The importance of race and ethnicity: An exploration of New Zealand Pākehā, Māori, Samoan and Chinese adolescent identity.

Abstract

This mixed-method study used a survey to examine the self-identifications, feelings of connectedness and diverse content of adolescents' racial-ethnic identities (REI). Using Phinney and Ong's (2007) revised multi-dimensional ethnic identity model (MEIM-R) , Oyserman, Gant, & Ager's (1995) tripartite interactive model (TIM), and two open-ended response items; this study surveyed the racial-ethnic self-identifications and content of 695 Year 9 students from five multi-ethnic urban high schools in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. This age group (13-14 years old) was chosen because early adolescence is a critical time when adolescents must make sense of their place among the social groupings and racial-ethnic categories that exist in society and, more importantly for them, at school. The analysis in this study focuses on a comparison between four racial-ethnic groupings: New Zealand Pakeha, Maori, Samoan and Chinese.