THE IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION OF YOUNG PEOPLE WITH A MIGRATORY BACKGROUND - THE CASE OF YOUNG WOMEN OF MAGHREBINE ORIGIN
The identity issues, faced by every young adult, are particularly stressed in a transcultural context. The objective of this qualitative research is to study the identity construction of young women, born in France of parents who emigrated from the Maghreb. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 subjects (Age range: 17-25 years), tape recorded and analyzed with the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 2008). The results reveal three salient issues of the identity construction in this population: the Islam practice, the norm of endogamy and the norm of virginity. These cultural norms and practices represent symbolic markers of identity. They acquired their status as identity issues in the interaction between France and people from the Maghreb, in the past and even more today.