First Reflections on Identity Constructions of International Mobiles based on Data of from the German Emigration and Remigration Panel Study (GERPS)

International mobile persons usually live in multicultural contexts and have frequent opportunities for cultural contact. They live for example in mixed-national households or interact with different cultures in their everyday live. An interesting question is how they organize and experience their nationalities, identities and feelings of belongings and how these develop over time.

Based on data from the first two waves of the new and unique German Emigration and Remigration Panel Study (GERPS) the paper tries to answer the following questions: How are the identities and belongings experienced? Do they self-identify in a mono- or bi or transcultural way, and what factors (sociodemographic, personality) contribute to either identification?

GERPS will provide information on approximately 11.000 international mobile individuals which have recently emigrated from Germany to any other country in the world or recently re-migrated to Germany. As GERPS is a panel study, I will be able to present first results concerning developments and changes over time, which is important as modern theories reflect identity and cultural construction as dynamic negotiation processes.