In a nation whose population is growing increasingly diverse and where minority groups continue to grow, it is unsurprising that ethic identity may play an important role in the mental health of individuals in the U.S. Though the constructs of ethnic identity vary across studies, the general consensus is self-identification within a specific ethnic group (i.e. Hispanic, Asian, etc.), inclusion within this group, and display of appropriate group traits. As a component of one’s identity, ethnic identity may be related to important aspects of mental health such as self-esteem.
Self-esteem is an individual’s attitude toward themselves based on the set of beliefs one has of themselves (Tashakkori, Abbas; 1993). It is a considerably important measure of attitude and arguably affects and is affected by many areas within an individual’s life, ultimately shaping the individual in many ways. One factor that may play a major role in effecting one’s self-esteem is a component of identity known as ethnic identity. Unfortunately, the current literature has only begun to explore this relationship and has focused primarily inclusive groups (e.g. White, Black, Hispanic, etc) and has ignored the complex subgroups within these “main” categories of ethnicity.
Ethnic Identity and Self-Esteem
In a study conducted by Y. R. Chen, L.C. Masses, J.S. Phinney, A. Romero, R.E Roberts, and C.R Roberts (1999), examined whether ethnic identity was positively related to measures of psychology well-being, including self-esteem. A sample of 5,423 middle school students (83% between 12 and 14 yrs, 49% female, 51% male), were given a questionnaire to fill out at school. The three largest ethnic groups were African American (n=1,237), European American (n=755), an...
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...th groups. These results indicate a clear difference between two individual subgroups in regards to the strength and arguably the importance of ethnic to individuals in the subgroup and subsequently the level of their self-esteem as reflected by ethnic identity.
As focus on specific Hispanic subgroups is still a relatively new direction for this subject matter, further research needs to be conducted not only on specific subgroups, but also comparing and contrasting between subgroups. In areas such as South Florida, were Hispanic subgroups comprise the majority of the population at 64.3% of the population (U.S Census, 2012). The following study proposes to examine the strength of ethnic identity among Cuban, Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Nicaraguan subgroups in South Florida and examine the impact on self-esteem and perceived ethnic discrimination for these groups.
Overall my goal was to see the function of race and ethnicity and how it relates to the sociological effects of these Afro-Latino groups. As a result, in some cases that I have studied, being an immigrant may mask one’s beliefs and tend to deny their true roots due to social tensions and pressure. Through my experience, in some cases I saw that being “black” or being “African” perceives negative connotations to some individuals and causes one to separate themselves from their roots. For the purposes of my study, while filling out the questionnaire, when an Afro-Latino approached the question in reference to their African roots, as an alternative, they would ignore the African portion of the question and respond by saying they are only Latino or Latina.
This model examines the relationship between the dominant culture and one with minority status, such as Latinos. Attitudes towards self, same minority group, different minority groups, and the dominant group are examined through five stages within the model. These include conformity, dissonance, resistance and immersion, introspection, and integrative awareness. The stage most pertinent to Antonio at this time is the Dissonance stage. During this stage, one starts to acknowledge the existence of racism, that he cannot escape his own heritage, and experiences conflict between shame and pride felt for his culture. This same shame versus pride conflict is also extended to members of his own minority group. Held stereotypes about other minority groups are now questioned as well. One in the Dissonance stage is also starting to realize that not all beliefs held by the dominant group are valuable or even accurate (Sue & Sue, 2003). Because of the two incidents Antonio endured during his freshman year and their emotional impact on him, he is becoming aware that even though he has “assimilated,” others of the majority group will still identify him as different. Antonio is also experiencing conflict between what members of the minority group (his parents) and the majority group feel are important; his parents believe he
Race and ethnicity is a main factor in the way we identify others and ourselves. The real question here is does race/ethnicity still matter in the U.S.? For some groups race is not a factor that affects them greatly and for others it is a constant occurrence in their mind. But how do people of mix race reacts to this concept, do they feel greatly affected by their race? This is the question we will answer throughout the paper. I will first examine the battle of interracial relationship throughout history and explain how the history greatly explains the importance of being multiracial today. This includes the backlash and cruelty towards interracial couple and their multiracial children. Being part of a multiracial group still contains its impact in today’s society; therefore race still remaining to matter to this group in the U.S. People who place themselves in this category are constantly conflicted with more than one cultural backgrounds and often have difficulty to be accepted.
Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM). The MEIM (Phinney, 1992) is a broad measure of ethnic identity across three major dimensions (ethnic identity achievement, affirmation and belonging, ethnic behaviors). Fourteen items are rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree) to measure ethnic identity. A higher score on the MEIM represents a greater ethnic identity, while low scores indicate greater assimilation attitudes. For the analysis, the rating for each item will be scored and one total score will used to determine the level of ethnic identification between African Americans and European Americans. In the current study, alpha = .87. Sample items from the MEIM include, “I have a clear sense of my ethnic background and what it means for me,” “I have a lot of pride in my ethnic group” and “I am happy I
Galliher, R., Jones, M., Dahl, A., (2010).Concurrent and longitudinal effects of ethnic identity and experiences of discrimination on psychosocial adjustment of Navajo adolescents. American Psychological Association, 47(2), 509-526. Doi:10.1037/a0021061
Through our readings of the Mexicans in the U.S. and the African-American experience modules, we begin to understand the formation of identity through the hardships minorities faced from discrimination. In this paper, I am going to compare and contrast the ideas of identity shown through the readings. These two modules exemplify the theme of identity. We see how Blacks and Latinos tried to find their identity both personally and as a culture through the forced lifestyles they had to live.
Izumi, Yutaka and Frank Hammonds. "Changing Ethnic/Racial Stereotypes: The Roles of Individuals and Groups." Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal (2007): 845-852.
I classify my race, ethnicity, and culture as a white, Irish-Italian- American, woman. My mother was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and my paternal grandparents are from Sicily, Italy. I imagine being first generation Irish and second generation Italian helps me relate with my ethnicity.
Just like every individual in the U.S., the desire to provide a better life for their families is a driving force for the Latino population. The Latino immigrants not only face discrimination upon their arrival, but also deal with the emotions of being away from their home country, the security of their families, friends, culture, and traditions. The reception that they experience on arrival is far from welcoming. “The negativity towards immigration, be it warranted or not, is not good for our country. It fuels segregation, racism, prejudice, and discrimination” (Lopez, 2010). Illegal immigration has become such a hot topic for many that even when immigrants arrive legally they are still met with suspicion. I think one of the most offensive titles given to a group of people is illegal “aliens”. These individuals are not aliens; they are human beings with dreams of a better life just like everyone else. Today, Latinos are proud of their culture and heritage and even though they attempt to assimilate into the American culture, through pluralism they are retaining their own, as well. They continue to converse in their native languages within their families, listen to music and watch Spanish television programs. Where in the past the melting pot theory led many to discard their native language and culture in order to fit in, today many are embracing these ideals, which may be a contributing factor in the continued discrimination (Lopez, 2010).
The focus on ethnic schema is how individuals are collectively protecting and fighting for their interest as a group, which has led to ranking such as minority groups depending on their indomitable strength over others. The new system of ethnic schema promotes ethnic identity that is imperative to ones well- being. However, the shift from race to ethnic group has been implicated with the concern on historical issues. The members of certain groups are not only concerned with their past but also their interaction with members of other ethnic group (Blu, 1979). History has been termed as an important feature that describes an ethnic group based on their shared experiences and traditions and of common heritage. However, in terms of racial classification, history is rendered irrelevant since race is a biological construct. History as asserted by on the African Americans women has been the potent feature that symbolises ethnicity structure among
A 1998 12-week study published in the Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development looked at how the use of guided affective and cognitive imagery affected self-esteem among Hawaiian children. The article states that lowered self-esteem is a common issue among Hawaiian children, as the values of their culture are different from that of the mainstream educational system which recognizes autonomy, independence, and competition as a form of success; the Hawaiian culture places more emphasis on group effort and recognition of the group as a whole. Lowered levels of self-esteem put the kids at increased risk of feeling alienated and powerless, as well as committing crimes later in life. In this particular study, the sample group included 60 children (26 boys and 34 girls) ages 8 to 12, and all are at least 25% Hawaiian. The experimental group included 14 boys and 16 girls. Various inventories were administered at the beginning and end of the study and covered topics such as academic/school-related self-esteem, social/peer-related self-esteem, general self-esteem, and home/parent-related self-esteem. The children were administered a series of weekly 45-minute guided imagery exercises, which addressed issues such as problem solving, self-defeating behaviors, family, self-affirmation, relaxation...
The model led to the development of an assessment instrument to measure the white racial identity. According to Helms, developing a healthy white identity requires transition through two phases, abandonment of racism, and definition of a non-racist white identity. The two phases are characterized by six distinct racial identity statuses that are equally distributed. They include autonomy, contact, disintegration, immersion/emersion, pseudo independence, and reintegration. I find this model detailed, informative and helpful in understanding the white racial identity (Derald Wing Sue,
It is therefore important to be a multicultural person by first forming a positive cultural identity. Manning and Baruth (2009, p.24) defines culture as “people’s values, languages, religions, ideals, artistic expressions, patterns of social and interpersonal relationships and ways of perceiving, behaving and thinking.” However, in this paper, cultural identity also relate to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social class and all that defines the self. Hence to have a positive cultural identity (PCI), one must be able to identify with and integrate those identities that bring about a well-built, healthy self-perception and a sense of well-being. PCI would also be ingrained into a person’s self-concept seeing as culture affect how a person thinks, understands and perceives the self. “I am a psychology student, my mother’s daughter and I am gay.” The sentence used to describe myself illustrates how culture shapes the structure of self-concept with the use of more social self-descriptions indicating an interdependent self, typical in collectivistic cultures (Franzoi, 2009).
Times are changing and I feel like I am forced to conform to the everyday social norms of America, which makes me feel impuissance. Racial identity, which refers to identifying with a social group with similar phenotypes and racial category, is the only experience that I have with life (Organista, 2010). Racial ethnicity was used to build my self-esteem and to keep me in the dark when it came to how society treats individuals of darker complexion. However, once I left the confines of my family and neighborhood, I was forced to befriend and interact with individuals that had different cultural values and beliefs than me. This experience caused me to learn how to appreciate other racial and ethnic groups and their cultural values and belief. This is an accurate definition, of acculturation because I was able to understand and fit in with individuals different from me, while maintaining my own culture and ethnic identity. Therefore, knowing the importance of my ancestry, while acculturating and developing my own identity was all used
Schwarts, A., Galliher, R., & Domenech Rodriguez, M. (2011). Self-disclosure in latinos' intercultural and intracultural friendships and acquaintanceships: Links with collectivism, ethnic identity, and acculturation. ultural Diversity And Ethnic Minority Psychology, 17(1), 116-121. doi: 10.1037/a0021824