Situated balancing of dual identities in adolescence: the association between science and gender identities

Introduction Individuals employ two types of strategies to navigate conflicting identities and reduce dissonance, particularly in contexts where one identity is devalued. They may selectively distance themselves from a subset of traits associated with one group (e.g., gender) which are stereotypically devalued in a particular domain (e.g., science), or they may distance themselves from the devalued group altogether and align closely with the high-status group. Alternatively, individuals may choose to withdraw from the previously valued achievement domain in response to societal signals indicating that their identity is misaligned with success in that domain. Past research on managing dual identities has been on adults. Surprisingly little research has examined whether and how such strategies play out in adolescence. Adolescence represents a critical period for identity formation, during which youth actively construct their self-concept in response to salient societal expectations and emerging interests in academic and career domains. Are dissonance reduction strategies evident in early adolescence among girls seeking to balance their gender identity and science identity? Is this balance affected by situational threats that make the incompatibility of identities more salient? Methods We report a longitudinal study of adolescent girls recruited from 10 schools across the United States ( N = 2,056) to investigate how adolescent girls balance two social identities that are culturally misaligned. Results Results showed that among adolescent girls who report strong science identity, belonging, and self-efficacy in science (i.e., strong science self-conceptions)-greater perceptions of threat in classroom settings were associated with a tendency to distance themselves from their gender. Situational threat was also associated with stronger implicit stereotypes about science as a male domain. Discussion These identity negotiations suggest that some girls cope with the misalignment between femininity and STEM by repositioning themselves as different from other girls, which reinforces, rather than disrupts, the stereotype that science is a male-dominated domain. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.