National Identity as Predicted by Ethnic Identity and Social Distance with Multiculturalism as Mediator: A Study Involving Chinese Indonesian Students in Jakarta

Authors

Angela Oktavia Suryani, Faculty of psychology, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman Jakarta, 12930Follow
Bernadette Setiadi, Faculty of psychology, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman Jakarta, 12930
Nani Nurrachman, Faculty of psychology, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman Jakarta, 12930
Hana Panggabean, Faculty of psychology, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman Jakarta, 12930
Dhevy Setya Wibawa, Faculty of psychology, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman Jakarta, 12930

Abstract

As a large multiethnic country, Indonesia has limited studies regarding factors that may influence the national identity of Indonesians of Chinese descent. This study examined the relations between four variables—ethnic identity, multiculturalism, social distance, and Indonesian national identity—between Chinese (n = 159) and non-Chinese Indonesian university students (n = 158) in Jakarta. A multiple-group path analysis was conducted to analyze data from Chinese and non-Chinese samples. The results revealed that structural covariance invariance was the best fit, describing ethnic identity’s direct prediction of national identity and social distance’s indirect prediction of national identity, fully mediated by multiculturalism. The mean score comparisons showed that both groups exhibited higher national identity than ethnic identity. A context of living in a global urban-metropolitan city may influence identity formation.

Bahasa Abstract

Indonesia sebagai negara multietnik yang sangat besar memiliki penelitian-penelitian yang sedikit tentang faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi identitas nasional sebagai bangsa Indonesia di antara keturunan Tionghoa. Penelitian ini bertujuan melihat hubungan antara empat variabel yaitu identitas etnik, multikulturalisme, jarak sosial, dan identitas nasional antara mahasiswa keturunan Tionghoa (n = 159) dan non-Tionghoa (n = 158) di Jakarta. Multiple path analysis digunakan untuk menguji model hubungan tersebut pada kedua kelompok. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa structural covariance invariance merupakan model terbaik yang menjelaskan prediksi identitas etnik terhadap identitas nasional dan prediksi tidak langsung dari jarak sosial terhadap identitas nasional melalui mediasi multikulturalisme secara penuh. Nilai rata-rata identitas nasional lebih tinggi dibandingkan dengan nilai rata-rata identitas etnik pada semua kelompok. Konteks hidup di kota global-urban-dan metropolitan mungkin menyebabkan proses formasi identitas ini.

Recommended Citation

Suryani, A. O., Setiadi, B., Nurrachman, N., Panggabean, H., & Wibawa, D. S. (2019). National Identity as Predicted by Ethnic Identity and Social Distance with Multiculturalism as Mediator: A Study Involving Chinese Indonesian Students in Jakarta. Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia, 23(2), 172-180. https://doi.org/10.7454/hubs.asia.1170719