Cultural Identity in Bicultural Young Adults in Ireland: A Social Representation Theory Approach

Abstract

This research investigates the nature by which first- and second-generation Irish young adults of (1) African descent, (2) Asian descent, and (3) Eastern European descent explore their cultural identity(ies) through communicating and interpreting social representations relating to their ethnic and national cultures. Using Social Representation Theory (SRT) and, more widely, Proculturation Theory as the theoretical underpinning, we examine how grown children of migrants construct their cultural identity(ies) by exploring external social representations. We conducted three separate in-depth focus groups for each continental group in virtual rooms on Zoom, lasting between 60 and 90 mins. A thematic analysis was pursued to understand how the participants discussed the representation of their cultural groups both in social and media-driven situations. The results indicated the overarching themes of Anchoring Irishness and Latent Media Representation, whereby participants communicated and dialogically explored their subjective interpretations of the social representations of their cultural groups which, in turn, may have informed their cultural identity(ies). Highlighting the dynamic nature of the cultural reality of Ireland and how it impacts generations after the initial migration period, this research highlights and exemplifies the importance of external social representations that serve to construct the multiple cultural identities of first- and second-generation migrants.

School and Bicultural Factors as Mediators between Immigrant Mothers’ Acculturative Stress and Adolescents’ Depression in Korea

“…Lastly, the concept of acculturation this study adopted is based on Berry’s model. Even though Berry’s model is still used as the basic theoretical framework for acculturation studies, its oversimplified and static understanding of dynamic and continuous cultural adaptation that is not solely limited to new migrants has received criticism [ 79 , 80 ]. Rudmin [ 81 ] criticized Berry’s model for overlooking the diverse ways of acculturation and formulated sixteen strategies instead of four.…”

“…Proculturation has been defined as the continuous process of reconstruction of the self after meeting and dialog with any kind of new cultural elements. This process could entail creation of new social representations or simply reconstruction of older ones [ 79 , 80 ]. Specifically, as proculturation can begin in adolescence when the exploration of self-identity is a major developmental task [ 79 ], future research should examine how adolescent children from multicultural or immigrant families acquire their cultural identities through proculturation.…”

Cross-group friendship and collective action in community solidarity initiatives with displaced people and resident/nationals

“…We asked all participants to report their age, gender, ethnicity, immigration status, location in Ireland and nationality. Categories for these were taken from the corresponding sections of the Irish Census form; however, we recognize that these categories are problematic because they conflate nationality with ethnicity in ways that do not reflect the lived reality of Black and mixed heritage Irish people ( Ogoro et al, 2022 ). CSI participants were also asked to name their CSI, the type of activities they engaged with, and the level and frequency of their participation.…”

A Review on Relationship between Curriculum and National Identity in China

“…Scholars have studied age Barrett (2000), gender Batool & Ghayas (2022), citizenship Hainmueller et al (2015), and racial or religious segregation Drouhot & Nee (2019) and other demographic factors in relation to national identity formation. The influence of social context on national identity is also examined, for example, family education Vermeulen & Kranendonk (2021); Ogoro et al (2022), media Du (2023); Nguyen et al (2023); Aghapouri (2020), schooling Rohde-Liebenau (2020), peer influence Schulz & Leszczensky (2016), social conflict (Nair & Sambanis, 2019). National identity connotations, dimensions and their influencing factors have attracted a great deal of interest from researchers.…”