When the personal is political: Ethnic identity, ally identity, and political engagement among Indigenous people and people of color.

Abstract

Objectives:The present mixed-methods study examines allyship as a politicized collective identity and its associations with ethnic identity, personality traits, and sociopolitical engagement among IPPOC. Method: Participants in two samples in 2016 (n ϭ 256) and 2017 (n ϭ 305) completed measures of ally identity, ethnic identity, personality traits, and political engagement. Results: Results indicate two factors of ally identity (ally beliefs and behaviors). Quantitative findings suggest a) ethnic identity exploration predicts ally beliefs and behaviors, b) extraversion predicts ally behaviors, while agreeableness and neuroticism predicts ally beliefs, and c) ally beliefs and behaviors predict awareness, while ethnic identity exploration predicts involvement in political action, even when personality traits are considered. Thematic analysis findings suggest IPPOC allies are politically engaged through social media, individual actions, protests, and civic engagement. Conclusions: Ethnic and ally identity provide different paths to sociopolitical awareness and involvement. Public Significance StatementIn recent years, Indigenous People and People of Color (IPPOC) have noted increased experiences of prejudice in both social and political contexts, and consequently, people have questioned the extent to which shared oppression serves as a catalyst for IPPOC to defend, advocate, and relate to one another as allies. Allies adopt various behaviors and express various beliefs in support of people from marginalized groups and, in addition, tend to be more politically engaged through social media, individual actions, protests, and civic engagement.

The impact of historical loss on Native American college students’ mental health: The protective role of ethnic identity.

“…The college environment itself provides unique opportunities for learning, connection, and involvement that facilitate identity exploration (Mitchell & Syed, 2015). Although some longitudinal research has assessed ethnic identity development among college students (Syed & Azmitia, 2009), work with NA/AN college students is sparse (Fish et al, 2021). More research is needed to explore how ethnic identity functions across the lifespan for NA/AN individuals and determine how best to assess ethnic identity in a culturally relevant manner for NA/AN communities.…”

Who gets to live the good life? Master Narratives, identity, and well-being within a marginalizing society

“…Accordingly, identifying with marginalized groups consists of both benefits and liabilities with respect to traditional conceptualizations of well-being. Moreover, identifying with a marginalized group is associated with engaging in collective action that seeks to improve the conditions of that group (Fish et al, 2021;French et al, 2020;Pender et al, 2019). This link indicates that there is a conscious understanding that things are not ok, and thus it is reasonable that we might observe lower self-ratings of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being among these populations.…”

Adolescent-directed racial-ethnic socialization: Developmental processes that contribute to adolescents’ ability to provide racial-ethnic socialization within immigrant family contexts

“…Indeed, there is some initial work to suggest that REI and critical consciousness emerge together to influence sociopolitical attitudes and behaviors. For example, Fish et al (2021) examined the impacts of ethnic identity exploration and commitment on “social justice” ally attitudes and behaviors in a primarily Asian American adolescent sample. Findings reveal that ethnic identity exploration was positively associated with allyship attitudes but not behavior.…”