Call for papers: Managing identities in diverse societies

Guest editors: Elisabetta Crocetti, Valeria Bacaro, Beatrice Bobba, & Fabio Maratia 

Special issue topic 

Adolescence represents a key developmental period for identity formation, during which young people actively define who they are, their place in society, and how they relate to others. In current diverse societies, this process can be particularly challenging for both adolescents with and without a migrant background who navigate through a variety of cultural perspectives leading to potentially different identity pathways.  

The ERC-Consolidator project IDENTITIES (G.A. 101002163; https://site.unibo.it/identities/en) applied an ecological developmental intergroup perspective to study how adolescents with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds navigate the complex task of forming, refining, and consolidating their identity in current multicultural societies. By adopting a multidimensional ecological developmental intergroup perspective, the project had three main objectives: 

• To examine how intergroup experiences in ecological contexts (from parents, friends, school, and leisure microsystems to cultural macrosystems) influence the development of adolescents’ (personal, social, and human) identities; 
• To examine how the interplay of identities affects adolescents’ (physical, psychological, and social) well-being; 
• To examine how intergroup experiences in multiple ecological contexts influence adolescents’ well-being, disentangling direct and indirect effects (mediated by identities). 

The IDENTITIES project examined these dynamics applying longitudinal, multi-informant, and multi-method approaches across multiple time frames (i.e., daily, monthly, yearly) between 2021 and 2026, accounting for broader socio-historical events (e.g., pandemic, war) that occurred over the same period.  

Connection with the IDENTITIES conference

This special issue is connected to the final conference of the IDENTITIES, held in Bologna (Italy), from March 17 to 29, 2027, and aims to bring together contributions that align with one or more of the project’s three core objectives. Contributions may come from individual researchers or research groups whose work offers complementary insights related to these objectives, thereby helping to position the research conducted within the IDENTITIES project within the broader international scholarship on related issues.  

Researchers participating in the conference may submit a poster by following the Call available here (deadline September 30, 2026) and indicate whether they would like their poster to also be considered for the special issue. In this case, during the conference, they will have the opportunity to receive feedback on their work and on the extent to which it aligns with the aims and scope of the present special issue. However, the opportunity to contribute to the special issue is not limited to conference participants and remains open also to scholars who are unable to attend the conference. 

Types of eligible articles

We welcome submissions of articles that: 

• examine how intergroup experiences across adolescents’ ecological contexts (e.g., family, peers, school, and broader cultural society) shape the development of personal and social identities; 
• investigate how identity processes and configurations are associated with multiple dimensions of well-being, including psychological, social, and physical well-being; 
• explore the direct and indirect pathways linking experiences in ecological contexts and well-being, including the mediating role of identity processes; 
• review and/or meta-analyze existing research on one or more of project research objectives; 
• introduce innovative methodologies for studying identity development in diverse contexts (e.g., longitudinal research integrating multiple time scales, multi-method, and/or multi-informant approaches). 
• present intervention studies aimed at promoting positive identity development, with particular attention to culturally sensitive approaches. Contributions examining intended, unintended, and null findings from identity interventions and those reflecting upon the challenges of intervention development/adaptation across diverse adolescent populations and contexts are especially encouraged.   
• present novel or adapt existing theoretical frameworks to guide the understanding of identity development in contexts among adolescents with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. 

All article types are welcomed for the current special issue. See the Instruction for Authors for more information on the types of articles that can be submitted to the journal.  

• Original empirical articles 
• Theoretical articles 
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses 
• Methodological articles 
• Brief reports 
• Registered Reports 

Timeline and submission process

• March 20, 2027: The submission form for proposals will open. Interested authors may submit a proposal including: (a) the title of the contribution, (b) an abstract of up to 700 words, and (c) a list of references, which will not be included in the abstract word count. Authors may also include one or two optional tables or figures. 
• April 30, 2027: Deadline for proposal submission.   
• By May 30, 2027: Guest Editors’ decision/feedback regarding invitations for full manuscript submission sent to authors.  
• November 15, 2027: Full manuscript submission deadline. Invited full manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the journal’s author guidelines (Instruction for Authors) and submitted through the journal’s submission portal. All submitted papers will undergo a regular peer-review process. Each article will be handled by one of the guest editors, who will send it out for blind peer review to two reviewers. An invitation to submit a full paper is, thus, not a guarantee of acceptance. 

For more information, please contact the guest editors: 

• Elisabetta Crocetti, University of Bologna, Italy (elisabetta.crocetti@unibo.it) 
• Valeria Bacaro, PhD, University of Bologna, Italy (valeria.bacaro2@unibo.it)  
• Beatrice Bobba, PhD, Utrecht University, The Netherlands (b.bobba@uu.nl)  
• Fabio Maratia, PhD, University of Bologna, Italy (fabio.maratia2@unibo.it) 

About the Identity journal

The Identity journal is indexed in the main databases (Scopus, Web of Science, PsychInfo , etc). Its impact factor (IF) is 1.9 (2024; Journal citation reports) and its CiteScore (Scopus) is 5.1 (Q1 CiteScore Best Quartile; Scimago).

The journal is hybrid, meaning that authors can publish their work open access, but there is no obligation to do so. For more info on the journal, please visit the journal website.