The Relationship between Ethnic Identity and Psychological Health: A Meta-Analytic Review

by Grant, Julie Hewatt

Ethnic identity, or ones feelings of belongingness and affirmation with ones ethnic group, has been postulated to be related to ones psychological health. Specifically, it is thought that stronger ethnic identity is related to better psychological health. In order to fully investigate this relationship, a meta-analytic review and analysis was conducted utilizing all previous research on the relationship between ethnic identity and psychological health. This study sought to examine this relationship in more detail by dividing psychological health into two areas: 1) psychological functioning, and 2) psychological dysfunction. Both of these categories were examined and analyzed separately utilizing a random effects model. Results indicated a significant relationship between ethnic identity and psychological health. Additionally, ethnic identity was shown to be significantly and inversely related to psychological dysfunction. Several moderators (age, gender, publication status, type of ethnic identity measure, ethnic group membership) were tested for their respective effects on these relationships. For ethnic identity and psychological health, several variables moderated this relationship, including publication status, ethnic identity measure, and ethnic group membership. For ethnic identity and psychological dysfunction, the following variables moderated the relationship: age, gender, ethnic identity measure, and ethnic group membership. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.