Ethnic-racial identity in Sweden: Dimensionality, measurement invariance, and psychosocial adjustment.

Abstract

This study examines ethnic-racial identity (ERI) among majority and minority adolescents in Sweden, focusing on the dimensionality and measurement invariance of ERI subscales, and how the ERI dimensions across these subscales relate to psychosocial adjustment. Using data from 665 Swedish adolescents, we assessed the structure and invariance of six ERI subscales commonly used in ERI research via confirmatory factor analysis. Most subscales showed acceptable structure (with some modifications) and metric invariance across groups, while scalar invariance was fully supported for only one subscale and partially for others. Five ERI dimensions were identified in the subscales: centrality, belonging-affirmation, clarity, exploration, and public regard. We examined how these dimensions related to well-being, interpersonal trust, institutional trust, and generativity. Belonging-affirmation and public regard were positively associated with well-being in both groups. Among majority youth, belonging-affirmation was additionally positively associated with interpersonal trust, institutional trust, and generativity, whereas public regard was positively associated with institutional trust and generativity. Among minority youth, public regard was additionally positively associated with interpersonal and institutional trust. Centrality was negatively associated with well-being and institutional trust among minority adolescents. Exploration was positively associated with generativity in both groups and negatively associated with institutional trust among minority youth. These findings underscore ERI as a psychosocially relevant construct in the Swedish context and highlight how the contextualized experiences of majority and minority adolescents can shape both their interpretation of the ERI construct and its associations with psychosocial adjustment.