008; Luyckx et al., 2008; McAdams & McLean, 2013). However, there still remains a need to further understand ethnic identity and acculturation processes beyond the U.S. context. Hence, we need to extend our research on this topic and overcome our focus on typical multicultural societies in the Western industrialized world. Further insights and empirical documentation in underrepresented regions are needed to examine whether and how our current knowledge on identity development and acculturation applies to emerging adulthood in culturally diverse and understudied contexts around the world.

The Importance of Identity and Acculturation in Emerging Adulthood

There is a pronounced need for more knowledge on the interplay of ethnic identity for the overall identity formation in emerging adulthood (Syed & Mitchell, 2013) because these insights are relevant to foster an adaptive development throughout the life course. In emerging adulthood, identity development is often multidirectional (Fadjukoff, Pulkkinen, & Kokko, 2016), and identity processes in different domains such as work and relationships often do not converge (e.g., Crocetti, Scrignaro, Sica, & Magrin, 2012; Fadjukoff et al., 2016; Goossens, 2001; Luyckx, Seiffge-Krenke, Schwartz, Crocetti, & Klimstra, 2014). This is important to know when assessing identity maturity. As Polenova, Vedral, and Brisson indicate in one of the papers of this special issue, their research findings link back to adapting career counseling to the needs of Asian American college students. Hence, their insights help to foster positive development throughout the college years.

Furthermore, experiences of discrimination have been linked to lower well-being in adolescence (Benner & Graham, 2013; Mesch, Turjeman, & Fishman, 2008a, 2008b) and in emerging adulthood (Hurd, Farmer, Caldwell, & Zimmerman, 2014; Taylor & Turner, 2002). Nevertheless, more knowledge is needed on how the experience of discrimination affects identity development in emerging adulthood and if that applies to various minority groups or not. Certain identity domains are differently linked to outcomes such as well-being (Dimitrova et al., 2017). Knowing more about the interplays might help to determine compensatory effects of certain identity domains. Emerging adulthood is characterized, in part, by instability and insecurity (Arnett, 2015), and even though well-being increases throughout this time, it differs for certain groups of young people (Schulenberg, O’Malley, Bachman, Johnston, & Laetz, 2004). Not all emerging adults are, or even can be, in an active period of exploration (Syed & Mitchell, 2013). Nevertheless, developing a mature identity is an important developmental task, one which allows young people to be active members of society and, for example, be civically engaged (Erikson, 1968; Havighurst, 1972). Hence, the more insights are gained about identity development and acculturation for diverse populations, the better policies and support systems can be tailored to the needs of emerging adults.

Why More Research on Identity and Acculturation Is Needed Globally

As mentioned above, more research about the development of ethnic identity within the overall identity development in emerging adulthood is needed (Syed & Mitchell, 2013). Here, especially more research from different countries is relevant. Due to globalization, increased mobility, and increase of refugees, ethnic identity and acculturation processes are more and more relevant for people around the world. For example, the number of young people participating in exchange programs such as the U.S. program of the Peace Corps (2017) and the European Erasmus exchange program (European Commission, 2015) are continuously rising. As this mainly happens during the emerging adulthood years, racial and ethnic identity exploration is especially high in the instable and frequently changing contexts during this time (Phinney, 2008; Syed & Azmitia, 2009). Furthermore, identity domains do not develop in isolation; hence, we need research which considers intersectionality (Ghavami, Katsiaficas, & Rogers, 2016) and applies methods which are capturing this diversity (Ghavami et al., 2016; Schwab & Syed, 2015). This implies that it is also necessary to capture the contexts that are specific of groups of emerging adults in various countries. Hence, greater research on diverse emerging adults is needed globally.

Articles in the Special Issue

This special issue gathers research conducted on acculturation and identity in emerging adulthood with a substantial contribution of at least one emerging scholar. All papers were presented at the Society for Research on Emerging Adulthood (SSEA) conference in 2015. SSEA is a young society in the sense that emerging scholars are very frequently involved and active in governance, conference planning, and the topic networks of the society. Building on SSEA’s focus on emerging scholars, we set out to assemble this collection of articles to prominently feature their research contributions.

The five empirical papers in this special issue use various methods to examine identity development and/or acculturation. All papers contribute to understanding processes of identity and/or acculturation in emerging adulthood samples in North America, Europe, and South Africa. The article by Polenova, Vedral, and Brisson examines career identity formation of Asian American college students from first-generation immigrant families by using a longitudinal qualitative approach. Qualitative longitudinal studies are rare and needed (Syed & Mitchell, 2013); hence, this article provides a first step into exploring longitudinal trajectories of acculturation using an under-represented methodological approach.

The article by Gyberg, Frisén, Syed, Wängqvist, and Svensson applies a narrative approach to examine ethnic identity in a sample of young people living in Sweden that is diverse with respect to age, immigration status, and ethnicity. Their analyses revealed six different story types that reflect how youth experience and manage their cultural identities; hence, the results underline the complex ethnic identity content that is part of young people’s identity formation (Syed & Mitchell, 2013).

With the article by Vosylis, Erentaite, and Crocetti, we remain in Europe: They examine the validity and utility of domain-specific assessments of identity processes in a Lithuanian emerging adulthood sample. They show that a domain-specific approach (e.g., partnership, education, friendship, and work) offers new and useful insights into identity processes during the emerging adulthood period (see also McLean, Syed, & Shucard, 2016).

In another Lithuanian sample, Kaniušonytė and Žukauskienė examine the relevance of relationships with parents for identity development and whether emerging adults contribute to their broader community. The findings underscore the relevance of parenting behavior for positive development of their children.

Finally, Adams, Naudé, Nel, van de Vijver, Laher, Louw, and Tadi examine the in-group and out-group orientation of four groups of emerging adults in South Africa, a country where there is no clear dominant group within society. Personal identity was important to all four groups examined which were Black-Zulu, Colored, Indian, and White Afrikaans. However, groups differed in their ethnic identity and their openness toward the others, which are findings interesting for many societies which become more diverse and multicultural.

What is common to all papers is that they embrace the complexity of identity development and acculturation processes during a period of the life span when a lot of different developmental tasks are on the agenda and need to be dealt with. All studies show the importance of social relationships within the family, in the interpersonal domain, or within and between ethnic group(s), and this highlights that development in emerging adulthood happens in and through social relationships.

Footnotes

Author Contributions

M. Landberg drafted the manuscript, critically revised manuscript, gave final approval, and agrees to be accountable for all aspects of work ensuring integrity and accuracy. R. Dimitrova drafted the manuscript, critically revised manuscript, gave final approval, and agrees to be accountable for all aspects of work ensuring integrity and accuracy. M. Syed drafted the manuscript, critically revised manuscript, gave final approval, and agrees to be accountable for all aspects of work ensuring integrity and accuracy.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Radosveta Dimitrova

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