Ethnic and National Identity Development of Turkish-Dutch Preadolescents

With governments promoting integration of immigrants, ethnic and (host) national identity development has become an important topic in the last decennia. The relation between these two identities varies between countries and groups (Phinney et al., 2001). The Turkish-Dutch group for example has been observed to have a strong ethnic identity and a weaker national identity (Vroome et al., 2014). This study investigated ethnic and national identity of Turkish-Dutch preadolescents in the Netherlands during a particularly salient period for identity development, namely the transition from primary to secondary school. Sixty-six Turkish-Dutch preadolescents (M = 12.32 years, SD = 0.43, range 11.64-13.43, 53% female) reported on their ethnic and national identity in the last grade of primary school (wave 1), first grade of secondary school (wave 2), and second grade of secondary school (wave 3). Repeated Measures ANOVAs indicated a significant increase of ethnic identity over time (F(2, 130) = 6.84, p = .001) and a significant decrease of national identity (F(2, 130) = 4.72, p= .011). Several moderators were explored (maternal ethnic identity and religion in child rearing, preadolescents’ number of same-ethnic friends, number of Dutch friends and perceived discrimination). Only one moderator was significant: Participants with more same-ethnic friends showed a decrease in national identity, whereas the national identity of those with few same-ethnic friends stayed more or less stable (F(2, 128) = 4.58, p = .012). The results indicate an important role for peers in national identity development of ethnic minorities.