“The Most Exotic was the Owner of the Pizzeria” - Exploring the Relationship between Subjective Diversity and Ethnic Identity

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to examine how Swedish youth a) experience diversity and b) link those diversity experiences to their identities. Using a mixed-method approach, we coded written narratives for type of diversity experience, meaning-making, and analyzed qualitative differences due to the proximity of the setting and self-defined in- and outgroups. Out of 197 participants (age 15–29), 63 (31.5%) wrote about diversity in their narratives, and of those, 55 (87%) derived meaning about themselves or others. Qualitative differences were found between participants who self-identified with a majority, minority, or mixed ethnic identities. Youth who identified with a majority identity generally experienced being in the majority in the macro-setting while a lack of diversity in their micro-settings, and mainly derived meanings related to the ethnic identities of others. Youth who identified with minority or mixed ethnic identities, experienced being the minority in both micro- and macro-settings, and mainly derived meanings related to their own ethnic identity, such as enhanced identities or issues of belongingness. Results suggest that experiences of diversity trigger ethnic identity development, however, in a segregated society with unequal opportunities and power relations, those experiences and how they inform ethnic identity significantly vary significantly due to background.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethnic identity
• subjective ethnic diversity
• mixed-method approach
• narratives
• meaning making

Ethnic identity development is a central task of adolescence and emerging adulthood that occurs within multiple layers of social context (Galliher et al., 2017). Although there has been a great deal of research devoted to understanding aspects of context that are related to ethnic identity, much of this work has taken an “objective” and quantitative approach (see, Syed et al., 2018). This is useful for understanding general patterns of associations between diversity and identity but tells us little about the meaning that people make out of experiencing diverse settings. Qualitative and narrative studies (e.g., Rogers et al., 2021; Syed & Azmitia, 2010; Way & Rogers, 2015) have provided valuable insights into the nuances of the contextual nature of ethnic identity, but much of this work has been limited to the U.S. context. It is important to understand how youth in other ethnically diverse and segregated societies, such as Sweden, experience and make meaning of their different experiences of ethnic diversity. In the current study, we employed a narrative approach to the relationship between the Swedish youth’s subjective experiences of ethnic diversity and how it is related to ethnic identity development.

In the present study, ethnic identity is conceptualized using the developmental model, which specifies that ethnic identity is a multi-dimensional construct that corresponds to how and to what degree individuals identify with their ethnic group (Phinney, 1990; Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). The “how” and “to what degree” align with identity content and identity process, respectively, which are two aspects of all identity domains (Galliher et al., 2017; Syed, 2015). Most research has focused on identity processes, which correspond to generalized mechanisms that facilitate or reflect identities (Frisén & Wängqvist, 2011). These include the processes of exploration and commitment in the identity status model and autobiographical reasoning in the narrative identity model, among others. Such processes are usually content-free, as they are assessed with respect to, for example, to what degree individuals have spent time exploring the meaning of their ethnic group, but do not get into the specific details of how that exploration was carried out (e.g., in what context, with whom, for what reason). Identity content captures those types of details.

Developmental studies of identity have tended to examine correlates of ethnic identity or age changes in ethnic identity, with relatively less focus on more micro aspects of the social context (see, Verkuyten, 2016) or how others in the environment impact ethnic identity (Svensson et al., 2017). A critical component of the social environment vis-à-vis ethnic identity is ethnic diversity (also known as heterogeneity), which corresponds to the range of different groups that are present in a given setting (Budescu & Budescu, 2012; Syed et al., 2018). The interest in associations between ethnic diversity and psychological processes of identity has cut across many different literatures, including social psychology (e.g., social identity theory), developmental psychology (e.g., ethnic identity; neighborhood effects), and cultural psychology (e.g., acculturation). The exact approach taken, however, has varied across these different sub-fields. Developmentalists have found that greater representation of co-ethnics in schools is associated with greater levels of ethnic identity among adolescents (Brown, 2017). Similarly, research on acculturation has found that living in ethnic enclaves, that is, neighborhood with an extremely high concentration of one ethnic group, are associated with more positive adaptation (Rhee, 2019). Social psychologists working from social identity theory have taken a somewhat different approach, showing how low group-representation within a given context can raise awareness of one’s ethnicity (Sellers et al., 1998; Tajfel & Turner, 1986). Common among all of these approaches is a focus on how ethnic diversity is associated with quantitatively different levels of identity – more or less identity salience and centrality. Moreover, the substantive focus has typically been on the outcomes – identity and adaptation – and less so on the putative cause of that outcome – the ethnic diversity.

To address this gap in theorizing, Syed et al. (2018) outlined a framework for studying ethnic settings in which ethnic diversity/heterogeneity is only one of four dimensions. The other three dimensions consist of proximity, or the degree of distance between individuals and the settings (e.g., neighborhood, city, state/district); differentiation, or how the ethnic reference group is defined in a setting (e.g., Asian Americans, immigrants); and perspective, or whether the assessment is based on objective or subjective reports of the diversity. These four dimensions are intertwined in all studies on ethnic diversity, and yet they are rarely explicitly defined in any given study.

The dimension of perspective is particularly important to the current study. Most studies of ethnic diversity rely on objective measures of diversity, that is, official statistics on the number of different groups within some pre-defined level of proximity. The inherent assumption of studies with this approach is that the diversity can be objectively and externally defined, and consequently, that the diversity within the setting is perceived identically across participants. In contrast, subjective measures of ethnic diversity assess individuals’ own perceptions of the diversity of the setting. It has been well established that the identical settings can be perceived quite differently among a set of participants (Douglass, Yip, Shelton et al., 2014). Subjective assessments of diversity may be more important than objective ones, particularly with regard to implications for identity development. Indeed, a number of studies have shown that subjective diversity has greater predictive power over objective diversity (Juang & Alvarez, 2011; Syed & Juan, 2012; Yip et al., 2010).

The increased attention to subjective assessments notwithstanding, there is still little understanding of how and why ethnic diversity is related to identity processes, nor why the “same” setting may be a) differentially perceived and b) differentially related to identity. There have been three inter-related barriers to gathering this type of knowledge. First, as noted, most research on the topic examined objective diversity. Second, even among studies that include subjective assessments the identity outcome is assessed quantitatively in terms of strength or level of ethnic identity and does not access potential variations in how diversity might impact identity. Third, almost all of the past research has been quantitative, relying on rating-scale instruments of diversity and identity, with few studies relying on participant-generated qualitative data. This latter point is particularly important; qualitative studies can make major contributions in an area of research wherein many of the specifics of a phenomenon are not well known.

Utility of a narrative approach to identity

Narrative identity, in which identity is seen as constructed through the stories that people tell and the ways they make sense of what they have experienced, has become increasingly common in the identity literature (Adler et al., 2017; McAdams, 2001). From this perspective, narratives are considered both the process through which identity is constructed as well as a tool to understand identity development (McAdams, 2001). A narrative identity approach addresses the three limitations of research on ethnic diversity and ethnic identity described previously. First, narratives are subjective reconstructions of the past, told in the participants’ own words. Given that European societies often are highly segregated, and Sweden especially so, experiences of diversity might be limited and will vary considerably within the population. Second, a narrative approach can yield data that speak to both quantitative levels of identity processes and qualitatively different forms of identity content. Finally, not only does this approach provide the subjective view of ethnic diversity, but it also allows for individuals to themselves define the in-groups and out-groups that have meaning to them, rather than researcher-imposed definitions of groups (i.e., differentiation, Syed et al., 2018). Moreover, analyzing people’s stories about their lived experiences can highlight the topics that are especially salient in the lives of young people and thus contribute to bringing new insights to understanding their ethnic identities (Syed, 2015). Accordingly, a narrative approach is ideal for gaining a deeper understanding of identity content (Galliher et al., 2017).

At the same time, narratives are indicative of meaningful identity processes. Most broadly is the process of autobiographical reasoning, which is how individuals think about past events and link them to their current sense of self (Habermas & Köber, 2015; McAdams & McLean, 2013). One form of autobiographical reasoning that has been linked to identity development is meaning-making, which is the extent to which individuals reflect on the personal impact of past experiences in terms of what they have learned about the self or the world (McLean, 2015; McLean & Pratt, 2006). Indeed, meaning from diversity experiences can be about both the self, what they have learned about their own identities, but can also be about others, what they learn about the identities of other people or about how diversity functions in society more broadly (Pasupathi et al., 2007; Syed et al., 2011). Taken together, by examining the meaning-making process in the context of diversity experiences we can then understand not only what the experience was, but also how individuals made sense of those experiences and linked to their understanding of their self and others.

The Swedish context

Examination of identity content requires an attention to the context in which the identity is experienced. The current study is situated in the Swedish cultural context. At the macro-level Sweden is ethnically diverse, with approximately 25.5% of the total population either born in another country or with both parents born outside of Sweden (Statistics Sweden, 2019). At the micro-level, however, Sweden is segregated, with high residential and school segregation along the lines of non-immigrants vs. immigrants and their direct descendants (Pettersson, 2003). Sweden has been ranked as having the most integration-friendly policies out of 56 countries (MIPEX, 2020), but official data on discrimination, employment, and educational levels shows that rights and opportunities are not equal. Generally, tolerance of immigrants is high, but since a migration peak in 2015 there has been increased polarization, and political movements toward more restrictive migration policies (Demker, 2016). Recently, gang-related violence and shootings have increased, especially among young men between the ages of 18 and 24 (BRÅ, 2020), which has intensified calls for political action. For socio-historical reasons, “race” as a concept has essentialistic and biological connotations, and is not used officially. The concept of “ethnicity” is acceptable, but not well acknowledged or defined. Only relatively recently have the concepts of “racialized” and “ethnified” gained ground, thereby recognizing the imbalance of power and structural discrimination due to phenotypic variability (Wikström, 2009). More often, there is a dichotomy where the constructed category of “immigrants” is contrasted and negotiated against “Swedes” (Gyberg et al., 2018; Svensson & Syed, 2019). As the context will influence both the content and the processes of ethnic identity (Rogers et al., 2020), we simultaneously examined both as related to participants’ experience of ethnic diversity in the Swedish macro- and micro contexts in the current study. Doing so it is possible to understand identity development in a way that attends to both universal and context-specific elements (Gyberg et al., 2018).

The present study

The purpose of the present study was to examine how young people in Sweden a) experience diversity and b) link those diversity experiences to their identities. Using a narrative approach, we explored the subjective experience of diversity and the meaning for identity work that was derived from those experiences. This approach not only allows us to describe the types of experiences of diversity that individuals have but also begins to identify the processes or mechanisms that associate those experiences with their identities. As the experiences of diversity are likely to differ for people in a segregated and socially stratified society, we qualitatively analyzed the narratives based on the dimensions of proximity and differentiation to further explore for whom, in relation to which in- and out-groups, and where these experiences took place. Doing so will deepen our understanding of how diversity experiences are related to ethnic identity development. To this end, we pursued the following research questions:

1. What are the type of experiences related to ethnic diversity that young people in Sweden describe?

2. What meaning do youth make of their diversity experiences, both for their own and for others’ ethnic identities?”

3. What type of diversity experiences are related to which kind of meaning?

Method

Participants

The current data was drawn from a larger project designed to explore ethnic identity in Sweden, the Gothenburg research on ethnicity-related experiences and identity narratives (GREEN; see, Gyberg et al., 2018). The total sample consisted of 710 participants (Mean age = 20.46), of which 394 attended secondary school (age 15–19), and 316 participants attended university (age 19–46). Gender was assessed using an open-ended question allowing the participants to define their gender identity with their own words. In the total sample, 508 (71.5%) identified as female, 197 (27.7%) as male, 3 (0.4%) as “other,” and 2 (0.3%) did not give an answer. Self-defined ethnic identity/identities was assed using an open-ended question. The full answers were included in relation to the interpretation of the narratives, and coded into the three categories of “majority” “minority” and “mixed majority/minority” status (see below). Of the total sample, 431 defined as majority (Swedish; 60.7%), 61 with an ethnic identity other than Swedish (8.6%), 153 identified with both a Swedish and one or more other ethnic identities (21.5%). A further 53 did not answer the question (7.5%), and 12 participants (1.7%) wrote answers indicating that they do not, or do not want to identify with an ethnic identity (“none,” “world citizen,””mother, student”).

A subsample of 210 participants (29.6% of total sample) were randomized to answer the specific prompt used in the current study. Given the wide age range in the total sample (15–46), we restricted the current sample to an age range of 15 to 29, resulting in a sample of 197 participants included in the current analyses. Of them, 150 identified as female (76%), 45 as male (23%), 1 as “other” (0.5%), and 1 did not answer (0.5%). Self-defining their ethnic identity/identities, 129 defined as majority (Swedish; 65.5%), 20 with an ethnic identity other than Swedish (10.2%), 46 identified with both a Swedish and one or more other ethnic identities (23.4%), and two did not answer the question (1%). The self-defined ethnic identities that were not Swedish the most frequent were: Finnish (n= 8), Iranian (n= 7), Arab (n= 6), Kurdish (n= 4), Italian (n= 4), German (n= 4), English/British (n= 4), and American (n= 3).

Procedure

Data were collected at upper secondary education and universities in the West and South of Sweden. Schools and classes with pronounced diversity among their students were selected and contacted to participate in the study. Trained research assistants visited the classrooms, and administered the survey. The participants were informed about the aim of the project; that participation was voluntary and anonymous, and that they could withdraw their participation at any time. Participants either filled out a paper-and-pen version of the questionnaire during class or received a link to an online-questionnaire to conduct at home. The questionnaire took about 40 minutes to complete, and the participants did not receive any compensation for taking part in the study. The Ethics Board of University of Minnesota, USA, approved the study.

Measures

Self-defined ethnic identity

Participants defined their own ethnic identities by answering an open-ended question and listing the ethnic identity/identities that they identified with. Due to the unfamiliarity with the concept of ethnic identities in Sweden, a sample definition was given orally and written in the questionnaires (Diskrimineringsgrunderna, 2012).

Majority/minority/mixed status

To simplify group difference comparisons, the participants self-defined ethnic identities were coded into three categories; Swedish (majority); Swedish and one or more other ethnicities (mixed); and one or more ethnicities other than Swedish (minority).

Ethnic narrative prompt

Participants were asked to recall and write about a time in their lives, positive or negative, when they became aware of their ethnicity, and to include information about where the event took place, who they were with, what they felt, and how they reacted. The same prompt has been used in previous studies to explore the ethnicity-related narratives (Syed & Azmitia, 2008, 2010) including Swedish samples (Syed et al., 2018; Svensson & Syed, 2019).

Plan of analyses

We employed a narrative approach in the current study, and used the four dimensions of the framework for studying ethnically diverse settings proposed by Syed et al. (2018). Perspective was taken into account by using a narrative approach, as participants wrote about their subjective experiences related to diversity. First, we coded the whole sample for those who wrote about ethnic diversity in their narratives. The dimension of heterogeneity was then coded as the content of that experience, that is, what experiences of diversity that were described in the narratives. The narratives that included experiences of diversity were further analyzed qualitatively based on the remaining dimensions of the framework; proximity was analyzed in terms of the setting of the described experience (e.g., neighborhood, city, country) and differentiation was analyzed based on the self-defined in-group of the narrator, and when applicable, the out-group(s) described in the narrative. As ethnic identities are dynamic and can vary over time and settings (Jugert et al., 2021), so will self-defined in- and outgroups. It is therefore important to allow participants to self-defined the ethnic reference groups that are relevant in a specific setting.

To get a more in-depth understanding of the processes behind the relationship of diversity and ethnic identity formation we conducted thematic analyses concerning the meaning the participants derived from the diversity experience. Meaning refers to what one gleans from, learns, or understands from an event (McLean & Thorne, 2003) and meaning making was coded as present in the narratives when the narrators described taking something with them from the experience. The meaning derived could be what the narrators have learned about their own identities (self-event), or about what the participants learned about the identities of other people or about how diversity functions in society more broadly (group-event; Pasupathi et al., 2007; Syed et al., 2011).

Finally, answering the third research question, we combined the type of diversity event with the derived meaning, and further analyzed the combinations based on the dimensions of differentiation and proximity of the context. By exploring the in and out-groups described and the settings in which the diversity experience took place, we could begin to understand who is learning what out of experiencing diversity.

Coding procedure

The thematic coding followed a frequently used procedure in narrative research (McLean & Fournier, 2008). All narratives were transcribed and the first author conducted thematic analyses on a subsample of all narratives. The emerging themes were discussed and tested on a subsample by both authors. Following these discussions, the first author prepared a preliminary coding manual, which was then tested on a second subsample, evaluated by both authors, and altered when necessary. Finally, all narratives were coded based on the final version of the coding manual. Throughout the coding process, we strived for research reflexivity (Finlay, 2008). The first author identifies with a majority Swedish identity, and the second author as a Mixed-ethnic American man. We discussed our preunderstandings and experiences, and to the degree it is possible, tried to be aware of how they affected the interpretation of the data.

Results & discussion

The diversity experience

Sixty-two participants (31.5%) wrote about ethnic diversity in their narratives. Of them, 51 identified as female (82.3%), and 45 self-identified with a Swedish majority identity (72.6%), 10 with a mixed majority/minority identity (16.1%), and 7 with an ethnic minority (11.3%), a distribution that corresponds with the overall sample. Chi-square analyses showed no age, gender or ethnic identity differences in who wrote about diversity, suggesting that diversity was related to ethnic identity content for all, regardless of background.

Type of diversity experience

The narratives that included an experience of diversity were coded for what that experience was about. Thus, heterogeneity content was analyzed using a thematic analysis of the type of experience described. The analyses resulted in three main themes, each with two subthemes, all described and with example narratives below. In order to get a deeper understanding of for whom, in what setting and in relation to which in- and out-groups youth experience diversity, we further analyzed the themes based on differentiation (the in- and out groups) and the proximity of the setting(s) in which diversity was experienced.

Experiencing diversity

The largest main theme consisted of stories where the narrator described being either in an ethnically diverse or an ethnically homogenous setting. The focus in these narratives are on the ethnic composition of the context, either being diverse or not, as described in the two subthemes.

Ethnically diverse event

The largest subtheme consisted of stories where the narrator experienced being in an ethnically diverse setting, and included experiences of meeting people, or groups of people from different ethnic or cultural backgrounds, and noticing the diversity in the setting. The example item is written by a female participant, self-identifying as “Swedish”;

It was probably in school when I first realized that everyone had different backgrounds and ethnicities. Not because we read about it but because it became so obvious in a way that I cannot explain. Those with a foreign background belonged to one group. I think I was somewhere around age 8 when it became so clear, maybe nothing I noticed then but now when I think about it, it was very divided into groups depending on background.

The narrative illustrates the most common narrative written by those who self-identified with the majority, in which they wrote about experiencing diversity first hand for the first time, meeting out-groups in educational settings, from kindergarten to university. The outgroup are then referred to “immigrants” “people with another cultural background,” “foreign people” “not Swedish,” thereby reflecting the lack of accepted concepts in the Swedish macro setting, as in many other European countries where “race” is taboo (Juang et al., 2021). For example, in a study exploring the everyday experiences of racial and/or national identity among White Dutch students, it was found that they recognized inequalities due to race, but expressed them in terms of ethnicity, citizenship, national identity, or western superiority and civilization, and avoided references to skin color and whiteness because of their “racial” connotation (Essed & Trienkens, 2008).

Lack of ethnic diversity

The narratives that concerned experiences of a lack of ethnic diversity often described spending time in a setting where everyone has the same ethnicity, such as a homogenous neighborhood or school. All narratives in the subtheme were written by narrators who self-defined as majority Swedes and expressed homogenous, “all Swedish” context in close proximity, like a school or a village. One young woman, self-identifying as “Swedish,” described the lack of diversity when growing up: “I grew up in a Swedish community and the most ‘exotic’ was the owner of the pizzeria in the village and some children who were adopted. I had not really come into contact with other cultures.” In the narrative the outgroup is described as “exotic” which could be seen as an example of “exotification,” where the “others” are seen as exciting feature in a society, and a common view in the Swedish macro context that “culture” and “ethnic” is something that “others” have.

Changing diversity of the context

A second main theme concerned changes in the diversity of the setting. In these stories there is clear before and after, including a change from a homogenous to a more ethnically diverse setting. The main theme was divided into two subthemes.

Transitioning to diversity

The subtheme included stories were the narrator him/herself transitioned from a homogenous to a more diverse setting, and then realizing the difference. Expressed like this by a woman, self-identifying as Swedish;

From grade one to six, I attended a small, quiet school with people who were very much like myself when it came to their ethnic belonging. This made me never think about how big a part it was of me, because it felt like everyone was the same. However, when I started in high school, this changed. People came from all sorts of schools and suddenly you differed much more from other people. I think it was only then I started to become aware of it and how much it defines certain people. But apart from the fact that it was a bit unfamiliar, I did not react much to it at all.

The quote exemplifies the majority of the stories in the subtheme, where leaving a close proximity setting meant increased diversity, especially for those who identified as majority Swedes. Common stories described transitioning from a smaller to a larger school, or moving from a smaller town or the countryside to a bigger city, and thereby being exposed to diversity. This is consistent with extant research showing that all type of changes, like moving to a new geographical location or school transitions, are consciousness-raising experiences as they introduce encounters with new, more varied social circles, expectations and perspectives (French et al., 2000; Rogers et al., 2021). In Sweden, a freedom of choice was introduced as the responsibility for the compulsory schools shifted from the government to local authorities in 2004, resulting in increased ethnic school segregation (Trumberg, 2011). When given a choice, many minority students transitioned to traditionally white, high status inner city school, which was followed by “white flight” when majority students then in turn transitioned to other schools (Bunar & Kallstenius, 2007).

Diversity is moving in

The second subtheme concerned experiences of when the composition of an already exiting group is changing due to new people entering. This included events such as when friendship was formed with someone from another ethnic background and thereby changing the diversity of the existing friendships, or like in the following quote where a female participant, self-identifying as “Swedish” describe when the first refuges moved to the homogenous village;

To be honest, I do not really remember. I grew up in a very homogeneous community in northern Sweden, so I may have seen people of other ethnicities on television. Or maybe Mom said something about it. Maybe it was when our little village received its first group of refugees, with a completely different language and uncommon names. That was the first time I might have reflected on the fact that I was Swedish. I was around 11 then.

All narratives in the subtheme were written by self-defined Swedes, and the out-groups referred to “the others” bringing diversity into a homogenous settings in close proximity, like the new neighbor who was adopted from Kenya, the first refugees who came to town, or getting a new classmate with “another” background.

Being diversity

The third main theme included stories where the narrator described “being the diversity.” This theme is different from the Experiencing diversity theme, as the focus is on the narrator in the context, always referring to the own person in relation to diversity of the setting. Two subthemes were found, where most described experiences of being the minority in the setting and a few describing being the majority in a setting.

Being the minority

The subtheme included stories where the narrator described experiencing being the numerical minority in that setting, in the way that most, or everyone in that setting had another ethnicities than the narrator. Narratives in the subtheme “Being minority” were written by narrators from all self-defined in-groups (majority, minority and mixed) and referred to close proximity settings, like the school or the neighborhood. For youth who self-identified with a majority identity these experiences took place in close proximity setting, while youth who identified with a mixed/minority identity, experienced being the minority both at the macro and micro levels. The narrators described experiences of standing out, being different or “wrong” in the setting. A female participant, identifying as “Arab when in Sweden, but as Swedish when I am outside of Sweden as well as in my passport” (coded as having mixed ethnic identities), wrote the following in her narrative;

When I was in fourth grade, 9/10 years old. It was February, and that is when I for the first time wore my hijab to school. I was afraid of the reaction of my classmates and I went to school with a hoody on, at the tram so that no one in my class would see that I was wearing a veil. I felt very different and outside, as if I was a completely different “race” and it felt like everyone was looking at me all the time. But luckily no one reacted to it, not that I could see anyway and I felt more normal. To me hijab is nothing uncommon since all of the women in my family wear it, but I don’t know what feelings and opinions other people have about hijab.

The narrative illustrates that being Swedish is the norm, and that wearing a hijab made her feel like she was deviating from that norm. Even though this was common and normal experience for her in the close proximity of the family, in less proximal settings, such as school and on the tram she feels different. Hiding her hijab, the fear of being watched, her worries about the reactions and opinions of others, and the relief when no one reacted are all examples of minority stress, referring to the psychological stress of people with minority identities who are constantly aware of their minority status, and being the subject of prejudice and structural discrimination (Smedley et al., 1993).

The narrator’s self-defined ethnic identity above further illustrates two important aspects of ethnic identity of minority youth. First, ethnic identities are dynamic and changes with the setting (Jugert et al., 2021), and for those identifying with mixed ethnic identities highlights the importance of including both the dimensions of differentiation and perspective, allowing the participants to define their own in-group (Syed et al., 2018). Second, she refers to her passport in her answer, reflecting that in Sweden self-defined identities are not considered enough but needs to be argued based on formal and official criteria, such as being a citizen, having a passport, or their official membership “on paper” (Svensson & Syed, 2019), highlighting the structural constraints on identity imposed on minority groups.

Being the majority

The subtheme included stories where the narrator experienced being in the numerical majority in a setting, that is, when most or all others in the setting had the same ethnicity as the narrator, for example, identifying as Swedish in a school described as “all Swedish.” A 20 year old, male participant expressed it like; “I have never felt that I have any ethnic identity. That could be because I belong to the majority and therefore never thought deeper about it,” an experience that is further emphasized in his self-defined ethnic identity;

“Swedish” I guess. As part of the majority society, I do not believe that ethnic identity is something that has played a greater role for me. In my opinion, there has not really been a conflict between different socio-cultural traditions as I have adopted the norms and habits of the “majority society”.

All narratives in the subtheme were written by self-defined majority Swedes, and most of them express how a majority status position makes it possible to refrain from conscious reflection about an own ethnic identity, or what role it plays in their life, or in society in general (Jugert et al., 2021).

Making meaning of the diversity experience

The second research question concerned the type of meaning that the participant made out of their diversity experiences. Results showed that 55 of the 62 narratives (87%) included some sense of meaning, where the participants derived meaning that concerned themselves (self event, n = 36), and about others (group event, n = 19). The thematic analyses resulted in four main themes and two subthemes, described and with example below.

Self-event connection

“Where do I belong?” – issues of belonging

The first theme of self-event connections concerned issues of belonging. The meaning derived then concerned “the self in connection to groups,” thereby positioning oneself in relation to in- and out groups, where the derived meaning concerned issues of “where do I belong?,” often in relation to divisions of “us” and “them.” One female participant, self-identifying as “Swedish and Finnish” (mixed) wrote the following narrative;

I was in grade seven when I realized that my ethnicity was significant. I then lived in a segregated area with strong group formations. The school was divided into students with other ethnic backgrounds, and students who were ethnically Swedish. I was in some kind of middle layer, because I felt neither Swedish nor Finnish. I felt divided and did not know which side to choose. I finally chose to hang out with the group of students who had a different ethnicity. In the group there was mixed ethnicities such as Bosnia, Iraq, and Palestine. I was quickly accepted by the group due to my ethnic background, but since I also self-identified as Swedish, I reacted with hatred to anti-Swedish views expressed in this group of friends. I tried to end the friendship with the group, which led to me being excluded. I solved the situation by changing to a school that was less segregated, and started to hang out with students who saw themselves as ethnic Swedish.

The narrative exemplifies the ambivalence with which the narrator, self-identifying with both a Swedish and a Finnish identity experienced being “some kind of middle layer” and trying to find her in-group.

“Who am I?” – own ethnic identity

The second main theme included stories where the meaning concerned exploration of the narrators own ethnic identity. The meaning derived thus addressed issues such as “Who am I?” and “What does it mean for me to be X”? Within the main theme, two subtheme emerged:

“This is me!”- enhanced ethnic identity

The subtheme included stories where the meaning making concerned an enhanced ethnic identity, that is where the diversity of the context made the participant feel a strong sense of identity. A young woman, self-identifying as “I say that I am Iranian here in Sweden, but that I am Swedish when I travel to Iran” and thereby coded as having mixed ethnic identities, expressed her enhanced ethnic identity like this; “When I was younger I identified much more as a Swede, but I lived in a suburb and those around me where mainly immigrant, so I started to stand up for my background and say that I immigrant too.”

The enhanced identity she describes standing up for in the narrative above is an “immigrant identity,” where the in-group of “other immigrants” provide a sense of comradery and belongingness, described in other Swedish studies (Adolfsson, 2021). Interestingly, in her self-defined ethnic identity answer, she is identifying as “Swedish” or “Iranian” depending on the setting, but in her narrative the ambivalence is between “Swede” and “immigrant,” further emphasizing the difference between macro and micro settings, and the importance of studying self-defined ethnic identities in and across multiple settings.

Unreflected ethnic identity

A second subtheme included stories where the derived meaning concerned unquestioned and unreflected ethnic identities. The narrative were often short, and unelaborate as they are mainly making a statement, and there is seldom “much to talk about,” like in this example narrative;

It was probably quite late that I became aware of my ethnicity. I come from a small village with few people who have not lived in the village for at least three generations, so there was never much that was “not Swedish”. I can’t really point out a single occasion, being Swedish does not mean much more to me than the country I live in and the language I speak.

All of the narratives in this theme were written by majority members, and illustrates a common experience of majority Swedes of being the norm at the macro level, thereby not recognizing their own, or the general role of ethnic identities in a society. It has been found previously that majority members are less aware of their ethnic identities and the privileges that come with their majority status as they have been less “forced” to explore their identities (Juang et al., 2021; Jugert et al., 2021; Svensson et al., 2017), and that the lack of identity exploration of the majority upholds the status quo (Essed & Trienkens, 2008).

Group-event connection

New perspectives

The first group-event connection theme concerned meaning about others related to new perspectives. The meaning derived from the event then included changes in the way the narrator view others, or stories about learning something about how other people are, what they do or their traditions or cultural expressions. The derived meaning was then often superficial, like a brief acknowledging of a difference, or an increased awareness that there are “other” cultures. A female participant, self-identifying as “Swedish” describes an experience of attending a birthday party that differed from her previous experiences;

When you got older and ended up in larger school classes and started with leisure activities. Not all were Swedes and from Sweden, some come from other countries, etc. You could still hang out with them, but sometimes there were differences, for example, - when I was at a children’s party at a girl with a different ethnic background, we ate the same things, but we were not allowed to sit in the same bed and we ate cake with a fork. I was about 9 years old then and thought it was weird compared to what I was usually used to.

“We are all the same.”

This theme included stories where the derived meaning concerned issues of colorblindness, indicating that we are all the same or similar regardless of ethnic or cultural belonging, thereby ignoring, reducing, eliminating group memberships, or the consequences of such. All narratives in this theme were written by self-defined majority youth, and often included aspects of meeting people from another ethnicities or cultures, noticing the differences only to realize the similarities, like “in my eyes were are all alike,” or like expressed by this female participant, self-identifying as “Swedish”;

… I was initially negative against these three persons of other ethnicities because it was something new for me. Pretty soon I realized that they were just like me and my friends from the Swedish society. We had different cultures, different religions, different ethnicities, but we were very similar anyway.

This narrative and most narratives in this theme reflect an ideology of colorblindness in the Swedish macro context (Osanami Törngren, 2015). Colorblindness, that is, the reluctance to discuss topics related to ethnicity, race, and racism (Jugert et al., 2021), and the resistance to acknowledge that race and phenotypical differences matter, is the foundation of Swedish integration policy. Consequently, experiences of discrimination and racism of minority youth are attributed to cultural and ethnic differences (Osanami Törngren, 2015).

Relationship between experiencing diversity and meaning making

The third research question addressed how the subjective experiences of diversity was related to ethnic identity work, we combined the type of diversity event with the derived meaning, and qualitatively analyzed the relationship based on the dimensions of differentiation and proximity of the context. By further exploring the in- and out groups described and the settings in which the diversity was experienced, we can begin to understand who is learning what out of experiencing diversity.

Looking at the narratives where the derived meaning concerned the own ethnic identity, being in minority in a context was related to an enhanced ethnic identity for all, but the experiences differed in content depending on the self-defined in-group of the narrators. For those who identified with minority or mixed ethnic groups, the experiences concerned being the one who is “odd” or different in a context on a higher, general macro-level, and not tied to a specific setting. Experiences of direct and overt forms of racism and discrimination was also described. As expressed by a participant who self-identified as “Swedish but also Spanish as my mothers’ side is from Colombia”;

Ever since I was a child, I have felt that I stick out which has had its positive and negative parts/sides. I like who I am and my appearance but sometimes it can be hard to be the one who is different. For a long time when I was younger, I was called “the black sheep” or “baldey one”. I have been the black sheep among all white. Some days it has been easier not to give a shit but some days are heavier, it has also affected me very negatively. Today I don’t care as much, today I am happy not to look the same as everyone else.

In her narrative, she describes that she has now reached a place of strong ethnic identity, despite or because of experiences of discrimination and racism throughout her life. As such, all narratives in the theme expressed a positive meaning of the enhanced, strong ethnic identity, and often increased feelings of pride. A 17-year-old woman, expressed pride in her self-identified Kurdish identity, and her reluctance to hid or lie about her background, suggests a strong ethnic identity;

Ever since I was little we have celebrated our holidays and eaten special dishes, I lived as a child in Hofors where there are not many immigrants and I have always known that there was a difference between me and my kindergarten and school friends. But I am not ashamed and I am not sorry about it. I’m proud of my ethnic background and I do not think it should be something you hide or lie about to fit in.

For participants who self-identified with a majority Swedish identity, on the other hand, the experience of being in the minority mainly concerned living abroad and being in minority in that specific, micro-level context, resulting in an enhanced Swedish identity. For example, in a narrative written by a participant self-identifying as “Swedish” who during a limited time lived in Italy and then felt a stronger belongingness to her Swedish identity and to “all things Swedish.” The two subthemes illustrates how differentiation and proximity of the setting are intertwined. The subtheme “Being the majority” included stories of being in the majority on a macro-level, in society in general and was exclusively written by narrators who self-identified as Swedish. Thus, for youth who identify with a majority identity, diversity was mainly experienced momentary, in close proximity settings, that, to some extent can be selected. Those who identify with a minority or a mixed identity, on the other hand, described experiences of being in the numerical minority of being in the numerical minority in both macro and micro settings, as well as systematic, long-term minoritization that cannot be “deselected.”

For participants self-identifying with a minority identity, or even more so, for participants self-identifying with mixed majority-minority identity, the narratives concerned trying to find belonging to groups that are not clearly defined, not belonging to any, to several groups, or not being accepted by any in-group. The derived meaning then more often concerned not feeling belongingness or struggling to do so. Like in this narrative written by a female participant self-identifying as Somali, where experiencing diversity was associated with feelings of being excluded by both the in-group and out-group, being called derogatory out-group names by both;

The second semester in 7^th grade, I was called the n-word, and was called “Svenne” by my friends with the same ethnicity. Because I improved my Swedish, I was no longer Somali in their eyes. But I was not good enough for the Swedes who called me the n-word. 13 years old & confused.

This narrative reflects how the racialized concept of “Swedish” is used in opposition to all other ethnic identities, constructing a simplified division that induces “either-or-identities.” It has been found previously that Swedish youth do not use “hyphenated identities” to label themselves, but rather combine an ethnic identity and “Swedish” with the word “and” (Svensson & Syed, 2019).

These results suggest that identifying with minority and mixed minority/majority ethnic identities in Sweden is complicated by the language, as well as macro-level narratives about ethnic belonging. While some youth who self-identify with mixed ethnic identities struggle to fit in within this dichotomous division, others described their in-group as a unity of different migrant groups. The entity of ‘non-ethnically Swedish” have been found to provide a sense of comradery and belongingness for people with mixed ethnic backgrounds (Adolfsson, 2021), as well as experiences of being denied both their Swedish and other ethnic identity, and feelings of being in-between because of not being fully accepted by either group (Svensson et al., 2017). Part of this complexity could be better understood when taking the dimension of context and differentiation in account, as the current results show that the self-defined ethnic identities, as well as the in- and out-groups are dynamic and change with the setting.

The majority of those who experienced diversity made meaning of the event and learned something about themselves or others. However, while youth who self-identified with minority and mixed identities made meanings related to their own ethnic identities, the group-event connection themes were almost exclusively written by self-defined majority Swedes. The derived meaning then concerned learning something about “the others” – either that others are different in the theme “New Perspectives,” or that “they are similar to me” in the theme “We are all the same.” Others then referred to people with another ethnic or racial backgrounds met in a close proximity contexts. Like in one narrative, written by a self-defined Swedish woman, describing how transitioning to a diverse school lead to the conclusion that “I feel and know that we are all human and I feel more like a human being than a Swede.” All transition narratives described a change from a homogenous to a more diverse setting, never the opposite. These prior experiences are likely to affect how the diversity is experienced, as extant research has shown that “same” setting may be experienced differently depending on previous experiences of diversity. For example, Douglass and colleagues (2014) found that adolescents, who had experienced school transition with an accompanying change in racial/ethnic composition of the student body, derived different meanings and experienced intragroup contact differently than those who experienced transitions without a change in diversity. When majority members made meaning concerning themselves this included an enhanced or unreflected ethnic identity, often attributed to a lack of ethnic diversity in a setting in close proximity, or an experience of being in the numerical majority.

General discussion

In this study, we took a narrative approach to explore the subjective experience of diversity of young people in Sweden, and how these experiences were related to their ethnic identity development. Our aim was to describe the content of experiences of diversity that individuals have, as well as beginning to identify the associated processes and mechanisms. Results showed that participants included experiences of diversity in their ethnic-related life stories regardless of background, supporting that experiences of diversity triggers ethnic identity development. The majority of those who experienced diversity made meaning of it, and learned something about their own or others’ ethnic identities. However, both the experiences and the derived meanings were qualitatively different depending on whether the narrator self-defined with a majority, minority, or mixed ethnic identities, and on the context in which the experience occurred.

The current results have implications for theory and future research. They show how the four dimensions – heterogeneity, proximity, differentiation, and perspective- are all intertwined and need to be studied simultaneously, as they then show a complexity of diversity that would have been lost otherwise (Syed et al., 2018). The dimension of perspective, that is exploring diversity as a subjective experience, and differentiation in the use of self-defined in- and out groups was especially important for the current research aims. It has been found that objective and subjective measures do not fully overlap (Gyberg et al., 2018), and researcher should thus be careful to ascribe ethnic categories on their participant.

Further, the narrative approach offers a way to connect micro and macro settings, as the personal narratives reflect the macro context and vice versa (Syed, 2015). In Sweden, the ethnic/racial climate has shifted recently, which is visible in the content of ethnic/racial identities in the current study. As suggested by Rogers and colleagues, the types of experiences and information available to process are shaped by the sociopolitical moment, even more so than developmental age (Rogers et al., 2020, 2021). Close proximity settings, such as schools, peer groups, and neighborhoods, were the main settings in which diversity was experienced. This is not surprising given that these are the main settings in which the current age group spend time. However, policy changes such as the free school reform and housing reforms has increased segregation in Sweden, thereby offering fewer opportunities to experience diversity. The results indicate that experiences of diversity are triggers for ethnic identify exploration for all youth, but less so for majority youth. It is vital that ethnic identity exploration is promoted in a way that encourages an understanding of societal hierarchies based on ethnic and racial categories for all youth, including majority and White youth (Jugert et al., 2021). This might be even more important in a sociopolitical climate that is highly polarized, like contemporary Sweden, as majority youth has expressed struggles to explore their ethnic identities and feeling of pride, as expressions of being “Swedish” are associated with nationalistic and racist ideologies (Svensson & Syed, 2019). The development of youth’s own ethnic identities as well as a greater understanding of others are both important aspects of intergroup relations. However, the results show that experiencing diversity can be associated with both divisions of “us and them,” as well as social integration and a common “we.” Whereas some participants wrote about new in-groups being formed when met with diversity, other narratives concerned an initial uncertainty that in some cases led to closer interactions, but more often to stronger divisions between in- and out groups. Interpreted based on the Contact Hypothesis (Allport, 1954), diversity is necessary for social integration to take place, but is not enough in itself as meaningful interaction between groups are needed to foster intergroup relationships. Further analyses of the content of meaningful interactions would increase our understanding about when experiences of diversity are unifying and when they are not.

Some limitations of this study should be mentioned, as well as their implication for future research. First, given the general unfamiliarity with the concept of ethnic identity in Sweden, we had to include a definition with examples, thereby increasing the risk of restricting the participants’ interpretations and answers. This is the case in all research, and the narrative approach and the open-ended format of the questions allowed for wider and more subjective definitions than more structured methods. Second, the current sample was mainly female, and the sample size of youth with minority background was relatively small. Gender differences in content of ethnic identities have been scantly studied, and little support has been found for gender differences in the processes of ethnic identity (Rivas-Drake et al., 2014). However, given the double minority status of female participants with minority and/or mixed ethnic identities (Juang et al., 2021; Rogers et al., 2020) there will likely be variations due to gender in the experiences and meanings of diversity. To explore intersecting identities more systematically, larger samples of minority/mixed youth and with more equal gender distribution would be favorable.

Finally, in the current study, we asked the participants to recall experiences that happened, for some, years ago. However, as evident by the results, experiences of diversity are not equally distributed, as they are the normal, everyday experience for some, and a temporarily, one-time-off experience for others. The results further show that self-defined ethnic/racial identities are dynamic and fluid as they can vary between settings and over time. Thus, future research should consider daily-dairy methods (Torres & Ong, 2010), and other forms of in-person designs to fully understand the complex interactions of experiences of diversity and identity development.

Conclusion

The current study represents an important contribution to our understanding of how experiences of diversity are related to ethnic identity development for young people in segregated society. Although only about one-third of the full sample described experiences of ethnic diversity in their narratives, the majority of those made meaning of the event and learned something about their own or others’ ethnic identities. Importantly, the type of diversity experiences, where they took place, and the meaning derived from them were qualitatively different depending on whether the narrator self-defined with a majority, minority, or mixed ethnic identities. These differences highlight the structural conditions in Sweden, where youth from the majority have choice and agency around their experiences with diversity and how they make sense of them, whereas those in the minority are more constrained in their identity options, both by other people and by the broader society that largely defines ethnicity in binary terms (Swedish or immigrant). Whereas these kinds of observations have been made in the U.S. context, such an understanding for how structural contexts are related to identities is lacking in Sweden. The present study provides some initial evidence that taking structural contexts in account is crucial for understanding identity development in Sweden.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the participants for taking the time to participate and for sharing insights into their lives. We would also like to thank the researchers and research assistants involved in the GREEN project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available.

Additional information

Funding

Preparation of this manuscript was supported by an Innovative Small Grant from the Society for Research on Adolescence, a University of Minnesota Grant-in-Aid, and a University of Minnesota Grand Challenges Research Grant, all awarded to Moin Syed.