“So Now, I Wonder, What Am I?”: A Narrative Approach to Bicultural Identity Integration

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Abstract
Individuals socialized in multiple cultures actively construct their bicultural identity in the context of relevant life events. However, the content and meaning of these experiences, as subjectively constructed and understood by the individual, remain largely unexplored in relation to biculturalism outcomes. Using a narrative approach, two studies of U.S. biculturals examined how memories about the experience of being bicultural (“bicultural memory narratives”) related to bicultural identity integration (BII). BII describes having cultural identities that are blended and exist harmoniously within the self (vs. having dissociated and conflicting identities). In Study 1, bicultural college students shared two bicultural memory narratives, which were coded for the past event valence, exploratory processing, and ending valence (positive vs. negative ending). Most reported memories about at least somewhat negative experiences, and yet narrating those events with positive endings was predictive of higher BII, even after controlling for other factors, such as trait affect. In Study 2, second-generation bicultural adults ranging in age from 18 to 62 shared narratives about memories of bicultural conflict, which were also coded for exploratory processing and positive resolution. Similar to Study 1, positive resolution predicted higher levels of BII, independent of other factors. Bicultural identity conflict was found to decrease with age across adulthood. Findings for exploratory processing were inconclusive and suggest that its role in BII may fluctuate over time and be dependent on several factors, including age, type of memory, and time spent exploring bicultural identity.

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