2025/11/06 by Joelle‐Cathrin Flöther, Juliane Degner · 1 voice · 1 citation
Decision Sciences · Social Sciences · #Group (periodic table) #Group identification #Identification (biology) #In-group favoritism #Ingroups and outgroups #Psychometric Methodologies and Testing #Social Power and Status Dynamics #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Social identity theory
paper · doi:10.1080/15298868.2025.2577940
published in Self and Identity 25(1), 54-92 (Taylor & Francis)
openalex publication_date 2025/11/06 · openalex created_date 2025/11/07 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
Social identities play a crucial role in shaping how individuals interpret their position in society and navigate social interactions to serve both personal and ingroup interests. Existing social identity theorizing and research have offered only limited insights into how social identification operates among stigmatized group members, whose experiences may differ both in content and complexity from non-stigmatized group members. The present research addressed this gap by investigating the multicomponent ingroup identification model across 18 stigmatized groups in the U.S. (N = 3.969). Confirmatory factor analyses showed only an acceptable model fit for the overall sample and substantial variability in model fit and factor structure across subsamples – challenging assumptions of a universal social identification structure. Multilevel analyses revealed that between-group heterogeneity can be explained by group-level factors (socioeconomic status and group entitativity) and individual belief systems (permeability and legitimacy), aligning with core assumptions of Social Identity Theory. Our findings suggest important differences in social identification between stigmatized groups and point to both group- and individual-level determinants of social identification. We discuss the implications for existing measurement models and highlight the need for further theorizing and empirical work on social identification in the context of stigmatized identities.