Jewish American identity: A grounded-theory model.

Jewish identity has only recently been a focus of research within the field of multiculturalism and racial/ethnic identity research. In spite of increased investigations, a comprehensive model of Jewish American identity that accounts for the range of factors that contribute Jewish identity had not previously been produced. This qualitative study examined the Jewish identities of 13 Jewish Americans in order to develop a model of Jewish American identity. Semistructured interviews were conducted with participants who represented a range of religious affiliation from non-practicing to Orthodox and who lived throughout the United States. Grounded theory methodology was used to generate a theoretical model of Jewish American identity. Five primary categories emerged to form the Jewish American Identity Model: (a) Jewish History, (b) Being Jewish in a Non-Jewish World, (c) Relations Among Jews, (d) Family, and (e) Being Jewish. Jewish History explored the impact of both individual family histories as well as the collective history of the Jewish people on the participants' identities. Being Jewish in a Non-Jewish World emerged from the participants' often contradictory experiences of being both assimilated and an outsider in American society and its profound impact on their Jewish identities. Relations Among Jews developed from the both the personal identity strengths and struggles that were related to the connections and issues among Jews. Family highlighted the immense impact that families had on the development and maintenance of the participants' Jewish identities. Lastly, Being Jewish emerged from the individuals' experiences of their Jewish identities, including their practice of Judaism and how being Jewish has influenced their worldviews and self-concepts. The five categories are conceptualized as concentric circles, with the outer circles representing more external factors and the inner circles representing more personalized and internal factors. This resulted in a nested design that captures both collective and individual influences on Jewish identity. The five categories are theorized to influence and inform each other, incorporating the complexity and interrelated nature of Jewish identity. The Jewish American Identity Model highlights the commonalities of Jewish American identity that exist across the varying religious affiliations and geographical locations of the participants in the study. Implications of the theoretical model for research and clinical practice are discussed.Thesis (Ph.D.)--The University of Utah, 2004.School code: 0240