Basque identity, collective empowerment and level of psychological well-being

Social identity is a factor related to well-being and participation in the community. Some studies have shown the link between social identity and empowerment and that the interaction between the two increases the levels of community well-being and participation. However, the nature of these relationships can be determined by the fact that the person views their own group as a minority and / or a discriminated group. In fact, these relationships mainly occur in groups that are in a minority and / or discrimination situation, but not in more hegemonic or majority groups.

To advance this thesis, Jon Zabala, member of the Consolidated Research Group Culture, Cognition and Emotion of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of the Basque Country (UPV / EHU), conducted a cross-sectional study to analyze the relationship that social identification (or fusion of identities) and collective psychological empowerment have to do with the personal well-being, social well-being and participation of the community of 748 Basques.

As Zabala explained, “we have seen that people who feel very identified or fused with the Basques (or Basque speakers) and have a high degree of empowerment, exhibit a high degree of personal and social well-being and community participation; in fact, they show higher rates than people who have not merged and have a low level of empowerment ”. On the other hand, the results of the study suggest that “social identification compensates for the negative aspects that come from viewing the group as a linguistic minority,” confirms the author. In addition, “we have found that for the well-being of people who consider the condition of Euskaldun to be a minority in their area, such as in cities or places where Basque is more vulnerable, it is more important to feel identified with the Basques.”

According to the researcher, progress in the cultural field, and especially in the linguistic field, is clearly in line with the perception of the power of the Basque community to change society and achieve its goals. However, we still find certain indicators of vulnerability, such as the vulnerable situation of the Basque language and some specific indicators of language discrimination in some situations, which can be considered a threat to the survival of the Basque language and thus to the Basque identity, ”says Zabala.

Jon Zabala. (Photo: UPV / EHU)

According to the theory of social identity, “when a group is a minority and perceives relevant threats related to their identity, the identity is activated and can initiate empowerment processes,” says the researcher from the Faculty of Psychology. It is possible that, despite the good socio-economic position of this social group in general and the achievements in the field of language, the awareness of being a language minority, both in the world and in the population of the Basque Country as a whole, on the identification or degree of identity fusion with the Basque speakers and, above all, empowerment to act as particularly important factors for well-being ”.

Researchers have seen a strong link between collective empowerment and well-being: “We were surprised that such a social factor has such a strong relationship with personal well-being,” says Zabala. Collective psychological empowerment has been a very important factor and we must continue to investigate this ”. The characteristics of the group studied are not common compared to the numerous studies conducted in this area so far (in particular, the ethnic identity of African Americans has been studied). Therefore, the researchers confirm that this work is useful for other research being conducted worldwide in this field.

The study, entitled “Basque Ethnic Identity and Collective Empowerment: Two Key Factors in Well-Being and Community Participation,” is published in the academic journal Frontiers in Psychology. The research was carried out as part of the dissertation of Jon Zabala in the Culture, Cognition and Emotion research group of the Psychology Faculty of UPV / EHU, led by Professors Aitziber Pascual Jimeno and Susana Conejero López. They had the cooperation of AEK in collecting data. The study was carried out with the help of the predoctoral program of the Education Department of the Basque Government. (Source: UPV / EHU)