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Passing on Identity: Exploring the Parental Role in Children's Ethnic Self-Identification
Miriam Feldhausen
Goethe-University Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Parental influence plays a crucial role in shaping children's ethnic self-identification, particularly in families with mixed ethnic backgrounds or migration histories.
Drawing on social identity theory and ethnic boundary-making perspectives, this study examines the patterns and dynamics of ethnic identity transmission from parents to children in Germany.
Using descriptive analysis, I investigate differences in ethnic self-identification of parents and children across ethnic groups and generational status in first- and second-generation immigrant families, considering the interplay of generational status and ethnic group membership.
Using a longitudinal approach on parent-child dyads, I examine how parental ethnic self-identification shapes children's identity formation over time and how parents transmit their ethnic identity to their child.
The analysis draws on longitudinal data from the Friendship and Identity in Schools (FIS) study and the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU-DE) to examine ethnic self-identification patterns over multiple waves of data. The analysis offers new insights into the intergenerational transmission of ethnic identity, highlighting the complex dynamics between parental influence, ethnic background, generational status, and children's identity development.
