Examining the relationship between strength of ethnic identity and resilience in Canadian adolescents

The study examines the relationship between strength of ethnic identity and resilience among Canadian adolescents, and the extent to which this relationship varies across ethnic groups. We focus on two aspects of ethnic identity: exploration, or seeking for information regarding one’s ethnicity, and commitment, or a sense of belonging to one’s ethnicity group. Data were collected in wave 5 of the British Columbia Adolescent Substance Use Survey (BASUS) completed in 2012. Commitment and exploration aspects of ethnic identity were assessed using the subscales of the Multi-Group Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), which served as the main dependent variables. The main independent variable, resilience, was assessed by the Resilience Scale.