Values and National Identification in Minority and Majority Youth

Longitudinal Multi-Study Findings

authored by: Maya Benish-Weisman, Ella Daniel, Einat Elizarov, Noga Sverdlik, Peter F. Titzmann
Abstract: Collective identification is vital for adolescents, fostering well-being and connection, but scant attention has been given to drivers of national identification and their contextual variations in youth. To address this, two longitudinal studies examined how values, as guiding goals defining what individuals consider important in their lives, relate to the trajectory of national identification in majority and minority youth. Study 1 (N = 568; M_age = 16.24, SD = 0.71) and Study 2 (N = 678; M_age = 13.78, SD = 0.73) focused on majority youth (Jewish-Israelis), while Study 2 also included minority (Arab citizens of Israel). The findings highlight values as important motivators of national identification over time. Conservation values, emphasizing the preservation of the status quo and a preference for stability, were prominent motivators for the majority of adolescents. In contrast, power values, which center around climbing the social ladder and accumulating wealth, held greater significance among their minority counterparts; however, both sets of values correlated with increased national identification. The discussion touches on motivations underlying national identification, their contextual diversity, and implications for future studies.
Organisation(s): Institute of Psychology
External Organisation(s): Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI)
Tel Aviv University
University of Haifa
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Type: Article
Journal: Journal of youth and adolescence
No. of pages: 17
ISSN: 0047-2891
Publication date: 14.03.2024
Publication status: E-pub ahead of print
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Social Psychology, Education, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-01965-0 (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{48ff22f44f6149dbb25bd89942effc34,
title = "Values and National Identification in Minority and Majority Youth: Longitudinal Multi-Study Findings",
abstract = "Collective identification is vital for adolescents, fostering well-being and connection, but scant attention has been given to drivers of national identification and their contextual variations in youth. To address this, two longitudinal studies examined how values, as guiding goals defining what individuals consider important in their lives, relate to the trajectory of national identification in majority and minority youth. Study 1 (N = 568; Mage = 16.24, SD = 0.71) and Study 2 (N = 678; Mage = 13.78, SD = 0.73) focused on majority youth (Jewish-Israelis), while Study 2 also included minority (Arab citizens of Israel). The findings highlight values as important motivators of national identification over time. Conservation values, emphasizing the preservation of the status quo and a preference for stability, were prominent motivators for the majority of adolescents. In contrast, power values, which center around climbing the social ladder and accumulating wealth, held greater significance among their minority counterparts; however, both sets of values correlated with increased national identification. The discussion touches on motivations underlying national identification, their contextual diversity, and implications for future studies.",
keywords = "Adolescents, Identity, Majority, Minority, National identification, Values",
author = "Maya Benish-Weisman and Ella Daniel and Einat Elizarov and Noga Sverdlik and Titzmann, {Peter F.}",
note = "Funding Information: The study was supported by a grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and from the Martin and Vivian Levin Center for the Normal and Psychopathological Development of the Child and the Adolescent to the second author and by a grant from the Jacobs Foundation to the first author. Open access funding provided by Hebrew University of Jerusalem.",
year = "2024",
month = mar,
day = "14",
doi = "10.1007/s10964-024-01965-0",
language = "English",
journal = "Journal of youth and adolescence",
issn = "0047-2891",
publisher = "Springer New York",
}