Social Problems of Iran

Identity in the Dilemma of Face and Tradition: A Qualitative Study of the Identification Process of Afghan Teenagers Living in Yazd

Authors

Ali Ruhani 1
Seyed Alireza Afshahni 2
Khadijeh Fuladi 3
Bahar Amini Lari 4
Saba Samadian 5

1 Associate Professor of Sociology, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

2 Professor of Sociology, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

3 M.A. of Social Research, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

4 M.A. Student of Social Research, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

5 B.A. Student of Sociology, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

https://doi.org/10.61186/jspi.15.2.109
Abstract
Nowadays, the problem of social identity is a necessary condition for people’s lives. Identity plays a meaningful role in our daily life, and the importance of identity in connection with phenomena such as migration cannot be ignored. In recent years, with the expansion of the immigrant population, especially international immigrants, the issue of the formation of identity crisis among immigrants has attracted the attention of researchers. International migration has faced identity challenges for immigrant people and countries as the host society. Not belonging to the host society or feeling of solidarity with the origin society is one of the consequences of this problem. The present research has tried to study the identity formation process of Afghan teenagers living in Yazd city. This research was conducted with qualitative methodology and grounded theory approach, with a sample of 21 young Afghan immigrants. In this process, the data have been analyzed and reviewed through the open, central and selective coding method. The main categories discovered include: double rejection of identity, lived experiences of de-identification, limitations of structural progress, the problem of face, etc. The findings of the research showed that teenagers, in the path of identity search, seek to create an identity independent of national and nationalist values. And in the process of defining themselves, they try to benefit by using skill/acquisition identification.

Keywords

identity
identity crisis
Teenagers
Immigration
Afghanistan
Al-Shar, Sahar, & al-Tarawneh, Muhammad (2019). Identity crisis and Assimilation Problems among Syrian Rrefugee Women Residing outside Refugee Camps in Jordan, International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, 10(4), 44-64.
احمدرش، رشید و عیدی، معصومه (1397). زیستن در وضعیت پاندولی؛ مطالعه جامعه‌شناختی تجارب زیسته مهاجران افغان در ایران (مطالعه موردی: تجارب زیسته مهاجران افغان ساکن در محله کشتارگاه یزد). بررسی مسائل اجتماعی ایران، 9(1)، 68-51.
Arnaldo, Carlos (2002) Ethnicity and Marriage Patterns in Mozambique, African Population studies 9(1), 143-164.
اخلاقی، آمنه، یوسفی، علی و صدیق‌اورعی، غلامرضا (1395). سردی عاطفی؛ احساسات مهاجر دربارۀ جامعه میزبان با تکیه بر روایت‌های مهاجران افغان ساکن مشهد. مسائل اجتماعی ایران، 7(1)، 29-5.
Bisaillon, Laura, Gooshki, Ehsan, Briskman, Linda. (2016). Medico-legal borders and the shaping of health services for Afghans in Iran: physical, social, bureaucratic, and public health conditions of care, International Journal of Migration and Border Studies, 2(1), 40-58.
اشتراوس، انسلم و کوربین، جولیت (1391). مبانی پژوهش کیفی، فنون و مراحل تولید نظریۀ زمینه‌ای. ترجمه ابراهیم افشار، تهران: نی.
Burke, Peter (2004). Identities and Social Structure: The 2003 Cooley-Mead Award Address, Social Psychology Quarterly, 67(1), 5-15.
افشانی، سیدعلیرضا، روحانی، علی و کیانی‌ده‌کیانی، حامد (1398). کاوش بی‌قدرتی شغلی پرستاران. پژوهش‌های راهبردی مسائل اجتماعی، 8(3)، 18-1.
Burke, Peter (2006). Identity Change, Social Psychology Quarterly, 69(1), 81-96.
ایمان، محمدتقی و کیذقان، طاهره (1381). بررسی عوامل مؤثر بر هویت اجتماعی زنان، مطالعه موردی زنان شهر شیراز. فصلنامه علمی-پژوهشی علوم انسانی دانشگاه الزهرا، 12(45)، 107-79.
Burke, Peter, Stets, Jan., Cerven, Christine (2007). Gender, Legitimation, and Identity Verification in Groups, Social Psychology Quarterly, 70(1), 27-42.
برک، لورای (1386). روان‌شناسی رشد. ترجمه یحیی سیدمحمدی، جلد دوم، تهران: ارسباران.
Cormoș, Viorica (2022). The Processes of Adaptation, Assimilation and Integration in the Country of Migration: A Psychosocial Perspective on Place Identity Changes, Sustainability, 14(16), 10296.
پاریس، جی رونالد (1364). یونسکو و مهاجرت بین الملل، نشریه پیام یونسکو، 11(185)، 16-12.
Grünenberga, Perl, Olwig, Karen, Simonsen, Anja (2020). Issue Introduction: Identities and Identity: Biometric Technologies, Borders and Migration, Ethnos, 87(2), 211-222.
ترنر، جاناتان (1384). پیدایش نظریه جامعه‌شناختی. ترجمۀ عبدالعلی لهسایی‌زاده، شیراز: نوید شیراز.
Jenkins, Richard (1996). Social identity, London: Routledge.
توکلی‌خمینی، عاطفه، عبدالملکی، جعفر و منصف‌پور، محمدمهدی (1390). هویت مهاجران؛ تأملی در هویت نسل دوم ایرانیان مهاجر. مطالعات ملی، 12(47)، 168-149.
Kroger, Jane, Marcia, James (2011). The Identity Statuses: Origins, Meanings, and Interpretations in handbook of identity theory and research, Edited by Seth J. Schwartz, Koen Luyckx, Vivian L. Vignoles, London: Springer.
خسروی، رقیه، بهادری، راضیه، گراوند، فاطمه و احمدی، علیار (1398). مطالعه عوامل مرتبط با سازگاری دانش‌آموزان افغانستانی ساکن در شهر شیراز. دوفصلنامه مطالعات جمعیتی، 5(1)، 175-149.
Leszczensky, Lars, Stark, Tobias, H. Flache, Andreas, Munniksma, Anke (2016). Disentangling the relation between young immigrants’ host country identification and their friendships with natives, Social Networks, 44(1), 179-189.
روحانی، علی، عسکری‌ندوشن، عباس و قرقچیان، زهرا (1398). برهمکنش درونی شدن ازدواج زودهنگام و مقاومت‌های پیش روی آن در میان نسل دوم زنان مهاجر افغانستانی مقیم شهر یزد. مطالعات جمعیتی، 5(1)، 216-177.
Machingura, Fotunate, Mushoperi Machingura (2013). Where Do You Come From and When Are You Going Back to Your Country? The online postgraduate journal of the College of Arts, 5(1), 1-10.
روحانی، علی و انبارلو، مسعود (1395). برساخت اجتماعی عواطف منفی از جرائم منتسب به افغانستانی‌های مقیم شهر شیراز، به‌سوی یک نظریه زمینه‌ای. مطالعات و تحقیقات اجتماعی در ایران، 5(4)، 640-617.
Nair, Karthika, James, Justin, Santhosh, Kreg (2015). Identity Crisis among Early Adolescents in Relations to Abusive Experiences in the Childhood, Social Support and Parental Support, Journal of psychosocial research, 10(1), 167-190.
روحانی، علی، احمدی، حبیب، ایمان، محمدتقی و گلی، علی (1394). بررسی عواطف اجتماعی منفی ایرانیان نسبت به مهاجران افغانستانی (مورد مطالعه: شهروندان شهر شیراز). توسعه اجتماعی، 10(1)، 67-96.
Putnam, Robert (2007). “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty-first Century”, Scandinavian Political Studies, 30(2), 137-174.
ریتزر، جورج (1384). نظریه جامعه‌شناسی در دوران معاصر. ترجمه محسن ثلاثی، تهران: علمی.
Riek, Blake, Mania, Eric, Gaertner, Samuel (2006). Intergroup threat and outgroup attitudes: a meta-analytic review, Personality Social Psychology Review, 10(4), 336-353.
زنجانی، حبیب‌الله (1380) مهاجرت، تهران: سمت.
Ruhani, Ali, Keshavarzi, Saeed, Kızık, Busra, Çakal, Husein (2023). Formation of hatred emotions toward Afghan refugees in Iran: A grounded theory study, Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 29(4), 355-364.
زندی‌ناوگران، لیلا، عسکری‌ندوشن، عباس، افراسیابی، حسین، صادقی، رسول و عباسی‌شوازی، محمدجلال (1401). درک مهاجران از فاصلۀ اجتماعی با ایرانیان: پژوهش کیفی در بین مهاجران افغانستانی. پژوهش‌های راهبردی مسائل اجتماعی، 11(4)، 26-1.
Sabatier, Colette (2008). Ethnic and national identity among second-generation immigrant adolescents in France: The role of social context and family, Journal of adolescence, 31(2), 185-205.
سجادپور، سیدمحمدکاظم (1384). چهارچوب‌های مفهومی و عملیاتی در مدیریت مهاجرت بین‌المللی مطالعه موردی ایران. تحقیقات جغرافیایی، 20(3)، 30-9.
Soriano Ayalaa, Encarnación, Dalouh, Rachida. (2014). Moroccan immigrant women in Spain: problems of identity and emotional well-being, Social and Behavioral Sciences, 132(1), 222-228.
سنقری، ناهید، فکری‌آزاد، حسین و معارف‌وند، معصومه (1393). موانع ادغام اجتماعی نوجوانان افغانستانی در جامعه ایران، مطالعه موردی شهر تهران. دوفصلنامه پژوهش جامعه‌شناسی معاصر، 3(5)، 124-101.
Stryker, Sheldon, Burke, Peter (2000). The Past, Present, and Future of an Identity Theory, Social Psychology Quarterly, 63(4), 284-297.
صادقی‌فسائی، سهیلا و نظری، حامد (1395). بچه افغانی: شکل‌گیری تصور از خود و دیگری در تجربه زندگی روزمره نوجوانان افغان. مطالعات و تحقیقات اجتماعی در ایران، 5(3)، 456 - 437.
Turner, Jonathan (2003). Contemporary Sociological Theory, California: Sage Publication.
عباسی‌شوازی، محمدجلال، عسکری‌ندوشن، عباس و صادقی، رسول (1388). مادران و دختران و ازدواج (تفاوت‌های نسلی در ایده‌ها و نگرش‌های ازدواج در شهر یزد). مطالعات راهبردی زنان، 11(44)، 7-36.
Refrences in Persian
عبدی‌زرین، سهراب، ادیب‌راد، نسترن، یونسی، سیدجلال و عسگری، علی (1389). رابطۀ سبک‌های هویت با خودکارآمد پنداری دانش آموزان پسر دبیرستانی ایرانی و افغانی ساکن قم. رفاه اجتماعی، 10(39)، 445-471.
Abbasi Shawazi, Mohammad Jalal, Askari Nadushan, Abbas, Sadeghi, Rasool (2008). Mothers and daughters and marriage (generational differences in the ideas and attitudes of marriage in Yazd city), Women’s Strategic Studies, 11(44), 7-36.
علاءالدینی، پویا و میرزایی، آمنه (1397). ادغام مهاجران افغانستانی در نواحی شهری ایران: مطالعۀ موردی محلۀ هرندی در تهران. پژوهش‌های انسان‌شناسی ایران، 8(1)، 25-7.
Abdi Zarrin, Sohrab, Adib Rad, Nastaran, Younesi, Seyed Jalal, Asgari, Ali (2011). Relationship between Identity Styles with Self-Efficacy in Iranian and Afghan High School Boys, Refah, 10(39), 445-471.
کرسول، جان (1391). روش و طرح تحقیق کیفی، انتخاب از میان پنج رویکرد. ترجمه طهمورث حسنقلی‌پور، اشکان اللهیاری، محتبی براری، تهران: نگاه دانش.
Afshani, Seyed alireza, Ruhani, Ali, Kiani-Dehkiani, Hamed (2019). Exploring Job Powerlessness of Nurses. Strategic Research on Social Problems, 8(3), 1-18.
کوزر، لیوئیس (1393). زندگی و اندیشه بزرگان جامعه‌شناسی. ترجمۀ محسن ثلاثی، تهران: علمی.
Ahmadrash, Rashid, Eidi, Masoumeh (2018). Living in a Pendulum; Sociological Study of the Lived Experiences of Afghan Refugees in Iran (Case study: Experiences of Afghan Refugees Residing in the Region of Koshtargah Yazd), Journal of Social Problems of Iran, 9(1), 51-68.
گافمن، اروینگ (1391). نمود خود در زندگی روزمره. تهران: مرکز.
Akhlaqi Ameneh, Yousofi, Ali, Sedigh Ouraee, Gholamreza (2016). Emotional Coldness: Migrant’s Emotions Toward Host Community Based on Afghan Migrants Narratives Settled in Mashhad, Social Problems of Iran. 7(1), 5-29.
گیدنز، آنتونی (1385). تجدد و تشخص، جامعه و هویت شخصی در عصر جدید، ترجمۀ ناصر موفقیان، تهران: نی.
Alaedini, Pooya, Mirzaei, Ameneh (2018). Integration of Afghan Migrants in Iran’s Urban Areas: A Case Study of Tehran’s Harandi Neighborhood, Iranian Journal of Anthropological Research, 8(1), 7-25.
مجدی، علی‌اکبر، صدیق‌اورعی، غلام‌رضا و موسوی، سیدمهدی (1391). پژوهشی در دلایل عدم اظهار هویت افغانستانی نمونه موردی: نسل دوم مهاجران افغانستانی در مشهد. پایان‌نامه کارشناسی ارشد در رشته علوم اجتماعی، دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد، دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی دکتر علی شریعتی.
Burke, Loray (2006). Psychology of Development, translated by Yahya Seyed Mohammadi, 2nd volume, Tehran: Arsbaran Publishing.
مظلومی، نیلوفر (1394). نوجوانان و بحران هویت. همایش بین‌المللی روانشناسی و فرهنگ زندگی، ترکیه: استانبول.
Coser, Lewis (2013). The life and thought of great sociologists. Translated by Mohsen Talasi, Tehran: Scientific Publications.
موسوی‌منفرد، فاطمه‌سادات و سهرابی‌زاده، لیلا (1394). خانواده و بحران هویت نوجوانان. همایش بین‌المللی روان‌شناسی و فرهنگ زندگی. ترکیه: استانبول.
Creswell, John (2012). Qualitative research method and design, choosing among five approaches, translated by Tahmourth Hasan Qalipour, Ashkan Allahiari, Mojtaba Berari, Tehran: Negah Danesh.
Al-Shar, Sahar, & al-Tarawneh, Muhammad (2019). Identity crisis and Assimilation Problems among Syrian Rrefugee Women Residing outside Refugee Camps in Jordan, International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, 10(4), 44-64.
Giddens, Anthony (2015). Modernity and individuality, society and personal identity in the new era, translated by Nasser Moafaqian, Tehran: Ney Publication.
Arnaldo, Carlos (2002) Ethnicity and Marriage Patterns in Mozambique, African Population studies 9(1), 143-164.
Goffman, Erving (2012). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Tehran: Markaz Publication.
Bisaillon, Laura, Gooshki, Ehsan, Briskman, Linda. (2016). Medico-legal borders and the shaping of health services for Afghans in Iran: physical, social, bureaucratic, and public health conditions of care, International Journal of Migration and Border Studies, 2(1), 40-58.
Iman, Mohammad Taghi (2011). Qualitative Research Methodology, Qom: Howzeh and Daneshgah Publication.
Burke, Peter (2004). Identities and Social Structure: The 2003 Cooley-Mead Award Address, Social Psychology Quarterly, 67(1), 5-15.
Iman, Mohammad Taqi, Keyzghan, Tahereh (2008). Investigating factors influencing women’s social identity, a case study of women in Shiraz, Al-Zahra University Humanities Scientific-Research Quarterly, 12(45), 107-79.
Burke, Peter (2006). Identity Change, Social Psychology Quarterly, 69(1), 81-96.
Iman, Mohammadtaghi, & Mohamadian, Manijeh (2008). Grounded Theory Methodology. Methodology of Social Sciences and Humanities, 14(56), 31-54.
Burke, Peter, Stets, Jan., Cerven, Christine (2007). Gender, Legitimation, and Identity Verification in Groups, Social Psychology Quarterly, 70(1), 27-42.
Khosravi, Roghayeh, Bahadori, Razieh, Geravand, Fatemeh, Ahmadi, Aliar (2019). An Investiagation on Adaptation of Afghan Immigrant Students Living in Shiraz City, Iranian Population Studies, 5(1), 149-175.
Cormoș, Viorica (2022). The Processes of Adaptation, Assimilation and Integration in the Country of Migration: A Psychosocial Perspective on Place Identity Changes, Sustainability, 14(16), 10296.
Majdi, Ali Akbar, Sediq Orei, Gholam Reza, Mousavi, Seyed Mehdi (2013). Research on the reasons for not declaring Afghan identity, a case example: the second generation of Afghan immigrants in Mashhad, Master’s thesis in the field of social sciences, Ministry of Science and technological research, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad - Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Dr. Ali Shariati.
Grünenberga, Perl, Olwig, Karen, Simonsen, Anja (2020). Issue Introduction: Identities and Identity: Biometric Technologies, Borders and Migration, Ethnos, 87(2), 211-222.
Mazloumi, Nilofar (2014). Adolescents and Identity Crisis, International Conference on Psychology and Life Culture, Turkey: Istanbul.
Jenkins, Richard (1996). Social identity, London: Routledge.
Mousavi Monfared, Fatemeh Sadat, Sohrabizadeh, Leila (2014). Family and adolescent identity crisis. International Conference on Psychology and Culture of Life, Turkey: Istanbul.
Kroger, Jane, Marcia, James (2011). The Identity Statuses: Origins, Meanings, and Interpretations in handbook of identity theory and research, Edited by Seth J. Schwartz, Koen Luyckx, Vivian L. Vignoles, London: Springer.
Mousavinodushan, Seyyed Mohammad (2015) Investigating the relationship between the use of media and the national identity of the youth of Yazd city, Master’s thesis in the field of media management, Payam Noor University, Tehran West.
Leszczensky, Lars, Stark, Tobias, H. Flache, Andreas, Munniksma, Anke (2016). Disentangling the relation between young immigrants’ host country identification and their friendships with natives, Social Networks, 44(1), 179-189.
Navabakhsh, Mehrdad, Nikukar, Mastane (2011). Globalization and youth identity crisis, Strategic Studies of Public Policy, 2(3), 110-89.
Machingura, Fotunate, Mushoperi Machingura (2013). Where Do You Come From and When Are You Going Back to Your Country? The online postgraduate journal of the College of Arts, 5(1), 1-10.
Ritzer, George (2004). Sociological theory in the contemporary era, translated by Mohsen Solasi, Tehran: Scientific Publication.
Nair, Karthika, James, Justin, Santhosh, Kreg (2015). Identity Crisis among Early Adolescents in Relations to Abusive Experiences in the Childhood, Social Support and Parental Support, Journal of psychosocial research, 10(1), 167-190.
Ruhani, Ali, Ahmadi, Habib, Iman, Mohammad Taghi, Goli, Ali (2014). Investigating negative social emotions of Iranians towards Afghan immigrants (case study: citizens of Shiraz), Social Development, 10(1), 67-96.
Putnam, Robert (2007). “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty-first Century”, Scandinavian Political Studies, 30(2), 137-174.
Ruhani, Ali, Anbarlou, Masoud (2017). Social Formation of Negative Emotions by Ascribed Misdeeds toward Afghan Residents in Shiraz, Towards a Grounded Theory, Quarterly of Social Studies and Research in Iran, 5(4), 617-640.
Riek, Blake, Mania, Eric, Gaertner, Samuel (2006). Intergroup threat and outgroup attitudes: a meta-analytic review, Personality Social Psychology Review, 10(4), 336-353.
Ruhani, Ali, Askari Nadushan, Abbas, Ghoroghchian, Zahra (2018). The interaction of the internalization of early marriage and the resistance to it among the second-generation Afghan immigrant women living in Yazd, Population Studies, 5(1), 177-216.
Ruhani, Ali, Keshavarzi, Saeed, Kızık, Busra, Çakal, Husein (2023). Formation of hatred emotions toward Afghan refugees in Iran: A grounded theory study, Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 29(4), 355-364.
Sadeghi Fasai, Soheila, Nazari, Hamed (2015). Afghan child: the formation of self-concept and the other in the daily life experience of Afghan teenagers, Social Studies and Research in Iran, 5(3), 437-456.
Sabatier, Colette (2008). Ethnic and national identity among second-generation immigrant adolescents in France: The role of social context and family, Journal of adolescence, 31(2), 185-205.
Sajjadpour, Seyyed Mohammad Kazem (2005). Conceptual and operational frameworks in the management of international migration, a case study of Iran, Geographical Research, 20(3), 9-30.
Soriano Ayalaa, Encarnación, Dalouh, Rachida. (2014). Moroccan immigrant women in Spain: problems of identity and emotional well-being, Social and Behavioral Sciences, 132(1), 222-228.
Songhori, Nahid, Fekri Azad, Hossein, Ma’arif Vand, Masoumeh (2013). Obstacles to the social integration of Afghan teenagers in Iranian society, a case study of the city of Tehran, biquarterly journal of contemporary sociology, 3(5), 101-124.
Stryker, Sheldon, Burke, Peter (2000). The Past, Present, and Future of an Identity Theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63(4), 284-297.
Strauss, Anselm, Corbin, Juliet (2011). Basics of Qualitative Research, Techniques and Stages of Grounded Theory Production, translated by Ebrahim Afshar, Tehran: Ney Publication.
Turner, Jonathan (2003). Contemporary Sociological Theory. California: Sage Publication.
Tavakoli Khomeini, Atefeh, Abdulmaleki, Jafar, Monsefpour, Mohammad Mahdi (2011). identity of immigrants; A reflection on the identity of the second generation of Iranian immigrants, National Studies, 12(47), 168-149.
Turner, Jonathan (2005). The emergence of sociological theory, translated by Abdul Ali Lehsaizadeh, Shiraz: Navid Shiraz Publication.
Zandi Navgaran, Leila, Askari Nadushan, Abbas, Afrasiabi, Hossein, Sadeghi, Rasul, Abbasi Shawazi, Mohammad Jalal (2022). Immigrants’ understanding of social distance with Iranians: qualitative research among Afghan immigrants, Strategic Researches of Social Problems, 11(4), 1-26.
Zanjani, Habibullah (2010). Migration, Tehran: Samt Publication.

  • Receive Date 08 June 2026
  • Publish Date 08 June 2026