Navigating Hyphenated Identities: Stages of Identity Formation Among Second-Generation Ethiopian Americans
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66815/ejecs/2805Keywords:
Identity development, second generation, Black immigrants, Ethiopian AmericanAbstract
This study examines the development of hyphenated identities among second-generation Ethiopian Americans. While prior research documents how children of Black immigrants navigate ethnic options, few studies trace how these identities evolve over time. No study has traced this trajectory in a stage-specific manner for East African second-generation Americans. Drawing on mixed-methods data from 22 participants, including retrospective surveys and in-depth interviews analyzed using the constant comparison method, the study reveals how individuals negotiate belonging across family, Ethiopian enclaves, and U.S. racial contexts. Extending MEIM-R within a life-course framework, the findings identify a four-stage progression: an Ethiopian-centered “unexamined” identity in childhood; a contested adolescent phase marked by racialization and ambivalence; an emergent early-adulthood stage shaped by transnational ties and co-ethnic networks; and a resolution stage characterized by tricultural Ethiopian American identification. This study specifies a life-course trajectory of hyphenated identity in an East African context, showing Black multiplicity unfolds through processes shaped by parental enculturation, transnational engagement, and responses to racial homogenization. Rather than a temporary label, hyphenated Ethiopian American identity emerges as a durable tricultural outcome. These findings underscore the importance of recognizing Black immigrant-origin identities in educational, counseling, and policy contexts.
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