Constructions of self-identification: children of immigrants in Sweden

This paper is about self-identification by a sample of young people with various migrant backgrounds in Sweden. In a survey we asked them how they present themselves to others in different contexts (in their schools and neighbourhoods or when they are out of Sweden). Our findings suggest that young people's identification is not fixed. The paths to these various forms of identification are shaped by a variety of individual (class background, parents' country of origin) and social factors (friendship networks and school composition). The results indicate that those who identified themselves as Swedish or hyphenated tended to be quite similar as regards their other characteristics, while those who presented themselves with the parents' birth country or religious affiliation have very little in common.