Between Homeland and Host-Land: Identity Formation, Social Belonging, and Cultural Negotiation Among Tibetan Adolescents in India

Abstract

Adolescence represents a particularly significant period for identity development because young people increasingly reflect upon who they are, where they belong, which social groups they identify with, and how they wish to position themselves in relation to family, community, and society. For Tibetan adolescents growing up in India, these developmental processes occur within a distinctive sociocultural context in which Tibetan cultural continuity, diasporic consciousness, schooling, peer relationships, multilingualism, and everyday participation in Indian society intersect. The present study examined identity formation, social belonging, cultural negotiation, and perceived social support among Tibetan adolescents in India. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was adopted. The quantitative phase involved 286 adolescents between 13 and 19 years of age, followed by qualitative exploration of adolescents’ experiences of identity, belonging, language, cultural practices, schooling, peer relationships, and future aspirations. Data were collected using a researcher-developed Tibetan Adolescent Identity, Belonging and Cultural Negotiation Scale (TAIBCNS) and a semi-structured interview schedule. Quantitative analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlations, and multiple regression, while qualitative data were examined through reflexive thematic analysis. The findings indicated moderate-to-high levels of identity formation, social belonging, cultural negotiation, and perceived social support. Identity formation was positively associated with social belonging (r = .51, p < .001), cultural negotiation (r = .51, p < .001), and perceived social support (r = .47, p <  .001). Social belonging, cultural negotiation, and perceived social support jointly explained 35% of the variance in identity formation. Qualitative findings suggested that adolescents did not generally experience Tibetan and Indian identities as mutually exclusive categories; rather, identity was negotiated across family, school, peer, community, linguistic, and cultural settings. The findings support a conceptualisation of Tibetan adolescent identity as relational, contextual, and continuously negotiated. The study contributes to scholarship on adolescent identity, diasporic youth, belonging, and culturally responsive education by proposing the concept of belonging through negotiation.