Entangled identities and acculturation: Comparing majority and minority adolescents’ multiple identity profiles in Belgium

This study considers recent criticism levelled at Berry’s acculturation model by (1) taking into account more complex expressions of belonging and by (2) testing the importance of regionalism (or the distinction between national and regional (/subnational) contexts) in understanding acculturation patterns. Data of the School, Identity and Society-survey, which contains information on 3510 adolescents from 64 schools selected from the three regions is employed to test specific hypotheses for the Belgian case. Three multiple identity profiles are selected for adolescents from migrant families, and four multiple identity profiles for adolescents from non-migrant families. The findings show that multiple identification for adolescents from migrant families is more often a conflicting than integrated experience. This incompatibility is not present for adolescents from non-migrant families. Small but meaningful variations of these multiple identity profiles occur among the three regions. In Brussels adolescents have a higher chance to be in the integrated identity profile.     

A new route towards more harmonious intergroup relationships in England? Majority members’ proximal-acculturation

Although the ways that immigrants relate to UK culture has been a hot topic since the EU-referendum, little attention has been given to how majority group members such as Host Country Nationals (HCNs) relate to immigrants’ culture. Thus, we explored English HCNs’ globalisation-based proximal-acculturation – the extent to which they prefer to adopt aspects of immigrants’ cultures and/or maintain their national culture. Using two-step cluster analysis, a pilot study (N = 63) revealed a separated, integrated, and undifferentiated cluster, with separated HCNs perceiving cultural diversity more as a threat and less as an enrichment. Using latent profile analysis in a second study (N = 220) also revealed a three strategy-solution, identifying assimilated, integrated and separated profiles. Again we examined how these strategies differed across perceptions of cultural threat and enrichment as well as other psychosocial characteristics: identifying with fellow English citizens, recognizing cultural differences whilst not being culturally embedded (constructive marginalization), and various forms of intergroup contact. Separated HCNs identified more with fellow English citizens, endorsed less constructive marginalization, perceived less cultural enrichment yet more cultural threat than HCNs following some of the other strategies. These results stress that the onus of cultural adoption lies with both groups – minorities and majority members – with English HCNs showing distinct proximal-acculturation strategies. Lastly, when exploring a variable-centred approach, proximal-acculturation orientations (cultural maintenance/adoption) mediated the relationship between cultural threat, cultural enrichment, and intergroup contact on positive feelings towards immigrants. Thus, the ways that HCNs acculturate may provide a new route towards harmonious intergroup relations.