How does Perceived Discrimination affect Ethnic Identity? Examining the Ethnic Korean’s Minority-Majority Status in China

• In Event: Poster Session 14
  In Poster Session: PS 14 Topic - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Abstract

Objective: The first purpose of this study was to examine the relations among perceived discrimination, national identity, and ethnic identity among Korean minority adolescents in China. The second purpose was to explore the influence of minority-majority status among Koreans by examining how the relationships between the three variables vary among 3 residential areas with different Korean ethnic compositions.
Method: Data were from a sample (N=153) of Korean minority adolescents living in three cities with different Korean ethnic composition and ethnic numeric minority-majority status, who were 8th grade students attending the Korean ethnic middles schools in northeast China. Main analytic procedures were carried out through SPSS, and three-way interaction was mainly used in multiple regression analysis.
Results: Results from this study displayed the importance of minority’s national identity and numerical ethnic status. Overall, the negative influence of perceived discrimination (B = -.12, p < .01) on ethnic identity was found to be buffered by the high level of national identity (B = .16, p < .05). The moderating effect of national identity showed different depending on the ethnic composition of three regions. Specifically, the moderating impact of national identity showed significantly higher in Shenyang-numeric minority city (B = .31, p < .01) compared to Yanji-numeric majority city (B = -.27, p < .10), but in Hunchun-a multiethnic city where many ethnic groups live together was not statistically significant (B = -.22, p > .05).
Conclusion: Consistent with part of social identity theory, this research highlighted the importance of national identity and minority-majority status within a particular context when examining the effect of perceived discrimination on ethnic identity among Korean minority adolescents in northeast China. This study suggest the need of distinguished multicultural education suitable for regional characteristics to minority youths in areas where diverse ethnic groups live together. It also suggests the need for a shift of focus from seeing one ethnic as a whole to divide them into different groups according to their specific characteristics of individual member of the ethnic group.

Authors

• Ying Jin, Seoul National University
  Presenting Author

• Xiuying Yan, Yanbian University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Yongcai Chang
  Non-Presenting Author