Bright vs. blurred boundaries: Second-generation assimilation and exclusion in France, Germany, and the United States

Alba, Richard

doi:10.1080/0141987042000280003

Cited by 934 publications

(536 citation statements)

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“…As noted in recent theoretical debates, straight-line theories of assimilation neglect the possibility that (particularly within diverse societies) immigrants may not adapt to become indistinguishable from the majority population. Rather, more complex processes of social change may occur, with both immigrant-background and majority populations interacting to produce new, hybrid family systems (Alba, 2005;Rumbaut, 1999). As such, the SMAM in countries of residence may reflect an averaging of a multitude of diverse family behaviors, and thus be proportionally associated with immigrants' ideals, regardless of duration of residence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to classical theories on immigrant assimilation (Gordon, 1964), this would imply a growing influence of the dominant family formation patterns in the country of settlement with longer durations of residence and among the children of immigrants. It remains, however, an open question whether this reflects acculturation or adaptation to the institutional, economic, policy, or social situation within a country of residence, or if it is a result of a melding of the diverse cultural and family orientations of all members of a society (Alba, 2005;Rumbaut, 1999) . At the same time the influence of dominant patterns of the timing of family formation in countries of origin would decline in their influence over duration of residence and among the second generation.…”

Section: Theory and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ideal ages for family formation among immigrants in Europe

Holland

Valk

2013

Advances in Life Course Research

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This paper investigates ideal ages for marriage and parenthood among immigrants from over 160 countries origins living in 25 European countries. Ideals regarding the timing of family formation are indicative of how individuals perceive the family life course and provide insight into familylife aspirations and the meaning attached to these transitions. Using data from the European Social Survey (Round 3, 2006; N = 6,330) and a cross-classified multilevel modeling approach, we investigate associations between the influences of the dominant family formation timing patterns in countries of origin and settlement, individual-level characteristics, and ideal ages. We make innovative use of a standard demographic measure, the singulate mean age of marriage, to measure family formation patterns. Results suggests that residential context influences are associated with the timing ideals of all migrants, but origin influences seem to be associated with the ideals of only the most recent migrants.Key words: family formation, ideals, immigrants, second generation, family change, Europe Page 3 of 42The timing and sequencing of events is central to the development and trajectory of life courses (Billari, 2005). Life course researchers have stressed the importance of context and time in shaping both the experience and perception of events in the life course (Elder Jr., 1985). Also in studies of immigrants, emphasis is placed on the contextual (socialization) effects of country of origin and settlement when it comes to life course transitions and preferences (De Valk, Wingens, Windzio, & Aybek, 2011). Timing preferences for family life transitions are likely determined by individual characteristics and experiences, but also influenced by dominant, macro-level family formation systems. However, comparative studies of the timing of family life events among those of immigrant origin are still largely lacking and existing work on timing preferences mainly focuses on one country or one migrant origin group (e.g. De Giuliano, 2007). But with information on diverse migrant populations across a range of countries of settlement, we can shed light on the influences of family formation systems in both origin and destination that may shape timing preferences for family life transitions. In this paper we fill this gap in the literature and explore family formation ideals regarding the timing of marriage and childbearing among immigrants of diverse origins across Europe.Forming a partnership, getting married, and bearing and raising children are significant transitions for individuals. Ideals regarding the timing of these events may be indicative of the meaning attached to these transitions and how they should best fit into the life course. Moreover, in the case of migrants, ideals may be a particularly useful measure of attitudes toward the family life course since the timing of actual family behaviors is often distorted by the act of migration (e.g. Andersson, 2004;Milewski, 2007;Toulemon, 2004). The perceived ideal timing of family ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theory and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ideal ages for family formation among immigrants in Europe

Holland

Valk

2013

Advances in Life Course Research

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“…In contrast to classical intergroup research in social psychology which treats social categories as unproblematic and defines them with unambiguous boundaries, migrant identities are often "messy" and group boundaries "blurry" (Alba, 2005), especially those of second-generation immigrants (see Lamont & Molnar, 2002). The variety of migration contexts, in terms of countries of origin and receiving societies, of migration history, of duration of residence and political grievances, gives rise to a wide range of possible migrant identity configurations and forms of interdependence between migrant groups and receiving societies.…”

Section: Contemporary Migrant Identitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration and Multiculturalism

Green¹,

Staerklé²

2013

Oxford Handbooks Online

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"Multiculturalism has utterly failed", German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared inOctober 2010, "immigrants need to do more to integrate in German society". A few months later, in February 2011, British Prime Minister David Cameron also condemned his country's long-standing policy of multiculturalism as a failure, claiming that many young British Muslims were drawn to violent ideology because they found no strong collective identity in Britain. These two quotes from leading European politicians exemplify how migration and multiculturalism have become key issues in contemporary societies. Virtually all countries in the world need to deal with the steady flow of people crossing international borders that have made societies in our globalized world more and more diverse. Despite its contested nature as a normative model for organizing diversity in receiving societies, multiculturalism has become an inescapable reality to which countries need to adapt.This chapter is concerned with two major questions concerning migration and multiculturalism. First, it looks at the social and psychological processes at work in the migrant experience. Second, it deals with how members of receiving societies react to the increased and diversified immigrant presence in their societies. 1 Our review draws mainly upon research and theory in political and social psychology. Reflecting the diversity of classic and recent empirical work on migration and multiculturalism, we present research covering a Migration and multiculturalism 2 wide range of methodological approaches, including survey, experimental and qualitative studies. The chapter emphasizes how historical and political contexts affect the nature of intergroup relations between migrant groups and receiving societies. It furthermore highlights the role of widely shared social representations in processes of migration and multiculturalism, expressed in ideological belief systems, political discourse and everyday cultural repertoires. We argue that a political psychology perspective to migration and multiculturalism will gain from taking a interdisciplinary approach in which different levels of analysis-including individual, group and societal factors-are combined and articulated (Castles & Miller, 2009;Chryssochoou, 2004;Deaux, 2006;Verkuyten, 2005a).The chapter is organized in four parts. The first part outlines some historical benchmarks of modern migration and briefly presents two key notions of a psychological approach to migration-assimilation and multiculturalism-in their historical context. In a second part, we summarize empirical research that focuses on the psychological dynamics involved in the migrant experience, in particular the interactionist and complex nature of migrant identities, acculturation and adaptation in receiving societies, and intergroup approaches to acculturation and multiculturalism. The third part analyses the role of threat regarding immigrants and immigration in the reactions, attitudes and beliefs of majority populations in receiving societies. The...

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“…Such objections underscore the constructed, relational, subjective, and interactional nature of ethnicity and refer to the works of scholars like Frederik Barth (1969) or Max Weber (1996[1922). Instead of essentializing "ethnic" immigrant groups by taking them for quasi natural starting point for all investigations, academics propose in this line of rationale to focus on ethnic boundary work (Alba 2005;Dahinden 2008;Wimmer 2009) or on processes of ethnic selfidentification and external categorization (Jenkins 1997) to understand the incorporation of migrants and non-migrants. In this vein of reasoning, this article is interested in the types of boundaries emerging in a city characterized by high immigration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cities, Migrant Incorporation, and Ethnicity: A Network Perspective on Boundary Work

Dahinden

2011

Int. Migration & Integration

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AuthorJanine Dahinden is professor of Transnational Studies at the University of Neuchâtel. Her research interests cover topics regarding mobility, migration, ethnicity, transnationalism, social networks, gender and culture. Her research is transdisciplinary and combines qualitative and quantitative methods (see also www.unine.ch/janine.dahinden). AbstractIn this article, I am interested in the different types of boundaries emerging in a city that is characterized by a highly diverse population. The analysis of the personal social networks of 250 inhabitants of a small Swiss city -different types of migrants as well as non-migrantssupplemented by data from qualitative interviews, brings to light the relevant factors for the network boundaries, the social positioning, and cognitive classifications of its inhabitants. The population is organized and structured along certain dimensions that reflect patterns of boundaries as an interplay of nationality, place of birth, education, local establishment, mobility type, religion, "race," and transnationality. It becomes clear that the common ideas of assimilation cannot grasp the complexity of the "categorical game" at place in this city when it comes to migrant's (and nonmigrant's) incorporation.

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Bright vs. blurred boundaries: Second-generation assimilation and exclusion in France, Germany, and the United States

Cited by 934 publications

References 27 publications

Ideal ages for family formation among immigrants in Europe

Ideal ages for family formation among immigrants in Europe

Migration and Multiculturalism

Cities, Migrant Incorporation, and Ethnicity: A Network Perspective on Boundary Work

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