Moin Syed

Disciplinarity and methodology in intersectionality theory and research.

Thanks to Sanford Braver, Nancy Gonzales, Benjamin Gorvine, Douglas Kenrick, Yexin Jessica Li, Paul Rozin, Irwin Sandler, Azim Shariff, Melissa Williams, and the Arizona State University CAR:MA lab for feedback on this commentary. Correspondence concerning this comment should be addressed to Adam B. Cohen, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871104, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104. E-mail: adamcohen@asu.edu

Stability and Change in Ethnic Identity among Latino Emerging Adults in Two Contexts

This longitudinal study investigated ethnic identity development among Latinos during the first year of college in two contexts. The contexts differed in both the density of ethnic minorities and the density of the target group studied. Participants were 128 first-year Latino college students from two public universities in California. Change in ethnic identity was analyzed in two ways: change in strength of ethnic identity using ANCOVA, and change in membership in ethnic identity statuses using cluster analysis. ANCOVAs yielded no significant overall changes in ethnic identity across time in either of the two contexts. Cluster analyses yielded three interpretable clusters: achieved, moratorium, and unexamined. Shifts in cluster membership across time were consistent with developmental models of ethnic identity change.

Race, Ethnicity, and Emerging Adulthood: Retrospect and Prospects

Despite the tremendous growth in theory and research on emerging adulthood over the past decade, relatively little attention has been paid to the experiences of emerging adults from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds. The purpose of this article is to fill this gap by conducting a conceptual review of the literature on race, ethnicity, and emerging adulthood. We begin with a discussion of conceptual issues, clarifying terms such as emerging adults, emerging adulthood, and race and ethnicity. We then review the existing literature pertaining to the five pillars of emerging adulthood: the age of instability, possibilities, self-focus, in-betweenness, and identity explorations. Finally, we close with a discussion of major challenges to conducting research on race, ethnicity, and emerging adulthood. Taken together, this review is intended to provide a broad overview of the state of knowledge and inspire future research.

Personal, Master, and Alternative Narratives: An Integrative Framework for Understanding Identity Development in Context

In this paper we propose a model for examining personal identity development that moves attention from a relatively exclusive examination of the individual to an examination of the intersection between self and society. We propose that a master narrative model of identity development allows researchers to: (a) align the study of culture and individual on the same metric of narrative, (b) investigate the processes of negotiating personal and cultural narratives, the latter of which are embedded within the structures of society, and (c) investigate the internalization of those structures in personal identities. In laying out this model we define a narrative approach to identity development, five principles for defining master narratives (ubiquity, utility, invisibility, rigidity, and their compulsory nature), three types of master narratives (life course, structural, and episodic), and case examples of each type. This model brings attention to the interaction between self and society, as well as to the constraints on individual agency to construct a personal identity. We conclude by raising questions that emerge out of this framework that we hope will inspire future work on the relationship between self and society in the study of identity development.

Guidelines for Establishing Reliability When Coding Narrative Data

The use of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches has been foundational to research on emerging adulthood, yet there remain many unresolved methodological issues pertaining to how to handle qualitative data. The purpose of this article is to review best practices for coding and establishing reliability when working with narrative data. In doing so, we highlight how establishing reliability must be seen as an evolving process, rather than simply a focus on the end product. The review is divided into three broad sections. In the first section, we discuss relatively more quantitatively focused methods of coding and establishing reliability, whereas in the second section we discuss relatively more qualitatively focused methods. In the final section, we provide recommendations for researchers interested in coding narrative and other types of open-ended data. This article is intended to serve as an essential resource for researchers working on a variety of topics related to emerging adulthood and beyond.

Family cultural socialization practices and ethnic identity in college-going emerging adults

We examined how family cultural socialization related to the ethnic identity of Asian American, Latino, White, and Mixed-Ethnic emerging adults (N=225). Greater family cultural socialization was related to greater ethnic identity exploration and commitment. Ethnic minority students reported higher levels of family cultural socialization and ethnic identity compared to White students. The family cultural socialization-ethnic identity link was more pronounced for females compared to males, and for White compared to ethnic minority students. The findings highlight the importance of the family for identity development beyond adolescence.

Methodological Issues in Ethnic and Racial Identity Research With Ethnic Minority Populations: Theoretical Precision, Measurement Issues, and Research Designs

This article takes stock of research methods employed in the study of racial and ethnic identity with ethnic minority populations. The article is presented in three parts. The first section reviews theories, conceptualizations, and measurement of ethnic and racial identity (ERI) development. The second section reviews theories, conceptualizations, and measurement of ERI content. The final section reviews key methodological and analytic principles that are important to consider for both ERI development and content. The article concludes with suggestions for future research addressing key methodological limitations when studying ERI.

A Two-Factor Model of Ethnic Identity Exploration: Implications for Identity Coherence and Well-Being

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the multidimensional nature of ethnic identity exploration and its relevance for a broader sense of identity and well-being. Participants were 3,637 ethnic minority college students who completed survey measures of ethnic identity exploration, general identity coherence, general identity confusion, and well-being. Consistent with our 3 hypotheses, the results indicated that (a) ethnic identity exploration comprised 2 dimensions, participation and search; (b) participation was positively associated with well-being, whereas search was negatively associated with well-being; and (c) identity coherence and identity confusion mediated the associations between participation and search, respectively, and well-being. These findings have important theoretical implications for conceptualization and measurement of ethnic identity exploration and its association with well-being.

Acculturation-based and everyday family conflict in Chinese American families

Everyday conflict (studied primarily among European American families) is viewed as an assertion of autonomy from parents that is normative during adolescence. Acculturation-based conflict (studied primarily among Asian- and Latino-heritage families) is viewed as a threat to relatedness with parents rather than the normative assertion of autonomy. Our overarching goal for the chapter is to integrate our knowledge of these two types of family conflict that have been studied separately to arrive at a new understanding of what family conflict means for Chinese American adolescents and their parents.

Understanding identity integration: Theoretical, methodological, and applied issues.

Identity integration is one of the foundational theoretical concepts in Eriksons (1968) theory of lifespan development. However, the topic is understudied relative to its theoretical and practical importance. The extant research is limited in quantity and scope, and there is considerable heterogeneity in how identity integration is conceptualized and measured. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to 1) provide a conceptual discussion of different forms of identity integration 2) highlight the different methodological approaches represented in the literature, and 3) detail the implications of integration for psychological functioning. In particular, we provide a conceptual and methodological discussion of four forms of integration: two that are widely recognized, contextual integration and temporal integration, and two that have received less attention, ego integration and person-society integration. We see this paper as filling a need in the literature for those interested in how complex identity processes are related to psychological functioning.