Investigating the Role of Identity Styles in Explaining National Identity (Case Study: Students of the University of Isfahan)

The degree of national identity among academic youth and elite classes is one of the concerns facing governments and multicultural societies such as Iran. This issue, i.e. the degree of sense of belongingness and awareness of components constructing national identity requires investigating psychological, cultural, sociological, and political factors affecting it particularly among the third and fourth generations of the Revolution. Accordingly, the present study is to revise psychological and sociological representations of national identity with a new approach from the perspective of identity styles; the framework in which according to its theorists, individuals interpret their own life experiences appropriate to it and determine their life objectives based on it. It seems that the type of investigation, search, commitment, and decision making about what should be as national values, beliefs, and objectives, and consequently, involvement in important political and social actions, duties, and selections of individuals, can explain the degree of national identity among students. Therefore, the main question of the present study is whether identity styles and predict students’ national identity and which identity style or styles are related with the increase or decrease of individuals’ feeling and awareness of history, politics, culture, and society? The answer can represents some solutions in line with increasing students’ national identity via interdisciplinary studies.
Material & The method employed in the present study is the survey research. Participants were 244 students of the University of Isfahan in 2014-2015 (mean age = 22.96 years; 119 female )who completed tow questionnaires: first was identity styles Inventory (ISI-6G) that Berzonsky(1992) Offered in his Discuss, and The second questionnaire is estimated national identity that Rabbani et al.( 2009) applied in their research. As well as Pearson correlation, analysis variance model (ANOVA), and multivariate regression used to analyze the data.
Discussion of Results & Findings of the research indicate that identity styles can explain up to 31% of students’ national identity. Accordingly, the normative style has the highest positive and synergistic effect, and avoidant style acts in line with the reduction in students’ national identity. This is while self-sufficiency, exploration and active probe, i.e. informational identity style cannot play the significant role for increasing or decreasing national identity. Thus, This study is consistent with those theories that believe that National identity is a concept planed, institutional and Constitutive and determined by oral and formal structures such as the family, schools, and government, So, in this research, national identity is produced and made in social structures For those who have normative style, they have National identity higher than the other styles. It can predict Up to 50 percent of national identity. In normative style, we expect that Individuals give mining about their Country, nation, nationality, culture, history and local values under the influence of authority and social structures.
Also results indicated that differences in mean score of identity styles. Min score in avoidant style more than others and up to average. Also it can Decline national Identity in the Students of the University. It seams that person unresolved crisis in youth and adolescence unable to reflect and emergence her/his commitment and sense about national identity. This category of people haven’t Cognitive stability of national values, to solve social and personal problems and often their burdens and responsibilities half-abandoned.
This study demonstrated that identity styles contributed to Increase and decrease In national identity with normative style and avoidant style Among students of the University, so The study recommended that Public, formal, and training institutions especially University administrators should adopt strategies that strengthen the national value with nice voice, Image and Context. In this time, the Governments cannot defend its territorial integrity and national values only with military force, but According to the mental boundaries of its citizens and strengthen the sense of belonging to local and national elements is necessary.