Hybrid and Alternating Identity Styles as Strategies for Managing Multicultural Identities

Abstract

The article introduces the concept of cultural identity styles, strategies that individuals use for decision making about identity-relevant issues, and proposes that blending and alternating are two strategies that acculturating individuals activate to manage multiple cultural identities. Drawing on diverse samples from New Zealand, Mauritius, and Israel, we present two studies. The first describes the construction of the Multicultural Identity Styles Scale (MISS) and the validation of its Hybrid Identity Style (HIS) and Alternating Identity Style (AIS) subscales. HIS was associated with greater blendedness as assessed by the Bicultural Identity Integration Scale (BIIS-1) and was more prominent in second-generation immigrants compared with their first-generation peers. AIS was associated with less BIIS harmony and was stronger in first-generation immigrants. In the second study, we propose, test, and replicate a mediational model, whereby cultural identity outcomes mediate the impact of cultural identity styles on well-being. Path analysis demonstrated that the motivation to integrate predicted the use of both HIS and AIS; however, HIS led to greater cultural identity consolidation and on to higher levels of well-being. In contrast, AIS predicted greater cultural identity conflict and poorer psychological adaptation. The studies advance our theorizing on biculturalism and integration by adopting a process-oriented approach to cultural identity negotiation.

Biculturalism dynamics: A daily diary study of bicultural identity and psychosocial functioning

“…First, how do the hybridizing-alternating and BII models relate to one another cross-sectionally? This question is important in terms of replicating prior cross-sectional work (e.g., Ward et al, 2018). The remaining questions are longitudinal and extend prior work.…”

“…On one hand, multiple cultural identities can operate in parallel without implying integration or conflict (Hong et al, 2000;Sirin & Fine, 2008) -suggesting that alternation can occur independently of BII blendedness and harmony (such as feeling Mexican at home and American at work). On the other hand, Roccas and Brewer (2002) suggest that alternating identities imply compartmentalization and conflict, and Ward et al (2018) found a significant negative relationship between alternating identities and BII harmony. In the present study, we aimed to provide more evidence regarding the links between the BII dimensions and bicultural alternating.…”

“…Another approach to bicultural identity highlights the ways in which two or more cultural identities can be sustained -namely hybridizing and alternating (Ward, Ng Tseung-Wong, Szabo, Qumseya, & Bhowon, 2018). Hybridized identities are based on having identified and combined specific elements from two or more cultures, often in a unique and novel way (e.g., "I am a 'mélange' of New Zealander and Chinese").…”

“…Hybridizing and Alternating Biculturalism. The Multicultural Identity Styles Scale (MISS) was used to assess bicultural hybridizing and alternating (Ward et al, 2018). The MISS consists of 14 items, 7 of which assess hybridizing (a = .89) and 7 of which assess alternating (a = .84).…”

Costs and benefits of cultural value mismatch in the globalising era: A commentary on the special issue “cross‐cultural value mismatch: A by‐product of migration and population diversity around the world” (IJP, December, 2018)

“…From the perspective of acculturative strategies, second‐generation Arabs in Israel were found to more frequently use the hybrid and integrative identity style in relation to psychological well‐being. In contrast, their parents, the first generation, more often used the alternating identity style to resolve cultural conflict; this style was associated with poorer psychological adaptation (Ward, Tseung‐Wong, Szabo, Qumseya, & Bhowon, ).…”