Identificational Assimilation of Japanese Americans: A Reassessment of Primordialism and Circumstantialism

Using both quantitative and qualitative data collected in Portland, Oregon during 1989, this study tests two contradictory models of ethnic identity: primordialism and circumstantialism. Two questions are addressed: 1) does the third generation of Japanese Americans retain ethnic identity or has the group achieved complete identificational assimilation?; and 2) what factors impacted the group's identificational assimilation? The study suggests that there is attenuation of ethnic identity between successive generations. However, multivariate analyses indicate that the seemingly different ethnic identity of the second and third generations does not necessarily evidence the significance of generation in the identificational assimilation. Childhood and adult social networks are found to have the greatest effect on ethnic identity. This study also found that generational shift does not lead to identificational assimilation if and when successive generations are placed in the same circumstances.