Abstract

Ethnic identity must be considered as a result of a negotiation process with oneself, with in-group's members and with out-groups. This negotiation process regard the value and the significance that a person can attrite to one ones ethnic origins (ethnicity). According to this premise the present work is aimed at analysing the main theoretical approaches and the more specific topics shown in the international psychological literature in the last 16 years. References contained in Psyc.INFO, and published from 1990 to 2005, are selected on the bases of both their interest on Ethnic identity topic and their collocation in Social Psychology and/or Developmental Psychology psychological sector. Frequencies, lexical analysis and content analysis conducted on the references extracted by Psyc.INFO show three main theoretical approaches: developmental, inspired to social identity theory and related to the acculturation processes. The empirical studies conducted according to these theoretical approaches reflect three different level of analysis: intra-individual, inter-group and cultural.