Living with Multiple Cultural Identities and its Effects on Self- Esteem

The current research examines the role of balancing various cultural memberships during adolescence on identity development. We examine cultural coexistence abilities and internal cultural reconciliation as predictors of self-esteem in students living with multiple cultural identities. One hundred sixty university students (Mage = 19.23) completed the modified Multicultural Identity Integration (MII) Scale, the Multicultural Identity Integration Scale (MULTIIS), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). The analysis revealed that higher MII scores, which indicate lower cultural compatibility, were associated with lower self-esteem. Moreover, increased MULTIIS integration scores, signifying higher identity integration, were associated with improved self-esteem. However, self-esteem was not predicted by gender or age. These findings support the existence of a relationship between one’s capacity to hold multiple cultural identities and their self-esteem, but do not support previous findings linking gender to self-esteem.