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Abstract
In this study we investigated the salience of the construct of national collective identity and its associations with life satisfaction among adolescents living in transitional societies characterised by relevant change in the last decades. Participants were 1 066 adolescents (M = 15.35 years, SD = 1.35) from South Africa (n = 186) and five Central Eastern European countries, including Albania (n = 209), Bulgaria (n = 146), Czech Republic (n = 306), Kosovo (n = 116), and Romania (n = 103). They completed a questionnaire including national identity and life satisfaction scales. Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and multi-group structural equation modeling. Results showed that national identity of adolescents in transitional societies is multidimensional and pertains to different salient dimensions (i.e., self-categorisation, evaluation, importance, attachment, and behavioural involvement). Importantly, the findings provided evidence to suggest that higher levels of national collective identity are associated with increased levels of life satisfaction.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the support by a COFAS FORTE (Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare) Marie Curie Grant (Forte Projekt 2013–2669) and Japan Society for Promotion of Science Grant (JSPS PE 15763) to the first author. We are extremely grateful to Jose-Michael Gonzalez (University of Arizona, USA) for his valuable language and editorial revision as well as the following organisations and people for their help in carrying out the study in Albania (Dajana Bejko, Jona Kajtazi, and Ola Minxhozi), Bulgaria (Eva Jecheva and the National Agency for Child Protection, all schools, students and teachers and particularly Neli Filipova, Ivanina Noncheva, Radka Kostandinova, Albena Damianova, Stoyka Jekova, Svetla Atanasova, Neli Kiuchukova, Ani Angelova, Lilia Stoyanova, Tianka Kardjilova), the Czech Republic (the Olomouc University Social Health Institute, OUSHI, in particular Zuzana Puzova, Katerina Hamplova, and Helena Pipova, all schools and institutions across the country and the support by the Czech Academy of Sciences RVO 6808174 created as part of Strategy AV21), Romania (all teachers, colleagues and especially to Simona Steluta Marti, Iuliana Ilie, Ionut Cojan, Alina Manescu, and Luiza Bratu), and Kosovo (Genc Rexhepi, Argjend Abazi, Kastriot Hasaj, Enteela Kamberi, Erduana Dermaku, Miran Xhelili, Alma Sherifi, Hillari Alidema, Elina Morina, and Blerton Jakupi).