About this session

Saturday, 12:10 PM - 1:40 PM

U.S. Identity Development: Advancing Our Understanding of What it Means to be American

Whereas extensive research has highlighted that establishing an ethnic/racial identity (ERI) represents a key developmental and cultural asset, a burgeoning literature also shows benefits associated with a positive U.S. identity (USI; Meca et al., 2023). Paralleling research on ERI, USI is a multidimensional construct that reflects beliefs and attitudes about one’s national group membership as well as the process by which these beliefs and attitudes develop (Meca et al., 2017). Research has validated USI measures, established measurement invariance, and found that USI contributes to adjustment, over and above ERI (e.g., Martinez-Fuentes et al., 2021; Rodil et al., 2019). Despite these recent advances, there are limitations in our understanding of USI exacerbated by a lack of qualitative research around what it means to be American. Addressing this gap, Study 1 examines conceptions of being American among Minnesotan youth. While themes around American pride and patriotism emerged, particularly among non-Hispanic White youth, themes around injustices and inequities were highlighted by ethnic/racial minoritized youth. Study 2 further unpacked what it means to be American among ethnic/racial minoritized youth, identifying substantive variability in how individuals define being American and its interconnection with ERI. Beyond need for research conceptualizing USI, there is also a need to contextualize USI. Study 3 examines how participants’ recollection of recent events impacts their attitudes towards being American, and in turn, broader USI and adjustment. Together, these studies make an important contribution to our understanding of USI development.

Paper #1
Title	“It’s stressful to be American”: What it means to be American for Minnesotan young adults
Presenting author	Dr. Michelle Christine Pasco, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States

Paper #2
Title	Unpacking Racially/Ethnically Minoritized Young Adults’ Conceptions of Being American and Relations with Identity
Presenting author	Dulce W. Westberg, University of California, Davis, United States

Paper #3
Title	U.S. Identity Development in Context: The Impact of Current Events on Dimensions of U.S. Identity
Presenting author	Bethany Cruz, The University of Texas at San Antonio, United States

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Session chair
Dr. Alan Meca, Ph.D., The University of Texas at San Antonio, United States

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