Second generation adolescents from Asia &

Identity forming

What are the benefi ts and di f f icul ties of identi ty forming for second generation

adolescents from Asia in the Western world in comparison with native youth ?

Name: Sara Nguyen

Student number: 4081498

Subject: Wild Years

Docent: P. Welten

Words: 3269

Abstract

This article examines the process of forming an identity by second generation adolescents

from Asia living in a modern Western world. Beginning with two core-theories, that of Clarke

and Erikson, and ending with several scientific articles, I look at the benefits and difficulties

these adolescents have in comparison with the Western youth when they are forming their

identity. I expected and found that the second generation adolescents from Asia face a

potential conflict between two cultural identities , something native youth dont experience.

They feel pressure to both cultivate and minimize their ethnic membership. One of the

advantages these adolescents have in comparison with native youth, is that they may have

bigger chances in life because of their unique position.

Introduction.

According to Arnett and Hughes (2012) adolescence is a period of life in which young people

are developing and preparing themselves to have the responsibilities and roles the

adulthood in their culture require. Adolescence is a cultural construction. This means that

only in the cultures which allows children to postpone their responsibilities and give the

chances to explore themselves and the world, the phenomena adolescence can exists

(Arnett and Hughes, 2012).

Especially the industrialized countries provide this opportunity for children. These

countries have a highly developed economy, have already been through the industrialized

phase and are now focusing on services (Arnett and Hughes, 2012). Examples of these

countries are almost all countries in the West and countries in Asia as Japan and South

Korea.

Although the Asian countries like Japan and South Korea are industrial ized, there is a

big ethic difference between the countries in the West and the industrialized countries in

Asia (Waldmann, 2000). It is important to look at the ethical differences of these cultures,

where adolescents grow up in. Asia, especially East and South-East Asia is strongly

influenced by the Confucian ethics, whilst Europe ethics is based on Greek philosophy

(Waldmann, 2000).

The Confucian ethics seeks to find a harmonious balance between relationships,

especially family relationships (Waldmann, 2000). For adolescents holding on to this ethics, it

leads to respect for the past and the elder (Lalonde, Hynie, Pannu, e.a., 2004; Waldmann,

2000). Obligations to the group or society are important.

The Western ethics has more an individualistic dimension than Confucian ethics.

Everyone, including adolescents, is in pursuit of their own self-interest. The basic of Western

ethics is to be found in Greek philosophy, in which rationalist is most important and morality

is seen as depending on reasoning (Waldmann, 2000).

These ethics have a great impact at identity formation. According to White and Wyn (2014)

identity is a thing or person which remains the same over time and in different situations.

Young people have different sources which can support their identity formation. Family

members and peers from the same immigrant group provide the Asian possibilities for

identity formation, whilst the media and social institutions provide the Western possibilities

(Stroink and Lalonde, 2009)

Erikson (1968) conceptualized identity as a developmental process of maturation

from youth to adulthood. This means that identity forming is an active process. It is not a

simply stable entity, it is a dynamic and interactive process for forming an identity.

It is interesting to see how adolescents grow up in two cultures, and to see which

problems they are experiencing. These adolescents grow up bicultural (Stroink and Lalonde,

2009). This means they have an ethnic identity, which is a social identity based on the

culture of their parents, as modified by the characteristics of the Western culture (Yip and

Fuligni, 2002)

Because these adolescents have an unique place in the society, you can consider

them as a sub-culture. According to Clarke (1974), a sub-cultural membership may form an

identity because thats what is desired or because of the stigmatizing reaction of others.

Since this could lead to assimilation or segregation, its important to find out how second

generation adolescents handle the identity forming process (Mouw and Xie, 1999).

My main research question will be: What are the benefits and difficulties of identity

forming for second generation adolescents from Asia in the Western world in comparison

with native Western youth?. Other questions I will try to answer are: What are the benefits

and difficulties of identity forming for adolescents in genera l? and What are the differences

in identity forming for second generation adolescents from Asia in the Western world and

native adolescents?

I expect to find that second generation adolescents from Asia struggle to form their

own identity at least as much as the native youth. They will have problems with identify their

role in the society they grew up with, and the role in the society they are living in. Benefits

could be that they can handle differences in cultural behavior better and are better prepared

for changes than native youth.

Method.

I try to find the answers to the research questions to examine two core theories, that of

Erikson and Clarke and to use scientific literature. The core theories are found at blackboard

from University Utrecht, provided by the university.The core theory of Erikson is used

because it explains what identity is, and how adolescents form their identity in the modern

Western society. The core theory of Clarke is used because it tries to explain what sub-

cultures are, and how that can influence the identity formation by adolescents.

The scientific literature is found on google scholar with several different key words.

The key words which are used are: Second, Generation, Asians, Adolescents, Confucians,

Western, Culture, Identity, Bicultural, and Ethnic. The first four key words are used, because

that is the subject. The three following key words are used, because its the scope of the

research. The last three key words are used because its the object that is been examined in

this paper.

During these examination I use examples from my own experience in the

adolescence with regarding to identity formation. I do this to clarify the theories and

scientific literature with practical examples.

Results

What are the benefits and difficulties of identity forming for adolescents in general?

Adolescence is a period of life which has been almost a way of life between childhood and

adulthood according to Erikson (1968). In this period of life, adolescents have to deal with

crises in their identity process before they reach adulthood and therefore reach a final

identity. The psycho social crises between identity and role confusion exists during

adolescence.

Craving for locomotion is one of the discontented search of youth (Erikson, 1968). Its

the need for feeling needed by the community. Adolescents can participate in the

movements of the day to fulfill this need. A good example is that I have been and still am

doing volunteer work for endangered species and vulnerable children. In my case, this is a

solution for feeling needed in society.

Another danger of this stage is identity confusion (Erikson, 1968). Adolescents tend

to play with choices in their life, and then to deny that some irreversible commitment has

already taken place. They wont reach the moratorium stage, because they cannot freely

explore and experiment anymore what their identity should be when they become adults.

A benefit of this stage is that adolescents, when they get the chance, they can fully

explore and experiment what their identity should be when they become adults. For me

this means that I am able to go to school, to have various part-time jobs, to discover various

kinds of sport just to find out what kind of sport I like.

It is important to keep in mind that this has been based on western youth. Because

according to Erikson (1968) youth often rejects parents and authorities. But in the ethics of

Confucianism respect for the elder is important, even for adolescents. So the theory of

Erikson only explains the difficulties of adolescents who are living in the Western culture.

What are the differences in identity forming for second generation adolescents from Asia in

the Western world and native adolescents?

What is missing in the theory of Erikson is the difficulties and perhaps also the benefits of

adolescents who are living in a sub-culture. Clarke (1974) has considered a sub-culture as an

organized set of social meanings which bear a relation to the culture.

The second generation Asian adolescents growing up in the Western world can be

seen as a cub-culture, because this community has some systematically interrelated set of

cultural factors, like the ethics of the Confucianism. Those adolescents get labeled as Asian

people. And those who are labeled are constrained to organize and express their ethnicity in

ways of their choice (Kibria, 2000).

The theory of Clarke explains why the difficulties and benefits for the adolescents

who are living the dominant culture are not the only difficulties and benefits these bicultural

adolescents from Asia experience.

The Asian race operates as an involuntary sign over which the adolescent has little or

no control, giving off information to others about various aspects of her ethnic identity

(Kibria, 2000). Its the color of hair, shape of eyes and skin colors which reveal the ethnic

identity immediately. This lead almost automatically to a middle or intermediate position in

the hierarchy of society for Asian Western adolescents (Kibria, 2000).

This means that a bicultural identity brings with it the same implications as any

identity, but it has one more problem, the bicultural aspect (Stroink and Lalonde, 2009).

Forming an identity is an active process which contains those groups with who the

adolescent self identifies and the self-descriptions that derive from membership in those

groups.

For adolescents, this means that they feel pressure to compromise their cultural

values and behaviors to successfully meet the expectation of the wider social context

(Stroink and Lalonde, 2009). This can lead to assimilation, which means that adolescents give

up their cultural values and behavior to successfully meet the expectation of the wider social

context.

A personal example is the respect for elder people. I have been grown up with

knowing children should always bow for the elder, always stand up for the elder, never

contradict against the elder. As a child I have been called several nicknames like spleetoog

and stinkchinees. My mother always said never to draw attention to these people. She

always said: When you are older, they will respect you. When you are older, you can teach

them what respect is.

At the moment of writing Im 20 years old, and when I cycle throughout the street of

Eindhoven, I still have those moments that children from an age of 8/9 that they call me

nicknames. At the moment of writing I have learnt that my cultural values and behaviors do

not corresponds with the dominant values and behaviors, and there is nothing I can do but

to adapt myself to these values and behaviors.

What are the benefits of identity forming for second generation adolescents from Asia in the

Western world in comparison with native youth?

There are several benefits for growing up within the Asian and Western culture for

adolescents in comparison with native youth. The first one is found by Stroink and Lalonde in

2009. They said that being bicultural may be associated with enhanced feelings of efficacy

and competence. Native youth dont experience this.

I have heard several prejudices from native Dutch people about Asian people, which

lead me to behave like these prejudices. Some people believe that all the Asian people are

hardworking, eager to learn, and never make any problems in the neighborhood.

These people are most likely older people, who I have respect for. And when those

people are saying that I am hardworking, because I work during the week in the households,

I feel the pressure to do more in the short time I am in their house. When those people are

saying I am eager to learn, because I study at the university, I get more motivated to do my

best at the university and get higher grades.

Obeying to these prejudices gives me a better feeling of myself, and gives the society

I live in a better image of the Asian people. This is surely a benefit for myself and for the sub-

culture I belong to.

Growing up bicultural and therefor bilingualism stimulates cognitive development

(Mauw and Xie, 1999). In the adolescence phase, the brain is growing and most knowledge

will be kept and remembered.

So when adolescents grow up in the Asian and Western culture, they learn the norms

and values of both cultures and the languages from the countries the parents are from and

the country here they are living in. This is a lot of knowledge they have to process in their

brain, and they can only do so when the cognitive development is at its maximum. This leads

to faster and better processing from other knowledge, the knowledge that the native youth

also need to have.

Growing up bicultural can lead to a more complex identity and flexibility (Stroink and

Lalonde, 2009). This gives adolescents a chance to develop themselves to the fullest. This

also creates bigger chances of employment, especially in comparison with native youth.

Adolescents are in a stage where they can fully develop themselves if theyre given

the chance. Growing up in the Asian and Western culture means they can switch easily from

culture and get the benefits of both sides. For companies, this means that adolescents have

more knowledge of both cultures and therefore are better in knowing and behaving

according to the dominant norms and values. This benefit still exist when the adolescent

becomes an adult.

What are the difficulties of identity forming for second generation adolescents from Asia in

the Western world in comparison with native youth?

The benefit of being able to switch culture easily can also lead to a difficulty. Self-

stereotyping leads individual group members to define themselves more in terms of the

native groups defining features than in terms of their own unique characteristics (Stroink

and Lalonde, 2009). Whilst the native youth describe their own unique characteristics,

second generation adolescents from Asia growing up in the Western world tend to describe

themselves more in terms of the native groups defining features.

Especially adolescents can lose their own identity and therefore confuse the groups

characteristics as their own characteristics. Several second generation Asians growing up in

the Netherlands are stressed about their high-school degrees, because they feel the tension

to meet the expectations from the community they grew up in.

The community they grow up in, has this expectation since their birth. And not only

the community they grow up in, also the society wherein they will end up has this

expectation from second generation Asians growing up in the Western culture. Because

adolescents are growing up with this expectations all the time, they see the expectation to

get high degrees and working hard as a characteristic of their own.

But thats not the case. Its the expectations thats a characteristic of the sub-culture,

the in-group where the adolescents belong in. When these adolescents realize that getting

high degrees and performing excellent on school is not their own personality, they would

feel a lot less stress to meet this characteristic of the sub-culture.

Another difficulty that meets second generation adolescents from Asia, is

discrimination (Stroink and Lalonde, 2009). The distinctions of nationality and ethnicity

become irrelevant in the face of homogenizing racial processes (Kibria, 2000). Native youth

do not have the same problem, because people in the country they grow up in think is

relevant to have distinctions of nationality and ethnicity from other Western countries.

My own experience is that Dutch people do not really know the distinctions of

nationality and ethnicity in Asia. So in daily conversations, and during interviews a lot of

people ask things like: Oh yea, speaking Chinese is really difficult. Korean food is so

delicious. Japanese people love eating dogs, do you love that too? Even when I say that I am

from Vietnam, people are tending to ignore that, and try to make all those countries as one

country called Asia.

Its discrimination, because not all countries in Asia have the same culture. Even

worse, because my parents are from Asia, doesnt mean that I feel that I have an Asian

identity. Its seems people do not want to accept that second generation Asians growing up

in the Western culture can have two identities, or can have the Western identity. Because of

the looks, people tend to put second generation Asians in the Asian identity too easily.

This lead to the last difficulty for second generation Asians for identity formation. It is

that they experience conflict and confusion as they attempt to reconcile the values and

norms of their two cultures (Stroink and Lalonde, 2009). Its confusing for bicultural

adolescents who values and norms they want to adhere, because every decision they make

the community they grew up and the society they live in are watching. Adolescents feel they

have to make a choice between the two cultures they grow up in.

When adolescents find out its not necessary to make a choice between the two

cultures, but they can blend the norms and values, they get easily in conflict. Especially the

differences between the Greek philosophy and Confucianism makes it hard for adolescent

for them to blend these norms and values without getting in conflict .

It has already been said that the Greek philosophy is focused on rational thinking,

whilst the Confucianism emphasizes the harmonious relations between people (Waldmann,

2000).. This can lead to confusion about the actions native youth makes, and therefore

feeling shame for the native youth. But the native adolescents are the adolescents they also

hang out with. Its a struggle for adolescents how to maintain the norms and values they

grew up with and how to blend that with the dominant norms and values they are in. Native

youth dont experience this problem, since they only grew up with the dominant norms and

values.

Conclusion

The research question was: What are the benefits and difficulties of identity forming for

second generation adolescents from Asia in the Western world in comparison with native

Western youth?

Adolescents have to deal with crises in their identity process before they reach

adulthood and therefore reach a final identity. Craving for locomotion is one of the

discontented search of youth (Erikson, 1968). Another danger of this stage is identity

confusion (Erikson, 1968). Adolescents tend to play with choices in their life, and then to

deny that some irreversible commitment has already taken place. It is important to keep in

mind that the theory of Erikson has been based on western youth.

Therefore its necessary to have the theory of Clarke about sub-cultures. The second

generation Asian adolescents growing up in the Western world can be seen as a cub-culture

because this community has some systematically interrelated set of cultural factors, like the

ethics of the Confucianism. And those who are labeled in a sub-culture are constrained in

their ability to organize and express their ethnicity in ways of their choosing.

This means that a cultural identity brings with it the same implications as any social

identity, but it has the added role of informing ones culturally derived framework. For

adolescents means that they feel pressure to compromise their cultural values and

behaviors to successfully meet the expectation of the wider social context.

Growing up in two culture can be associated with certain benefits that native youth

dont have. Enhanced feelings of efficacy and competence, a more complex identity and

flexibility to operate in a global economy. Growing up bicultural and therefore bilingualism

stimulates cognitive development.

There will be always difficulties for adolescents growing up in two cultures. They have

and will keep experience discrimination. And native youth wont. They experience conflict

and confusion as they attempt to reconcile the values and norms of their two cultures. These

difficulties are add up by the long list the difficulties normal adolescents already

experience.

But there is good news. Scholars today have argued that racial minorities in the

Western world do have the same kinds of choices or options with respect to ethnicity that

are enjoyed by whites. This could mean that for second generation Asian adolescents

growing up in a Western culture, there are the same kinds of solutions and help for them as

for native youth for identity formation.

References.

Arnett, J.J., & Hughes, M. (2012). Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood. Harlow, England:

Pearson Education Limited.

Clarke, M. (1974). On the concept of 'sub-culture'. British Journal of Sociology, 428-441.

Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis (No. 7). WW Norton & Company.

Erwin Waldmann (2000). Teaching ethics in accounting: a discussion of cross-cultural factors

with a focus on Confucian and Western philosophy. Accounting Education: an international

journal, 9:1, 23-35, DOI: 10.1080/096392800413636

Kibria, N. (2000). Race, ethnic options, and ethnic binds: Identity negotiations of second-

generation Chinese and Korean Americans. Sociological Perspectives, 43(1), 77-95.

Lalonde, R. N., Hynie, M., Pannu, M., & Tatla, S. (2004). The Role of Culture in Interpersonal

Relationships Do Second Generation South Asian Canadians Want a Traditional

Partner?. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35(5), 503-524.

Mouw, T., & Xie, Y. (1999). Bilingualism and the academic achievement of first-and second-

generation Asian Americans: Accommodation with or without assimilation? American

sociological review, 232-252.

Stroink, M. L., & Lalonde, R. N. (2009). Bicultural identity conflict in second-generation Asian

Canadians. The Journal of social psychology, 149(1), 44-65.

White, R., & Wyn. J. (2014). Youth and Society (No. 3). Melbourne, Australia: Oxford

University Press.

Yip, T., & Fuligni, A. J. (2002). Daily variation in ethnic identity, ethnic behaviors, and

psychological wellbeing among American adolescents of Chinese descent. Child

development, 73(5), 1557-1572.