Bicultural Identity Development and Coping With Discrimination Among Chinese-Italian Young Adults: A Qualitative Study

This study uses a qualitative approach to investigate how 136 Chinese-origin young adults who were born or raised in Italy develop their bicultural identity, and how they perceive and cope with discrimination. Participants were interviewed online on their everyday experiences concerning ethnic and national identity, development over time, and relationships with majority and minority peers. Based on thematic analysis of interview data, the findings indicate six coping strategies for discrimination and six trajectories of bicultural identity development over time, reflecting the heterogeneity of experiences within this population. These results extend existing theories of discrimination coping and identity formation to the specific experiences of bicultural Chinese-Italian young adults, highlighting the importance of interpersonal and contextual relationships in shaping bicultural identity development and the need for greater attention to identity and discrimination research among Chinese-Italian young adults, who remain relatively underrepresented in the literature.