A Qualitative Analysis of Vietnamese Adolescent IdentityExploration Within and Outside an Ethnic Enclave

摘要

Focusing on identity development explorationsenables a greater understanding of contexts that affectimmigrant adolescents. Utilizing thematic and groundednarrative analysis of 46 journal writings, during a one-month period, from first and second generation Vietnameseadolescents ranging in age from 15 to 18 (26 residents of aculturally and politically active ethnic enclave in SouthernCalifornia; 20 adolescents living outside the enclave), thisstudy establishes ways in which a focus on social contextand exploration processes illuminates the complexity ofimmigrant adolescents' identity formation. The two groupsshared many similarities, including precipitants to explo-ration and steps undertaken to explore identity. However,two factors—social and cultural influences and emotionalreactions—revealed interesting contrasts distinguishingenclave from non-enclave dwelling Vietnamese adoles-cents. Data also suggested that immigrant adolescentsstrive to integrate different domains of identity (ethnicity,gender, career) both with one another and with the his-torical, social, and cultural contexts they occupy.