| Adolescence is the time in which an individual struggles with whether they are going to accept their "roots" as a positive and essential part of their emerging identity or reject them in the interest of their own new self. Korean-American adolescents struggle with integrating the immensely different elements of Eastern and Western cultures while living in the U.S. Despite the difficulties in cultural integration among Korean-American adolescents, few empirical studies have been conducted about their bicultural ethnic identity development.;This current research study is grounded in social identity theory as a basis for developing a positive bicultural ethnic identity, in which a commitment to one's own ethnic identity is considered an important contributing factor.;This study uses a correlational design employing a survey methodology. One hundred sixty-one Korean-American, first or second generation, adolescents who are attending regular high school classes completed the survey questionnaire. The hypothesis tested in this study was: controlling for parents' education and respondent's age, gender and generation, adolescents are more likely to develop a bicultural ethnic identity when they perceive that parents encourage both American and Korean identity, and they perceive social support from friends and are exposed to a culturally diverse neighborhood.;The bivariate analysis indicated that there was a linear relationship between bicultural ethnic identity development and generation, exposure to multicultural ethnic neighborhood and parent encouragement. The multiple regression analysis revealed that generation, perceived parents' encouragement, and exposure to a multicultural neighborhood have a significant impact on the development of bicultural ethnic identity.;A limitation of this study was the lack of randomization and the cross-sectional survey questionnaire. Even though many immigrant families are affiliated with local churches, participants from churches cannot be considered representative of the general population. A mixed methodology in which in-depth interviews went along with the survey study would enrich and substantiate the findings. The findings have implications for understanding the factors for Korean-American adolescents' bicultural ethnic identity development and provide cultural in-service training guidelines for non-Korean social workers and educators. |
