Identity Processing Strategies, Classroom Ethnic Diversity, and Attitudes toward Ethnic Outgroups

Background

Adolescence is a period of identity formation that shapes how young people relate to social difference, including ethnic outgroups. Building on Berzonsky’s model of identity processing strategies (informational, normative, and diffuse/avoidant), this study examines how these strategies relate to attitudes toward ethnic minorities among Czech high school students and whether these relationships depend on the level of classroom ethnic diversity. The informational strategy, marked by active exploration and openness, was expected to predict more positive outgroup attitudes; the normative strategy, associated with conformity and conservatism, was expected to predict more negative attitudes; and no directional hypothesis was made for the diffuse/avoidant strategy. The study further tested whether classroom ethnic diversity moderates these associations, drawing on intergroup contact theory. This question is especially relevant in the Czech context, where ethnic diversity in schools has increased sharply since 2022 due to the arrival of Ukrainian refugees, against a backdrop of historically strong anti-immigrant sentiment.

Method

Data came from the first wave (2023) of the Czech Education Panel Survey, a nationally representative study of 23,466 first-year high school students (mean age 15.6) across 1,028 classrooms in 249 schools. Identity processing strategies were measured with the Identity Style Inventory (ISI-5). Attitudes toward ethnic minorities were assessed using a feeling-thermometer measure covering five outgroups (Slovaks, Ukrainians, Russians, Vietnamese, Roma); minority-group members separately rated their attitudes toward the Czech majority. Classroom ethnic diversity was captured using Simpson’s diversity index. Three-level multilevel regression models (students nested in classrooms nested in schools) were estimated separately for majority and minority samples, testing main effects of identity strategies, the added effect of classroom diversity, and interactions between diversity and each identity strategy, controlling for gender, age, and school track.

Results

Among students of the majority group, the informational strategy was positively associated with attitudes toward ethnic minorities, while the normative strategy was negatively associated; the diffuse/avoidant strategy showed no significant association. Classroom diversity itself did not have a significant main effect, but it significantly moderated the effects of both the informational and normative strategies. Specifically, the positive link between informational identity processing and outgroup attitudes was stronger in more diverse classrooms, while the negative link between normative strategy and outgroup attitudes was weaker (less negative) in more diverse classrooms. Among ethnic minority students, only the informational strategy was significantly linked to more positive attitudes toward the Czech majority; diversity moderation effects followed a similar pattern to the majority sample but did not reach statistical significance, likely reflecting the smaller minority subsample.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that classroom ethnic diversity can act as a resource rather than a threat, particularly for adolescents who process identity-relevant information through active exploration and can also buffer the negative outgroup attitudes typically associated with normative identity processing. These results support integrating identity-development theory with intergroup contact research and point to the value of fostering diverse, well-structured classroom environments as a context for reducing prejudice during adolescence.