Immigrant families, networks, and 2nd generation

In the burgeoning migration literature much of the attention both among researchers and policy makers focuses on voluntary migration while forced migration is of major significance in the contemporary world. Understandably there is a focus on the movement of refugees from the country of origin to the destination place but it is also relevant to ask whether refugees who arrive in the destination place will remain and adapt to the host society, and if so, to what extent their adaptation patterns influence their return strategies. This is the area in which the present paper seeks to make a contribution by examining the experience of second-generation Afghan refugees in Iran. Using the survey of ‘the Adaptation of Afghan Youth in Iran’ conducted in Tehran and Mashhad in 2010, the paper addresses the following questions: What are the patterns of social adaptation among second-generation Afghans? What are the return aspirations and intentions of second-generation Afghans? To what extent do the adaptation patterns influence their return strategies? The findings suggest that the second-generation Afghans have experienced a variety of adaptation patterns, and their adaptation patterns have significant impacts on their decision to return to their homeland or to move to another destination.

We investigate the determinants of language use between migrant parents and their children in Flanders. Coleman’s family capital theory serves as the theoretical orientation of the study. Differences in physical, human and social capital are believed to account for differences found between migrant families’ use of the heritage and/or destination language (Dutch) at home. Furthermore, we expect that variances in ethnic capital (e.g. ethnic background and ethnocultural family type) might explain different linguistic repertoires. Last but not least, family structure is believed to serve as a gateway through which different forms of family capital influence the use of heritage language. Data from 900 migrant adolescents from the Leuvens Adolescents’ and Families Study is analyzed by means of Multinomial Logistic Regression and subsequent Multilevel Regression Models where school and neighborhood variables are included. Preliminary correlation analyses indicate that language-use is related to background variables such as ethnicity and ethnocultural family type. Some family capital variables appear to be significant (parental conflict, parental dissolution, human & physical capital of mother) while others are not (relationship quality with parents & physical capital of father). More data will be collected during the fall of 2012.

This paper examines the impact of migrant networks on the labour market trajectories of Senegalese men in Europe. The general assumption in the literature is that membership in co-ethnic networks enhances immigrants’ employment opportunities at destination. This assumption has increasingly been challenged on both empirical and theoretical grounds. Using longitudinal data recently collected within the framework of the Migration between Africa and Europe (MAFE) project, this paper is able to avoid usual biases, such as reverse causality. Moreover, the transnational nature of the sample - Senegalese current and return migrants were interviewed in France, Italy, Spain and Senegal - allows for investigating the influence of the context of reception in the functioning of networks. Findings reveal a heterogenous picture, as effects depend on the context of destination, the time since arrival and the legal status of the migrant. Having close kin at destination enables legal migrants to engage in a longer job search. Both kin and friends increase chances of gaining access to semi or skilled employment and protect from the more precarious status of self-employment in France, but do not have the same effects in Italy or Spain, where the Senegalese community is more recent and less diverse in terms of socio-economic status.

Immigration from Asia to North America has steadily grown since the 1960s, and today scholars study the labor market integration not only of immigrants but also of their children. Using parental birthplace and visible minority data from the 2006 Canadian census, the occupational statuses and earnings of nine Asian origin 1.5 and 2nd generation groups are compared to each other and to the third-plus generation whites: South Korea, Chinese from Hong Kong; Chinese from the People’s Republic of China; Japan; Philippines; Vietnamese; Sri Lanka; India and Pakistan. With the exception of the Filipino and Vietnamese 1.5 and 2nd generation, analysis of the population age 25-39 who living in cities of 100,000 or more confirm the higher educational achievements, occupational standing and earnings of many of these groups. Much of these labor market achievements reflect the educational characteristics of the Asian origin 1.5 and 2nd generation; however some groups – notably South Koreans and Chinese from HK and PR still perform marginally better in the labour force even after taking education into account. Overall our analysis shows the labor market success of these Asian Tigers while confirming the importance of education for their achievements.

Using recent survey data of children of Turkish immigrants and native comparison group members, this paper examines effects of contextual and psychosocial factors on acculturation preferences. Berry's acculturation model is used to classify the Turkish second generation into acculturation style categories (assimilation, integration, separation, marginalization) whereas the Health Belief Model (HBM) is used to identify relevant contextual and psychosocial factors of acculturation preference style. Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) is used to examine effects of HBM inspired factors on preference style, and to profile respondents with a particular style according to common background characteristics. The latter is particularly useful for tailoring integration policies to specific target groups. Results indicate that policy and local context (cues to action) are important to the explanation of acculturation preference whereas indicators of perceived threat to social exclusion, benefits of and barriers to social inclusion, and self-efficacy also contribute to the explanation of acculturation preferences of the Turkish second generation.