2-018 - Explorations of Identity Development among Muslim Minority Adolescents in Different Contexts

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

In the current global socio-political climate, Muslim adolescents who are religious minorities where they reside face unique identity developmental challenges as they navigate strained intergroup relations and experience discrimination (Ahmed, Kia-Keating, & Tsai, 2011). However, limited research exists on the complex identity development of these ethnic and religious minority Muslim youth. Moreover, adolescents’ identification to their social groups can vary depending on the specific sociocultural context (Verkuyten, 2016). Thus, the current symposium brings together four papers that examine the social identity-related experiences of Muslim minority adolescents in different countries using various quantitative and qualitative approaches.
Paper 1 examined the mediating role of daily religious identity in the associations between maternal religious socialization and Muslim-American adolescents’ civic engagement using experience sampling method. Paper 2 employed a longitudinal method to compare the values for developing a national identity and its relations to ingroup friendships among Muslim and Jewish adolescents in Israel. Paper 3 compared Muslim adolescents’ religious identity statuses and experiences in the U.S. and in Denmark using interviews. Finally, in Paper 4, conceptualizations of religious, ethnic, and mainstream national identity were explored among Tunisian Muslim adolescents in Italy using focus group interviews.
The current symposium contributes to our understanding of the complex and multidimensional nature of identity development among religious minority youth. All four papers will highlight the significance of the socio-cultural context for Muslim minority adolescents’ development of identification to their religious, ethnic, and national groups, and the application of these findings to efforts that can promote their positive adjustment.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chairs

• Charissa S. L. Cheah, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

• Cristiano Inguglia, University of Palermo

Individual Presentations

• Daily Religious Identity Mediates the Links between Religious Socialization and Muslim-American Adolescents’ Civic Engagement - Presenting Author: Merve Balkaya, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Non-Presenting Author: Charissa S. L. Cheah, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Non-Presenting Author: Lisa Kiang, Wake Forest University; Non-Presenting Author: Madiha Tahseen, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

• Motivation for National Identification and Ingroup Friendship: A Comparison of Jewish and Muslim Youth in Israel - Presenting Author: Maya Benish-Weisman, University of Haifa

• Religious Identity among Immigrant-Origin Muslim Adolescents in Denmark and the United States - Presenting Author: Kathleen M Cain, Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College; Non-Presenting Author: Taylor N. Ward Rafael, Gettysburg College; Non-Presenting Author: Colleen M Kolb, Gettysburg College; Non-Presenting Author: Barbara Benowitz, Gettysburg College; Non-Presenting Author: E. Blair Cox, Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College; Non-Presenting Author: Kaleigh N Johnson, Gettysburg College; Non-Presenting Author: Casey E Eck, Gettysburg College; Non-Presenting Author: Maja Sbahi Biehl, DIS

• The Ethnic, National and Religious Identities of Muslim Tunisian Adolescents in Southern Italy - Presenting Author: Alida Lo Coco, University of Palermo; Non-Presenting Author: Pasquale Musso, University of Calabria; Non-Presenting Author: Cristiano Inguglia, University of Palermo; Non-Presenting Author: Charissa S. L. Cheah, University of Maryland, Baltimore County