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Cultural Identity and Experiences of Prejudice and Discrimination of Afghan and Iranian Immigrant Youth

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Abstract

In culturally diverse and immigrant receiving societies, immigrant youth can be subject to prejudice and discrimination. Such experiences can impact on immigrant youth’s cultural identity and influence their psychosocial outcomes. This paper presents findings of a study that examined cultural identity and experiences of prejudice and discrimination among Afghan (N = 9) and Iranian (N = 17) immigrant youth in Canada. The study had a prospective, comparative, longitudinal qualitative design. Data was gathered through focus groups, interviews, journals and field logs. Four main themes emerged on participants’ experiences of prejudice and discrimination: (a) societal factors influencing prejudice; (b) personal experiences of discrimination; (c) fear of disclosure and silenced cultural identity; and (d) resiliency and strength of cultural identity. Drawing from Rosenberg’s (Conceiving the self, Basic Books, New York, 1979) self-concept framework and Romero and Roberts (J. Adolesc., 21:641–656, 1998) distinction between prejudice and discrimination, results indicated that youth’s extant and presenting cultural identity were affected. Inclusive policies and practices are needed to promote youth integration in multicultural and immigrant receiving settings.

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Notes

  1. The term youth is used here interchangeably with the term adolescent and is related to middle adolescence (grades 9–10) and late adolescence (grades 11–12). The secondary school period, instead of chronological age is suggested to capture the psycho-social developmental tasks associated with this period of development.

  2. Dilmaghani (1999) believes that the actual Iranian population is larger than is captured by Statistics Canada. Due to multiple ethnicities, including Kurds, Turks, Asurians and Armenians, some Iranians may not identify their ethnicity as Iranian.

  3. Based on place of birth.

  4. One participant was a 25 year old undergraduate student, however given his interesting experiences and perspectives he was included in the study.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada under its standard research grants. Details are as follows: Khanlou (Principal Investigator), Siemiatycki and Anisef (Co-Investigators), Immigrant youth and cultural identity in a global context (2003–2006). The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Paul Anisef and Dr. Myer Siemiatycki (Co-Investigators) and Amy Bender and Stephanie de Young (Research Assistants) through the various stages of the study.

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  1. LSB Faculty of Nursing and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Nazilla Khanlou, Jane G. Koh & Catriona Mill

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  1. Nazilla Khanlou
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  2. Jane G. Koh
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  3. Catriona Mill
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Correspondence to Nazilla Khanlou.

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Khanlou, N., Koh, J.G. & Mill, C. Cultural Identity and Experiences of Prejudice and Discrimination of Afghan and Iranian Immigrant Youth. Int J Ment Health Addiction 6, 494–513 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-008-9151-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-008-9151-7

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