Abstract
Most studies that explore how young people’s identification with their culture affects the resilience processes around them focus on visible minority youth. This leaves questions regarding how culture and cultural identity impact the resilience processes of “white” youth in contexts where they are the visible majority (e.g., Atlantic Canada). The intent of this chapter is therefore to examine the relationship between white youth and their culture, and how this relationship affects their resilience processes. First we review the importance of cultural resources to resilience processes, focusing on racial and related ethnic identities while acknowledging that race, culture and ethnicity are inextricably linked. This is followed by a discussion of the ‘invisibility’ connected to whiteness when experienced as a dominant culture. Using findings from the Pathways to Resilience study, we demonstrate the disconnect of youth who self-identify as white, from their culture, and the ways in which this impacts the resilience processes of these youth. The chapter concludes with a discussion of directions for future research.
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Russell, P., Liebenberg, L., Ungar, M. (2015). White Out: The Invisibility of White North American Culture and Resilience Processes. In: Theron, L., Liebenberg, L., Ungar, M. (eds) Youth Resilience and Culture. Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9415-2_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9415-2_10
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