Preference for Geographical Location as a Measure of Ethnic/National Identity in Children in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Two groups of children in Northern Ireland, aged 11–12 years (n = 398) and 14–15 years (n = 315), were asked to rank order four areas — Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, England/Wales (as one area) and Scotland — in terms of their residential preference. When the subjects were divided into those who had attended Catholic and Protestant primary schools, it was found that the Protestant children showed a marked preference for Northern Ireland, followed by England/Wales and Scotland, with the least preferred area being the Republic of Ireland. The Catholics, on the other hand, displayed a marked preference for the Republic of Ireland, closely followed by Northern Ireland, but placed England/Wales and Scotland last. This study with young people thus replicated the findings of past studies with adult samples, where Protestants identified themselves in the sequence Ulster—British—Irish, contrasting with Catholics who favoured the sequence Irish—Ulster—British, and suggests a method that may be used to measure identity preference in children.