Eastern European Youth Identities in Uncertain Times

Abstract

Young people talked about several factors that were important to their sense of identity. Some key dimensions of their identities were related to being young migrants, their nationality and transnational relationships with family and friends and also, the languages they spoke and the multiple cultures they were navigating. In the context of Brexit, their feelings of being marginalised or not fully accepted also impacted on their sense of identity and who they are. There was often a disjuncture between what young people identified as their nationality, often related to their country of birth, and where the felt at home - mostly in the UK. Home was linked to a sense of identity and many young people said they felt they had multiple homes. This was generally seen as a positive thing, although some young people described the challenges of living between different cultures. Feelings of belonging often resulted from feeling connected to people and places which were familiar and welcoming. For young migrants, identities are fragmented, dynamic and changeable. Young people talked about how their sense of identity had changed since they had moved to the UK. For some, this was about the process of growing older and maturing, while others suggested that they had changed as a result of migrating. Many Eastern European young people reflected on their potentially hybrid identities and saw the processes of their identity formation as in constant flux, negotiable and consisting of multiple identities.