Of course, restricting respondents to providing a single choice of descriptors may not be the best way of assessing full ethnic identity. For example, an individual may identify most strongly with being Canadian, and thus select the single descriptor Canadian, yet still identify relatively strongly with an ethnic origin as well. Thus, respondents were also asked to independently rate the degree to which they identified with each of the descriptors. In this case, responses were not mutually exclusive – for example, respondents could indicate that they identified strongly with all four descriptors. Overall, 82% of respondents strongly identified with being Canadian, with individuals born in Canada slightly more likely to show this strong identification. Similarly, 58% of respondents strongly identified with their province of residence, with Canadian-borns (61%) more likely to do so than foreign-borns (48%). Again, this strong provincial identification was especially likely to exist among French respondents in Qu bec. In contrast, only 26% of respondents strongly identified with being Hyphenated-Canadians and 23% strongly identified with Ethnic Origin only. In both of these latter cases, individuals born outside of Canada were more likely to show these strong identifications (Hyphenated-Canadian: foreign-born 37%, Canadian-born 25%; Ethnic Origin only: foreign-born 31%, Canadian-born 22%).
These results suggest that for most Canadians, especially those born in Canada, ethnic origins are not a strong part of identity. This is consistent with the suggestion that ethnic origins are not particularly salient for most Canadians, and that identification with ethnic origins tends to decline with successive generations. However, it is important to note that these findings are at the level of symbolic ethnic identity, and not behavioural ethnic identity. Although potentially related, one or the other of these two forms of identity may be retained independently. For example, an individual may practise ethnic traditions, but not have strong feelings of attachment to the ethnic group. Thus, although many Canadians may have weak symbolic ethnic identities, it is unclear what their behavioural ethnic identities may be. It has been suggested that behavioural ethnic identity declines over successive generations at an even faster rate than does symbolic ethnic identity. However, it is also the case that ethnic traditions and practices may be incorporated into mainstream Canadian culture and thus, at least superficially, be retained. Thus, the level of and relation between behavioural and symbolic ethnic identities are important issues for future research to address.
Ethnic Attitudes in Canada
Canadians take pride in their presumed tolerance of diversity and their absence of prejudice toward ethnic minorities. Is it, in fact, the case that Canadians are accepting of ethnic minorities? Ethnic attitudes are quite complex and thus are difficult to assess. They may include not only an overall evaluation of a group, but also affective, cognitive, and behavioural components. That is, in assessing attitudes toward an ethnic group, one might determine general favourability toward the group, as well as specific feelings, beliefs, and behavioural intentions toward group members.
The 1991 national survey assessed one aspect of these attitudes, which may perhaps be described as part of the affective component: perceived comfort in interacting with members of a group. In particular, respondents were asked to indicate how comfortable they would feel being around members of 14 ethnic groups, thinking of group members first as immigrants to Canada and then as having been born and raised in Canada.
Results revealed that comfort ratings for the various ethnic and immigrant groups were, in absolute terms, generally quite high (i.e., reports of feeling very comfortable). In addition, it is interesting to note that respondents indicated feeling quite comfortable among Native Canadian Indians, and did not differentiate them from groups of European origin. This is somewhat surprising given that previous studies have found substantial evidence of negative attitudes toward Native people in Canada. In contrast, however, the comfort levels expressed for many of the other groups of non-European origin were lower than those expressed for the groups of European origin (i.e., reports of feeling less comfortable). Of particular importance is that respondents generally reported less comfort being among many of the visible minority groups included in the list (e.g., Indo-Pakistanis, Arabs). This is grounds for concern, especially given the predicted future increase in representation of visible minorities in Canada.
Several other findings are noteworthy. First, French and British origin respondents expressed a mutual preference for members of their own group. That is, they each reported feeling more comfortable interacting with members of their own group than with members of the other group. Although the size of these effects are not large, they perhaps reflect some degree of intergroup tension. Second, overall, respondents generally reported feeling less comfortable with members of a group when these group members were rated in the context of being immigrants to Canada, rather than as born and raised in Canada. Finally, French origin respondents generally provided lower comfort ratings for all target groups (with the exception of the French target group) than did respondents who were of British and Other origins.
The latter two findings are both potentially attributable to perceptions of threat to values and culture. Canadians may feel less comfortable with recent immigrants to Canada than with second and later generation members of ethnic minorities due to the perception that recent immigrants are more likely to hold different values and have different cultural practices than do the rest of Canadians. This should be of particular concern because new immigrants coming to Canada in the future are likely to hold an especially wide range of religious and cultural beliefs, values, and customs. In addition, French Canadians may be more wary of ethnic minorities in general due to a perceived need to protect French culture and identity. The role of values and culture in ethnic relations in Canada certainly merits further investigation, as does the nature of other components of ethnic attitudes, such as stereotypes and behavioural intentions.
Preview of the Articles in this Issue
Previous volumes on ethnic relations in Canada have covered a range of topics. For example, Gardner and Kalin’s (1981) edited book on Canadian ethnic relations included sections on Conceptual and Historical Background, Social Development, The Language Issue, and Intergroup Relations. Despite the laudability of its breadth, however, most (though not all) of the research conducted at this earlier time focussed on the perspective of majority group members.
In contrast, in addressing ethnic relations in Canada, there is now a growing awareness that it is important to consider the perspectives of both majority and minority group members, who have vital roles to play in Canada’s future. Similarly, issues surrounding ethnic attitudes and ethnic identity must be taken into account. In fact, this new breadth of perspectives may be taken as an indication of sound multicultural research.
By emphasizing both majority and minority perspectives, it is believed that this special issue of the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science serves several important functions. First, it reflects the reality of the current ethnic composition of Canada and its expanding diversity. As such, it provides the opportunity to broaden our understanding of ethnic relations in Canada.
This special issue consists of three sections. The first describes research directed toward an understanding of ethnic attitudes and prejudice. In their article, Aboud and Doyle use a laboratory approach to investigate communications between low and high prejudiced children. They find differences in the nature of the communications of children differing in level of prejudice and, encouragingly, they also find that the high prejudiced children show decreases in prejudice following communications with low prejudiced children. The articles by Kalin and by Palmer both focus on survey data. In his article, Kalin investigates the relation between attitudes toward each of 12 ethnic and racial groups and the presence of these groups in the community. In general, for groups of European origin, there is a tendency for attitudes to be more favourable toward members of the group as their presence in the community increases. For visible minority groups, however, no clear pattern emerges. Kalin suggests several reasons for the differences obtained. Palmer’s article also focusses on survey data, but directs attention to correlates and possible determinants of attitudes toward immigration. He investigates these possible determinants by examining relations both across several years of surveys and within a given survey. His findings call into question generalizations based on the symbolic racism hypothesis, and suggest that a number of factors are implicated in attitudes toward immigration.
The second section describes research concerned with perceptions of being a target of discrimination. There are two articles in this section, and both examine the personal/group discrimination discrepancy. In their article, Taylor, Ruggiero, and Louis discuss laboratory-based studies that investigate why members of minority groups tend to perceive more discrimination directed at their group in general than at them personally as members of that group. Results suggest that the discrepancy is due to the operation of two factors, namely, a shared stereotype about the prevalence of group discrimination, possibly fostered by media coverage, and a tendency to minimize perceptions of personal discrimination. Importantly, the authors discuss the possible psychological benefits of the minimization of personal discrimination. Dion and Kawakami also focus on the personal/group discrimination discrepancy, but look for evidence of the phenomenon in survey data obtained from members of six ethnic and racial groups. They investigate five different domains or situations (e.g., obtaining jobs), and find evidence for the phenomenon for all groups in some situations (e.g., obtaining jobs), but for only some groups in other situations (e.g., obtaining loans). They also find that sex of respondent interacts with ethnicity in determining the nature of the discrepancy in some domains, indicating that the personal/group discrimination discrepancy can be influenced by other factors.
The third section is concerned with ethnic identity and acculturation. There are three articles in this section. In the first, Noels and Cl ment investigate the relations among indices of interethnic contact, language behaviour, ethnic identity, and psychological adjustment, among French and English Canadians from high and low ethnolinguistic vitality contexts. They also test the adequacy of a path analysis linking these variables, and assess its applicability at each level of ethnolinguistic vitality for each language group. Differences between the models are interpreted in terms of different patterns of identification and adjustment required in communities differing in ethnolinguistic vitality. In the second article, Patterson, Cameron and Lalonde investigate women’s awareness of the intersection of race and gender with respect to attitudes toward issues involving women of colour. They report evidence indicating that how women identify themselves is reflected in their attitudes. They also evaluate a causal model linking race privilege, race/gender intersection, perception of marginalization, and separatist attitude. They conclude that it is not meaningful to divide identity into separate components, such as race and gender, but that the components intersect in such a way as to form distinct units. In the third article, Aycan and Berry study the impact of employment-related experiences on Turkish immigrants’ acculturation. They demonstrate that many such immigrants have difficulty finding employment suitable to their prior training and experience largely because of linguistic and economic factors. They also use causal modelling procedures to evaluate a model that proposes that employment-related experiences influence psychological health and that both employment-related experiences and psychological health influence adaptation.
The articles in this special issue are diverse in their approach, the nature of their samples, and the questions they ask. As a result, they provide an overview of the diversity of psychological research devoted to the study of multiculturalism in Canada. We hope that a careful examination of these articles will allow the reader not only to gain insight into the dynamics of the Canadian scene, but also to gain an appreciation of the ingenuity of the research that is currently being undertaken to understand these dynamics.