Exploring the Relationships and Differences of Cultural Identity Salience, Life Satisfaction, and Cultural Demographics Among Emerging Adults

Quantitative research methods were used to evaluate the salience of emerging adults' (N = 444) cultural identities of race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, spirituality, and socioeconomic status on perceived life satisfaction and cultural demographics using the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC; Ratts et al., 2016) as a guiding framework. Findings from a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated significant differences between specific cultural demographics and their cultural identity salience. Racial/ethnic and spiritual identify salience were found to be significantly related to emerging adults' life satisfaction. A regression model considering race/ethnicity and spirituality identity saliences was significant when controlling for all cultural identities. These findings and their application to the MSJCC framework and counseling practice are explained.