The Challenge of Being Both Local and Global: Bicultural Identity Integration among Indigenous Ladakhi Youth in Delhi

Abstract

Ladakhi emerging adults have been exposed to cultural globalization through interaction with tourists and media, as well as through prolonged stays at globalized university contexts in major Indian cities. This globalization process has been hypothesized as detrimental to psychological health, in part because it poses the challenge of integrating a local Ladakhi identity with a global Western cultural identity. In the present study, we examined how exposure to cultural globalization and bicultural identity integration (tendency to bring together one’s local and global identities) moderates the positive links of Ladakhi and Western cultural orientation with psychological well-being among Ladakhis studying in Delhi ( N = 196). We found that exposure to cultural globalization did not affect the positive association between cultural orientation and psychological well-being. Moreover, bicultural harmony and blendedness were associated with a weaker relationship between Ladakhi cultural orientation and psychological well-being and, additionally, a stronger association between Western cultural orientation and well-being. Our results highlight contemporary challenges related to being both local and global in a culturally globalized context.

A consumer cultural paradox: exploring the tensions between traditional and international education

“…Global consumers, exposed to product and service offerings from a variety of cultures, may experience multiple, even conflicting attitudes (Chiu and Cheng, 2007;Cleveland and Bartsch, 2019). When local/national and foreign/global cultures appear incompatible, consumers experience tensions (Westjohn and Magnusson, 2019) that they seek to resolve, whether by embracing elements of new cultures, rejecting others that seem incompatible (Sobol et al, 2018) or working to integrate elements into their existing cultural perspectives (Kipnis et al, 2019;Ozer et al, 2021). In service contexts in particular, resolving these tensions may determine service evaluations (Sharma et al, 2016), satisfaction (Tam et al, 2016) and loyalty (Paparoidamis et al, 2019).…”

“…, 2018) or working to integrate elements into their existing cultural perspectives (Kipnis et al. , 2019; Ozer et al. , 2021).…”

Social Identity and Well-being: A Cross-Cultural Examination of Social Identity and Well-being in Light of the Accelerating Cultural Globalisation

“…Globalisation has been referred to as an identity crisis because it forces individuals to re-evaluate their local identity in a global context (Reese et al, 2019). Some individuals will perceive globalisation as a threat, given that the global cultural values and traditions may be conflicting and non-integrable with the individual’s local cultural values and traditions (Arnett, 2002; Ozer et al, 2021). Such globalisation-initiated cultural stressors may have psychological consequences such as anxiety, stress and identity confusion (Benet-Martínez & Haritatos, 2005; Chen et al, 2016).…”

“…Research has examined how acculturation affects the individual’s identity formation (Arnett, 2002; Chen et al, 2016; Kinnvall, 2004; Ozer, 2019). Previous research has primarily focused on the fact that many individuals in a globalised world develop a bicultural identity, where the individual’s identity has roots in both local and global cultures (Arnett, 2002; Ozer et al, 2021). Additionally, contemporary cultural influences may cause individuals to choose different elements from different cultures and thus create a hybrid identity (Chen et al, 2016).…”