title: The collectivistic nature of ethnic identity development among Asian-American college students.
abstract: Current theories of ethnic identity oversimplify the development process by failing to recognize the malleability of identity within its social context, a conceptualization of self that is particularly relevant for Asian-Americans. Further, these theories tend to view identity in static, deterministic terms, despite social psychology data suggesting that identity is a dynamic ongoing process. Data were analyzed from a sample of 87 Asian-American undergraduates, using the Ethnic Identity Development Exercise (EIDE). While many theories suggest that ethnic identity development is predominantly an internal, intro-psychic process, our data indicate that Asian-Americans are largely influenced by relationships and external forces. In addition, the avoidance of shame was found to be a strong motivating factor in determining their ethnic identification. Thus, ethnic identification theories must acknowledge the malleable and collectivistic nature of ethnic identity development among Asian-Americans. Three theoretical frameworks of research on ethnic identity are reviewed and summarized: identity formation, social identity, and acculturation.
authors.affiliation: Stanford School of Education, Stanford University, California 94305-3096, USA.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D012752:Shame; D012933:Social Identification; D013334:Students