Reenvisioning ethnic-racial identity: Asian Indian American experiences.

Abstract

Identity formation among immigrant communities, particularly for ethnic-racial minorities like Asian Indian Americans, is a multifaceted process. Shaped by preimmigration histories of British colonization and the caste system and the Indian diasporic postimmigration, experiences of physical and psychological displacement alongside racism in the United States contribute to the complexity of identity for this community. Although existing racial and ethnic identity models offer valuable frameworks, they may not fully capture the nuanced in-between spaces created by the intersectionality of ethnicity and race for Asian Indian Americans in the United States. Drawing from psychological critical race theory (CRT), Asian CRT, DesiCRT, and colonial mentality framework, this article proposes a unique identity model tailored to Asian Indian American experiences. Drawing from recent research, the model illuminates the dynamics of pre- and postimmigrant frictions in the negotiations and coping inherent in Asian Indian American identity formation. By using a multidimensional lens that captures tensions between ethnic identities based in sociopolitical histories and dominant societal categorizations and racism in the United States, this model aims to provide a more comprehensive and strength-based understanding of Asian Indian American identity development across the lifespan of multiple generations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).