Ethnic Identity and Patriotism in Adolescents: The Role of Age, Group Status and Social Context

The aim of this study was to examine age differences of minority and majority adolescents regarding ethnic identity, in-group bias (as a form of ethnic attachment), and constructive and blind patriotism (as a form of national attachment). The study was conducted in four multi-ethnic contexts in Croatia: Croatian-Czech, Croatian-Hungarian, Croatian-Serbian and Croatian-Italian. The results of N = 924 students of primary (sixth, seventh and eighth grade) and secondary (second, third and fourth grade) schools were analysed. The average age was M = 14.99, SD = 2.17 years. Younger pupils express higher levels of ethnic identity and blind patriotism, whereas constructive patriotism was more expressed in older students. There were no age differences in in-group bias. Minority pupils exhibit lower levels of bias, while majority members are more prone to bias in the Croatian-Serbian and Croatian- -Hungarian contexts. Furthermore, majority pupils are more willing to express constructive, but also blind patriotism.