The Enigma of Polyglossia: Deconstructing the Putative Influence of Multilingualism on Psychological Adaptability

Abstract

The current study examines the influence of multilingualism on emotional control and identity fluidity in young people. Contrary to the common belief that moving between many linguistic and cultural contexts increases emotional skills and promotes a more flexible sense of self, our research paints a more nuanced picture. Our findings contradict the notion that multilingualism inherently results in a more adaptive or dynamic identity structure because we found no statistically significant link between it and ethnic identity fluidity using the Ethnic Identity Scale (EIS2) and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ2). This disparity could be a result of the shortcomings of current indicators, which place too much emphasis on ethnicity and ignore other aspects of one’s identity that are influenced by linguistic diversity. In a similar way, the current literature indicates a potential difference between emotional regulation and emotional competence, which emphasizes a gap in the measurement instruments used, even if multilingualism was not strongly correlated with trait emotional regulation. ‌Adding to the confusion is the weak link between ethnic identity and emotional control, which implies that identity strength does not consistently predict improved emotion regulation results in multilingual environments. The study’s limitations pertaining to its cross-sectional ‌methodology, use of self-report measures, and sample features are covered. The ramifications demand the use of more culturally sensitive, multidimensional‌ ‌instruments ‌and approaches, such as longitudinal and qualitative methodologies, to gain a deeper understanding of the psychological effects of multilingualism as well as its contextual, developmental, and experiential nuances.