Bicultural Identity Exploration: Narrating Identity Exploration in Family and College Contexts

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between identity exploration and Bicultural Identity Integration in narratives from family and college contexts. We hypothesized that higher levels of identity exploration and positive narrative endings would be associated with higher levels of Bicultural Identity Integration, and that this relationship would be mediated in part by Parental Autonomy Support and Openness to experience. We did not find statistical support for the relationship between identity exploration and Bicultural Identity Integration; however, we found that Openness and maternal Autonomy Support were associated with BII Harmony, and limited support for a positive relationship between Openness and identity exploration. These results may indicate that a portion of the bicultural individuals in our sample were experiencing identity foreclosure. It is also possible that our study was limited by methodological errors and small sample size. The utility of linguistic analysis using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count program is discussed.