Immigrants' Cultural Identities as Sources of Civic Engagement

Immigrant parents (first generation) and adolescents (second generation) from El Salvador and India (N = 80) took part in interviews on civic engagement. The immigrants were almost unanimous in regarding civic engagement as important. They also were engaged themselves, more so at the community than the political level. One third of immigrants were engaged in community activities that specifically had a cultural focus or occurred through cultural organizations, and the comparable number for political activities was 25%. Cultural motives (i.e., a cultural or immigrant sense of self) were twice as likely to be mentioned as sources of engagement rather than disengagement. Qualitative analyses of these cultural motives revealed seven engagement themes (e.g., cultural tradition of service) and three of disengagement (e.g., ethnic exclusion).     

Parent Civic Beliefs,Civic Participation,Socialization Practices,and Child Civic Engagement

We examined civic engagement in middle childhood and the degree to which parents’ civic beliefs (i.e., social trust and civic efficacy), civic participation, and socialization practices were associated with indicators of children's civic engagement (i.e., social responsibility and civic values). Survey data were collected from 359 racially, ethnically, and economically diverse upper elementary students and their parents from six schools in Southern California. The results of path analyses indicated that higher levels of parent social trust were associated with higher levels of community responsibility and civic values in children. Additionally, parent social trust, civic efficacy, and civic participation were indirectly associated with children's community responsibility and civic values through children's perception of their parents as civic role models. Findings suggest that parents’ civic beliefs and civic participation are meaningful to children's civic engagement.     

Intergenerational persistence of health: Do immigrants get healthier as they remain in the U.S. for more generations?

It is well known that a substantial part of income and education is passed on from parents to children, generating substantial persistence in socioeconomic status across generations. In this paper, we examine whether another form of human capital, health, is also largely transmitted from generation to generation. Using data from the NLSY, we first present new evidence on intergenerational transmission of health outcomes in the U.S., including weight, height, the body mass index (BMI), asthma and depression for both natives and immigrants. We show that between 50% and 70% of the mothers’ health status persists in both native and immigrant children, and that, on average, immigrants experience higher persistence than natives in BMI. We also find that the longer immigrants remain in the U.S., the less intergenerational persistence there is and the more immigrants look like native children. Unfortunately, the more generations immigrant families remain in the U.S., the more children of immigrants resemble natives’ higher BMI.     

Becoming American,Constructing Ethnicity: Immigrant Youth and Civic Engagement

After presenting demographic data to demonstrate why immigrant youth are and will be important, this article addresses the limited literature on immigrant youth civic engagement. It also examines the historical literature of immigrant youth in the United States, specifically that of the last great wave of immigration approximately 100 years ago, along with the literature on contemporary adult immigrant civic engagement. It concludes that today's immigrant youth are Americanizing. Nevertheless, when U.S. society and particularly the U.S. state treats immigrant youth as different, the immigrant youth respond with pride by defending their cultural integrity, their right to be different. Contemporary immigrant youth also have the opportunity to maintain transnational ties with their homeland. In response to these forces and opportunities, immigrant youth maintain multiple identities, sometimes identifying with their homeland culture at other times with the United States. The unanswered question is what difference these multiple ties may make for civic engagement.     

Religion and the organizational context of immigrant civic engagement: Mexican Catholicism in the USA

This article complements emerging research on immigrant civic participation by examining how Catholic churches facilitate volunteer and political participation among first-generation Mexican immigrants. Drawing on interviews and ethnographic data, it identifies two reinforcing mechanisms that churches foster: small groups and organizational links. Specifically, small groups, like prayer groups, provide immigrants with intimate contexts for building networks, learning skills and sharing resources. On the other hand, churches cultivate links to secular organizations that sensitize immigrants to public debates and provide opportunities for civic participation. Put simply, church-going immigrants take advantage of broader civic opportunities because they gain resources and skills within small groups. Implications for understanding immigrant religion and civic participation more broadly are discussed.     

Heterosis and outbreeding depression in descendants of natural immigrants to an inbred population of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia)

We studied heterosis and outbreeding depression among immigrants and their descendants in a population of song sparrows on Mandarte Island, Canada. Using data spanning 19 generations, we compared survival, seasonal reproductive success, and lifetime reproductive success of immigrants, natives (birds with resident-hatched parents and grandparents), and their offspring (F1s, birds with an immigrant and a native parent, and F2s, birds with an immigrant grandparent and resident-hatched grandparent in each of their maternal and paternal lines). Lifetime reproductive success of immigrants was no worse than that of natives, but other measures of performance differed in several ways. Immigrant females laid later and showed a tendency to lay fewer clutches, but had relatively high success raising offspring per egg produced. The few immigrant males survived well but were less likely to breed than native males of the same age that were alive in the same year. Female F1s laid earlier than expected based on the average for immigrant and native females, and adult male F1s were more likely to breed than expected based on the average for immigrant and native males. The performance differences between immigrant and native females and between F1s and the average of immigrants and natives are consistent with the hypothesis that immigrants were disadvantaged by a lack of site experience and that immigrant offspring benefited from heterosis. However, we could not exclude the possibility that immigrants had a different strategy for optimizing reproductive success or that they experienced ecological compensation for life-history parameters. For example, the offspring of immigrants may have survived well because immigrants laid later and produced fewer clutches, thereby raising offspring during a period of milder climatic conditions. Although sample sizes were small, we found large performance differences between F1s and F2s, which suggested that either heterosis was associated with epistasis in F1s, that F2s experienced outbreeding depression, or that both phenomena occurred. These findings indicate that the performance of dispersers may be affected more by fine-scale genetic differentiation than previously assumed in this and comparable systems.     

Organizational life and political incorporation of two Asian immigrant groups: A case study

Civil society is the foundation of a healthy democracy but its immigrant element has received little attention. This paper is a case study of immigrant organizations of highly skilled Asian Indians and Chinese immigrants in a suburban town of Edison, New Jersey. I find that civic participation of Asian Indian immigrants spills over into political incorporation while Chinese immigrant organizations remain marginalized. I argue that local processes of racialization are central in explaining differences in political incorporation of immigrants. In the local context, the Chinese are seen as successful but conformist model minorities and Asian Indians as invaders and troublemakers. The racialization of Asian Indians has resulted in more political activity and higher levels of political visibility of their organizations. The results highlight shortcomings of current assimilation theories, which give little space to civic and political incorporation and view human capital in an unqualifiedly positive light.     

Teachers’ civic socialization practices and children’s civic engagement

We examined the degree to which civic learning activities and civic discussion in the classroom were associated with children’s civic engagement in the upper elementary grades. We also explored the types of civic activities used by teachers during middle childhood. Survey data were collected from 359 ethnically and economically diverse 4th–6th grade students (M age?=?10.56, 56% female), their parents, and teachers (n?=?20) from six public schools in Southern California. The results of path analyses showed that teachers’ greater use of civic learning activities was associated with higher levels of social responsibility to people and civic values in students. However, general civic discussion was not associated with any indicators of children’s civic engagement. Additionally, teachers reported using numerous types of civic activities, thus showing the diversity in “civic learning” across classrooms. Practical implications for elementary civic education are discussed.     

Developmental Antecedents of Young Adult Civic Engagement

Abstract

Civic engagement was studied in relation to overall development in adolescence, emerging adulthood, and young adulthood to examine how earlier activity involvement and success in prior and concurrent age-salient domains of competence may contribute to 2 forms of civic engagement in adulthood (citizenship and volunteering). Data on 163 youth were drawn from a longitudinal study of competence in a normative, urban school sample. Results indicate that competence and activity involvement in adolescence predict citizenship and volunteering in adulthood, 10 to 15 years later. As hypothesized, however, the level of competence in developmentally salient domains in adolescence and emerging adulthood fully mediate the predictive significance of concurrent activity involvement for civic engagement outcomes in adulthood. Findings also suggest that citizenship and volunteering are distinct types of civic engagement that should be studied separately.     

A person-centered exploration of children of immigrants’ social experiences and their school-based well-being

This study aimed to explore commonalities among discrimination, stereotyping, and peer-related social experiences of children of immigrants, and to see if these experiences might relate to children’s school-based well-being. Two age-based cohorts of 294 children and their immigrant parents from Portugal, the Dominican Republic, and Cambodia were interviewed. Person-centered analyses resulted in four unique clusters of children’s social experiences. Notably, children in clusters with positive views of cultural in-group and out-group members also reported positive school-based well-being. Person-centered analyses on parent variables found three clusters based on parents’ ethnic/racial socialization practices. There was no overlap between parent and child clusters, indicating unique profiles between parent socialization and child social experiences within immigrant families. Implications of connections among social experiences and school-based emotional well-being for children of immigrants are discussed.     

Bridging the gap: transnational and ethnic organizations in the political incorporation of immigrants in the United States

This study was prompted by concerns about the ways in which immigrant organizations, especially those of a transnational character, may retard or prevent political integration among recent migrants to the United States. For this purpose, we constructed an inventory of all organizations created by Colombian, Dominican and Mexican immigrants in the United States, interviewed leaders of the twenty largest organizations from each group in person, and conducted a survey of 178 additional organizations by telephone or Internet. Results reveal a near-absence of perceived conflict between transnational activism and political incorporation. Almost without exception, leaders asserted that there was no contradiction between home-country loyalties and activities and US citizenship and voting. These results appear to reflect genuine conviction, rather than any social desirability syndrome. Objective indicators show that most organizations maintain close ties with US political authorities at various levels and engage in a number of US-focused civic and political activities. Determinants of such engagement are examined. Implications of the results for theory and public policy are discussed.     

Segmented assimilation and socio-economic integration of Chinese immigrant children in the USA

Research on the new second generation has paid much attention to testing one of the hypotheses posed by segmented assimilation theory – downward assimilation into America's underclass – and has neglected to examine other possible outcomes. In this paper, I address a much understudied pathway – assimilation by way of the ethnic community – based on a case study of Chinese immigrant children in the USA. I show that the children of Chinese immigrants have made inroads into mainstream America through educational achievement, not only because of the strong value their parents put on education but also because resources generated in the ethnic community help actualize that value. The Chinese American experience suggests that, in order to advance to the rank of middle-class Americans, immigrant parents have chosen the ethnic way to facilitate children's social mobility and achieved success. Paradoxically, ‘assimilated’ children have also relied on ethnicity for empowerment to fight negative stereotyping of the racialized other.     

Predicting Positive Citizenship from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Effects of a Civic Context

Researchers have theorized that programs to promote positive citizenship should begin with an opportunity for adolescents to participate in civic activities, such as community service or political volunteering. In this article we extend the theory by arguing that a more systemic approach is needed, in which a civic context is developed to promote citizenship. We hypothesize that living within a consistent civic context leads to civic engagement in late adolescence and into young adulthood. We use a diverse, longitudinal dataset to test this hypothesis. We find that social interactions with peers, parent modeling of civic behaviors, and cultural factors, such as ethnicity-specific practices, cumulatively result in a higher level of civic activities among youth and that a continued context that includes these factors results in a higher level of civic activities into adulthood. The implications of our findings are discussed with regard to program and policy development.     

Predicting Positive Citizenship from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Effects of a Civic Context

Researchers have theorized that programs to promote positive citizenship should begin with an opportunity for adolescents to participate in civic activities, such as community service or political volunteering. In this article we extend the theory by arguing that a more systemic approach is needed, in which a civic context is developed to promote citizenship. We hypothesize that living within a consistent civic context leads to civic engagement in late adolescence and into young adulthood. We use a diverse, longitudinal dataset to test this hypothesis. We find that social interactions with peers, parent modeling of civic behaviors, and cultural factors, such as ethnicity-specific practices, cumulatively result in a higher level of civic activities among youth and that a continued context that includes these factors results in a higher level of civic activities into adulthood. The implications of our findings are discussed with regard to program and policy development.     

Second‐generation decline: Scenarios for the economic and ethnic futures of the post‐1965 American immigrants

‘Second‐generation decline’ questions the current American faith in the myth of nearly automatic immigrant success. In discussing economic scenarios, positive and negative, for the future of the children of the post‐1965 immigrants, the possibility is proposed that a significant number of the children of poor immigrants, especially dark‐skinned ones, might not obtain jobs in the mainstream economy. Neither will they be willing ‐ or even able ‐ to take low‐wage, long‐hour ‘immigrant’ jobs, as their parents did. As a result, they (and young males among them particularly) may join blacks and Hispanics among those already excluded, apparently permanently, from the mainstream economy. The article also deals with the relations between ethnicity and economic conditions in the USA and with the continued relevance of the assimilation and acculturation processes described by ‘straight‐line theory’. This issue, as well as most others discussed, may also be salient for European countries experiencing immigration, especially those countries with troubled economies.     

When in America,do as the Americans? The evolution of health behaviors and outcomes across immigrant cohorts

This study seeks to understand US immigrants’ health-related behaviors and outcomes across arrival cohorts. We simultaneously examine risky consumption choices (smoking and drinking) and physical health conditions (asthma, diabetes, vision problems, and coronary heart diseases) using data from the National Health Interview Surveys (1989–2018). We incorporate cohort fixed-effects and the interactions between cohort effects and years since immigration into our empirical framework to capture the dynamics of immigrant health over time. For all health indicators, we find that there are important differences between arriving immigrants and natives. Despite some heterogeneity in the dynamics of unhealthy behaviors, this heterogeneity seems to dissipate as we explore longer-term health outcomes. Overall, our findings provide an interesting outlook on how the integration into the host society affects American immigrants’ health. We contribute new results to the immigrant assimilation literature, which has primarily focused on obesity and wages.     

The role of language and the presence of previous immigration cohorts in immigrant political engagement: Ecuadorian collective action in New York City and Madrid

Scholarship on immigration has recently begun to examine the social process by which immigrants make collective demands. By focussing on the case of Ecuadorian immigrants in New York City and Madrid, this comparative analysis shows that in addition to differences in the political opportunity structures in these cities, there are at least two additional contextual differences shaping the ways in which participants in this study mobilize. Mobilization is shaped by the presence or absence of previous immigration cohorts and by linguistic differences. The findings reveal the value of undertaking comparative case analysis to shed light on immigrant collective political engagement.     

The Relative Contribution of Immigration or Local Increase for Persistence of Urban Schistosomiasis in Salvador,Bahia, Brazil

Urbanization is increasing across the globe, and diseases once considered rural can now be found in urban areas due to the migration of populations from rural endemic areas, local transmission within the city, or a combination of factors. We investigated the epidemiologic characteristics of urban immigrants and natives living in a neighborhood of Salvador, Brazil where there is a focus of transmission of Schistosoma mansoni. In a cross-sectional study, all inhabitants from 3 sections of the community were interviewed and examined. In order to determine the degree of parasite differentiation between immigrants and the native born, S. mansoni eggs from stools were genotyped for 15 microsatellite markers. The area received migrants from all over the state, but most infected children had never been outside of the city, and infected snails were present at water contact sites. Other epidemiologic features suggested immigration contributed little to the presence of infection. The intensity and prevalence of infection were the same for immigrants and natives when adjusted for age, and length of immigrant residence in the community was positively associated with prevalence of infection. The population structure of the parasites also supported that the contribution from immigration was small, since the host-to-host differentiation was no greater in the urban parasite population than a rural population with little distant immigration, and there had been little differentiation in the urban population over the past 7 years. Public health efforts should focus on eliminating local transmission, and once eliminated, reintroduction from distant migration is unlikely.     

The construction of ‘Asian American’: Reflections on intermarriage and ethnic identity among second‐generation Chinese and Korean Americans

This article explores the ethnic self‐identification of second‐generation children whose immigrant parents came to the United States from Latin America. The focus of the analysis is the adoption of the pan‐ethnic label, ‘Hispanic’, in contrast to national designators and non‐hyphenated American identities. Using data from a recent large survey of children of immigrants in south Florida and southern California, the analysis explores the determinants of ethnic self‐identities and the potential consequences of the adoption of one of these symbolic labels on children's self‐esteem, educational expectations and perceptions of discrimination. Contrary to the commonly‐held assumption that the label ‘Hispanic’ denotes greater assimilation into the mainstream of US society, our findings indicate that children who adopt the Hispanic label are the least well assimilated: they report poorer English skills, lower self‐esteem and higher rates of poverty than their counterparts who identify themselves as Americans or as hyphenated Americans. Theoretical and policy implications of findings as they bear on prospects for successful adaptation of second‐generation youth are discussed.