This study explored the dynamic relationships among four variables: self-identity crisis, ethnic identity, patriotic sentiment and life satisfaction using a cross-lagged model. Longitudinal data were collected from three time points: T1 (first year), T2 (second year), and T3 (third year) of junior high school, tracking 403 ethnic minority adolescents in Southwest China. The findings are as follows: (1) All four variables exhibited strong temporal stability, with autoregressive path coefficients ranging from 0.14 to 0.56; (2) self-identity crisis negatively predicted ethnic identity, patriotic sentiment, and life satisfaction at certain time points; (3) ethnic identity significantly and positively predicted patriotic sentiment; (4) life satisfaction significantly and negatively predicted self-identity crisis at subsequent time points; (5) all four variables showed significant correlations within each time point. These results reveal the dynamic, interactive relationship between psychological identity and emotional experience in ethnic minority adolescent groups. They also provide empirical evidence for adolescent mental health and patriotic education.

Jia Wu, Xiaodong Li, Hui Kou, Taiyong Bi. The Dynamic Relationship between Self-Identity Crisis, Ethnic Identity, Patriotic Sentiment, and Life Satisfaction: An Empirical Study Based on Cross-Lagged Modeling. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2025), Vol. 8, Issue 7: 70-79. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2025.080709.

[1] Smith T B, Silva L. Ethnic identity and personal well-being of people of color: a meta-analysis [J]. Journal of counseling psychology, 2011, 58(1): 42.

[2] Erikson E H. Identity youth and crisis [M]. WW Norton & company, 1968.

[3] Rivas‐Drake D, Seaton E K, Markstrom C, et al. Ethnic and racial identity in adolescence: Implications for psychosocial, academic, and health outcomes [J]. Child development, 2014, 85(1): 40-57.

[4] Phinney J S, Ong A D. Conceptualization and measurement of ethnic identity: Current status and future directions [J]. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2007, 54(3): 271.

[5] Dimitrova R, Carmen B, Jitka T, et al. Relationships between identity domains and life satisfaction in minority and majority youth in Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Kosovo, and Romania [J]. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2018, 15(1): 61-82.

[6] Schwartz S J, Zamboanga B L, Weisskirch R S, et al. The relationships of personal and ethnic identity exploration to indices of adaptive and maladaptive psychosocial functioning [J]. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 2009, 33(2): 131-144.

[7] Basir S N M, Ismail F, Othman N Z, et al. Using Multiple Regression Approach to Study Youth’s Patriotism Tendency [J]. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2021, 11(7).

[8] Dambrun M, Taylor D M. The Counterintuitive Association BETWEEN Life Satisfaction and Racism [J]. SAGE Open, 2013, 3(3).

[9] Yip T. Ethnic/racial identity—A double-edged sword? Associations with discrimination and psychological outcomes [J]. Current directions in psychological science, 2018, 27(3): 170-175.

[10] Marcia J E. Identity in adolescence [J]. Handbook of adolescent psychology, 1980, 9(11): 159-187.

[11] Tajfel H, Turner J C. The social identity theory of intergroup behavior [M]. Political psychology. Psychology Press. 2004: 276-293.

[12] Waterman A S. Doing well: The relationship of identity status to three conceptions of well-being [J]. Identity: an International Journal of Theory and Reasearch, 2007, 7(4): 289-307.

[13] Schwartz S J, Zamboanga B L, Luyckx K, et al. Identity in emerging adulthood: Reviewing the field and looking forward [J]. Emerging adulthood, 2013, 1(2): 96-113.

[14] Hu Y, Zhang H, Zhang W, et al. The influence of gratitude on patriotism among college students: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study [J]. Frontiers in Psychology, 2024, 15: 1278238.

[15] Zeng S. Between Reason and Emotion: On the Two Dimensions of ethnic identity and the Cultivation of Patriots [J]. Nanjing Journal of Social Sciences, 2015, (11): 139-143.

[16] Zhang Y. The Relationship between Chinese Nation Identity and National Pride, National Stereotype of Adolescent [D]; Central China Normal University, 2007.

[17] Bar-Tal D. Patriotism as fundamental beliefs of group members [J]. Politics & the Individual, 1993, 3(2): 45-62.

[18] Schatz R T, Staub E, Lavine H. On the varieties of national attachment: Blind versus constructive patriotism [J]. Political psychology, 1999, 20(1): 151-174.

[19] He L, Wang K, Liu T, et al. Does political participation help improve the life satisfaction of urban residents: Empirical evidence from China [J]. Plos One, 2022, 17(10): e0273525.

[20] Ha S E, Jang S-J. ethnic identity, National Pride, and Happiness: The Case of South Korea [J]. Social Indicators Research, 2015, 121(2): 471-482.

[21] Diener E, Emmons R A, Larsen R J, et al. The satisfaction with life scale [J]. Journal of personality assessment, 1985, 49(1): 71-75.

[22] Zhao Z, Postiglione G A. Representations of ethnic minorities in China's university media [J]. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 2010, 31(3): 319-334.

[23] Lai A H-Y, Chui C H K, Hausmann-Stabile C, et al. Ethnic identity in school context: The case of Yi ethnic minority adolescents in rural China [J]. Children & Society, 2024, 38(1): 176-196.

[24] Selig J P, Little T D. Autoregressive and cross-lagged panel analysis for longitudinal data [J]. 2012.

[25] Zhang Q, Zheng R. Reliability and Validity of Adolescence Ego Identity Crisis [J]. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 2002, (05): 304-307.

[26] Gao C, An J, Wan M. On the Relationship between the Ethnic Identity, Acculturation and the Psychological Well-being of the Multi-ethnic University Students [J]. Contemporary Education and Culture, 2011, 3(05): 106-113.

[27] Lu J M, Liu W, He W, et al. The status quo of China's contemporary college students’ affective diathesis and its influencing factors [J]. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 2017, 49(01): 1-16.

[28] Hu L, Bentler P M. Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives [J]. Structural equation modeling: a multidisciplinary journal, 1999, 6(1): 1-55.

[29] BW R. The rank order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: A quantitatibe review of longitudinal studies [J]. Psychological Bulletin, 2000, 126: 3-25.

[30] Diener E, Lucas R E, Scollon C N. Beyond the hedonic treadmill: revising the adaptation theory of well-being [J]. American psychologist, 2006, 61(4): 305.

[31] Turner J C, Tajfel H. The social identity theory of intergroup behavior [J]. Psychology of intergroup relations, 1986, 5: 7-24.

[32] Fredrickson B L. The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions [J]. American psychologist, 2001, 56(3): 218.