Identity in Somali American Young Adults: The Role of Context, Culture, and Community

Abstract

Acculturation and identity formation are complicated for Black immigrants due to the complexity of their identities and the socio-cultural landscape into which they are acculturating in the United States. Research has extended previous bidimensional paradigms, centering the mainstream and heritage culture, to also include relevant subcultures related to racial identity–a tridimensional paradigm. Little research, however, has focused on the experiences of Somali Americans. A tridimensional paradigm encompassing heritage, mainstream, and racial identity is useful but still does not provide a holistic framework to capture all aspects of Somali American identity which includes an additional fourth dimension, religious identity. Guided by narrative inquiry, I extended the research by exploring acculturation and identity formation in Somali American emerging adults. Using a secondary analysis in Study 1, I examined the existence of triculturality in Somali American emerging adults and whether they engaged in frame-switching and hybridizing in a tricultural context. I found evidence of both triculturality and frame-switching but not hybridizing. In Study 2, I worked to extend the tridimensional frame, by exploring the experiences of Somali American emerging adults as they navigate a quad-cultural identity (including religious identity) in a predominantly White state. Factoring in the role of remote enculturation and ethnic enclaves for fostering identity and belonging, I interviewed 10 Somali American emerging adults and acquired digital stories from another five. Although there was evidence of quad-cultural identity, it tended to be expressed triculturally, as their religious identity was subsumed into either their racial or ethnic identities. Additionally, I found that remote enculturation of the heritage identity tended to be gendered. Finally, while ethnic enclaves bolstered parental remote enculturation efforts, these seemed to fall short of preparing participants for the racialization they encountered through an external gaze based in a White racial frame that holds a singular view of Blackness. Importantly, across all narratives, there seemed to be little to no spaces that accommodated all aspects of Somali American identity. These findings have wide implications for parents, educators, community workers, researchers, and clinicians. These studies can generate insights that can further current understanding and better inform the development of supportive spaces that promote authentic, holistic identity expression.