The psychology of discriminated ethnic minority individuals in the Netherlands; a Jungian perspective

Discrimination is an influential structural determinant of mental health. Data show that at least two out of ten ethnic minority individuals in the Netherlands felt being discriminated against. Discrimination is not an incidental occurrence, but a structural recurring pattern within various parts of life especially during young adulthood. Ethnic discrimination is associated with a wide spectrum of psychological disturbances such as depression, anxiety and psychosis. This paper proposes a perspective through Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung’s notion of regressive restoration of the persona as a conceptual framework to understand the psychological processes behind ethnic discrimination as a complex structural determinant undermining mental health. Jung conceptualized the persona as the social identity of the individual formed by society and argued that after adverse life events, one’s social identity can regress into a more limited social identity. The paper applies the concept of regressive restoration of the persona specifically to the context of discrimination among ethnic minority individuals in the Netherlands. I argue that discrimination alters the way ethnic minority individuals relate to society through a regressed social identity which forms during emerging adulthood. This Jungian conceptual framework aligns with theories such as the social defeat hypothesis and minority stress, which proposes that repeated experiences of discrimination increase the risk for psychological disturbances. This perspective points toward the relevance of future research on societal and culturally specific diagnosis and management strategies of psychological symptoms in discriminated ethnic minority individuals in the Netherlands especially during adolescence.