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Despite the multicultural nature of African societies, there is still very little knowledge about acculturation and its association with identity on this continent. Acculturation processes and outcomes are strongly associated with identity. The objective of this article is to relate different models of acculturation (unidimensional, bi-dimensional, multidimensional) with the tri-dimensional model of identity (personal, relational, and social). Social identity components, such as ethnicity, religion, and culture, suggest a need for modification of Western models of acculturation to embrace the multifaceted realities of non-Western multicultural societies. The social complexity and the continuous transition within African societies provides unique opportunities to examine and further develop the multidimensional acculturation models to take into account the social complexity which informs identity issues both within and across different African nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we used the tri-dimensional model of identity and acculturation strategies to explore how black people living in the Netherlands define themselves. We used a qualitative survey design in which 14 participants (females = 8; age range 21 to 58) completed open-ended questions about their experiences of being black in the Netherlands. Data was analysed using hermeneutic phenomenology in three steps: naive understanding, structural analysis, and comprehensive understanding. We derived several main themes: Acceptance; Inclusion; Stereotypes; Social membership; Person-specific characteristics; Separation (Contributors); and Social Status. We associated the themes Acceptance, Inclusion, and Separation (Contributors) with acculturation and acculturative strategies. The other themes can be connected to the tri-dimensional identity model. Social membership and Social status are related to the social and relational aspects of identity, while Person-specific characteristics can be linked to personal identity. Lastly, the theme Stereotypes can be related to both acculturation and racism, but also personal identity as it shows how the participants perceive their self-concept to contradict the beliefs that mainstream Dutch society holds about them. We conclude that identity construction among the black respondents was reliant on both their ethnic community membership and their membership of the mainstream Dutch community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]