Ethnic identity, self-identified ethnicity and psychological wellbeing among young adults with immigrant background: A cross-sectional study in a Swedish context

Sammanfattning: The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between ethnic identity, self-identified ethnicity and psychological wellbeing among young adults with an immigrant background. An additional purpose was to perform preliminary validation analyses of a Swedish language version of the Revised Multi-group Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM-R). Data was collected using a cross-sectional web-survey involving the MEIM-R, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and questions about participants’ socio-demographic background. The sample consisted of 183 adults (aged between 18-36). Overall, respondents reported lower degrees of exploration and commitment to their ethnic identity compared to previous research. In contrast to prior international studies, no significant correlation was found between psychological wellbeing and ethnic identity or self-identified ethnicity. The discrepancies were mainly attributed to differences in sample characteristics, cultural/contextual factors and methodological aspects. As the Swedish language version of the MEIM-R showed adequate psychometric properties, the current study suggests that the MEIM-R is appropriate for use in a Swedish context, hopefully promoting further research of ethnic aspects of identity in Sweden.