ERIC EJ920374: The Adaptation of Migrant Children

2011·0.16 MB·English

by  ERIC

The Adaptation of Migrant Children
The Adaptation of Migrant Children
Alejandro Portes and Alejandro Rivas
Summary
Alejandro Portes and Alejandro Rivas examine how young immigrants are adapting to life in the
United States. They begin by noting the existence of two distinct pan-ethnic populations: Asian
Americans, who tend to be the offspring of high-human-capital migrants, and Hispanics, many
of whose parents are manual workers. Vast differences in each, both in human capital origins
and in their reception in the United States, mean large disparities in resources available to the
families and ethnic communities raising the new generation.
Research on the assimilation of these children falls into two theoretical perspectives. Culturalist
researchers emphasize the newcomers’ place in the cultural and linguistic life of the host society;
structuralists, their place in the socioeconomic hierarchy. Within each camp, views range from
darkly pessimistic—that disadvantaged children of immigrants are simply not joining the Ameri-
can mainstream—to optimistic—that assimilation is taking place today just as it has in the past.
A middle ground is that although poorly endowed immigrant families face distinct barriers to
upward mobility, their children can overcome these obstacles through learning the language and
culture of the host society while preserving their home country language, values, and customs.
Empirical work shows that immigrants make much progress, on average, from the first to the
second generation, both culturally and socioeconomically. The overall advancement of the immi-
grant population, however, is largely driven by the good performance and outcomes of youths
from professional immigrant families, positively received in America. For immigrants at the
other end of the spectrum, average socioeconomic outcomes are driven down by the poorer edu-
cational and economic performance of children from unskilled migrant families, who are often
handicapped further by an unauthorized or insecure legal status. Racial stereotypes produce a
positive self-identity for white and Asian students but a negative one for blacks and Latinos, and
racialized self-perceptions among Mexican American students endure into the third and fourth
generations. From a policy viewpoint, these children must be the population of greatest concern.
The authors cite two important policy measures for immigrant youth. One is to legalize unau-
thorized migrants lest, barred from conventional mobility channels, they turn to unorthodox
means of self-affirmation and survival. The other is to provide volunteer programs and other
forms of outside assistance to guide the most disadvantaged members of this population and help
them stay in school.
www.futureofchildren.org
Alejandro Portes is the Howard Harrison and Gabrielle Snyder Beck Professor of Sociology and director of the Center for Migration and
Development at Princeton University. Alejandro Rivas is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at Princeton University.
VOL. 21 / NO. 1 / SPRING 2011 219
Alejandro Portes and Alejandro Rivas
The rapid growth of the immi- than it reveals because of the heterogeneity
grant population in the United of its component groups.
States is one of the most
important demographic and First, there is a significant difference between
social trends confronting children born abroad and those born in the
this society. Close to 13 percent of the U.S.
host society. The former are immigrant
population today is foreign-born. In 2008,
children, while the latter are children of
1.11 million immigrants were admitted for
immigrants—the first and second immigrant
legal permanent residence; another 72,000 as
generation, respectively. Research points to
refugees and asylees.1 Although the flow of
major differences in the social and cultural
unauthorized immigration slowed in the wake
adaptation of the two groups.4 Another
of the economic crises beginning in 2007, the
distinct group, the “1.5 generation,” includes
resident unauthorized population approaches,
children born abroad, but brought to the host
according to the best estimates, 12.5 million.2
society at an early age, making them socio-
Among the most important social conse- logically closer to the second generation.
quences of this large immigrant flow are the
reconstitution of families divided by migra-
tion and the procreation of a new generation. Vast differences in the
Unlike adult immigrants, who are born and
human capital origins of
educated in a foreign society and whose out-
look and plans are indelibly marked by that these populations and in the
experience, the children of immigrants com-
way they are received in the
monly become full-fledged members of the
host society with outlooks and plans of their United States translate into
own.3 If their numbers are large, socializing
significant disparities in the
these new citizens and preparing them to
become productive and successful in adult- resources available to families
hood becomes a major policy concern.
and ethnic communities
That is the challenge facing the United States to raise a new generation
today. The rapid growth and diversity of this
in America.
young population have naturally sparked
worries and questions about its future. We
review in the next section the various theo-
These young immigrants also differ by their
retical perspectives that researchers have
countries of origin and their socioeconomic
advanced on the question of how young
background. It turns out, though, that the
immigrants are adapting to life in the United
two characteristics overlap to a large degree
States and shaping their futures, but first it is
because immigration to the United States has
necessary to make some important prelimi-
nary distinctions. Although public discourse divided into two streams. One is made up of
and some academic essays treat this young highly skilled professional workers coming to
population in blanket terms, the truth is that fill positions in high-tech industry, research
the term migrant children conceals more centers, and health services. The other is a
220 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN
The Adaptation of Migrant Children
larger manual labor flow seeking employment oblivious of their historical origins, treat-
in labor-intensive industries such as agricul- ing “Hispanic” and “Asian” as almost time-
ture, construction, and personal services.5 less, immanent categories. In examining
Professional migration, greatly aided by the research findings about the adaptation of
H1-B temporary visa for highly skilled work- migrant youths from these distinct groups,
ers that was approved by Congress in 1990, it is important to keep in mind that adapta-
comes primarily from Asia, mainly from India tion is not a process that happens to a child
and China, with smaller tributaries from alone. Rather, it entails constant interaction
the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan. with others. Language and cultural learning,
Manual labor migration comes overwhelm- for example, involve not just the individual
ingly from adjacent Mexico, and secondarily but the family, with parents and children
from other countries of Central America and commonly acculturating at different paces.
from the Caribbean. To the disadvantages Similarly, self-esteem and future aspirations
attached to their low skills and education are are not developed in isolation or even under
added those of a tenuous legal status, as the the influence of families alone. And many
majority of these migrants come surrepti- circumstances (including, for example, age
tiously or with short-term visas.6 of migration) shape the varied types of social
interactions that migrant children will have in
To the extent that migrant workers, either the host society.
professional or manual, return promptly to
their countries of origin, no major conse- Theoretical Perspectives on the
quences accrue to the host society. In reality, Future of the Second Generation
however, many of them, both professionals Social scientists have offered a range of per-
and manual workers, stay and either bring spectives on the future of this large cohort of
their families or create new families where immigrant children, each with its own impli-
they settle. Over time, the divide in the major cations for both the second generation and
sources of contemporary migration has given society as a whole. In this section, we outline
rise to two distinct pan-ethnic populations in briefly these contrasting perspectives; later we
the United States—“Asian Americans,” by review empirical findings bearing on them.
and large the offspring of high-human-capital Researchers’ explanations of and predictions
migrants, and “Hispanics,” the majority of about the social and economic assimilation of
whom are manual workers and their descen- children of immigrants vary according to their
dants.7 Vast differences in the human capi- views on the nature of assimilation, the extent
tal origins of these populations and in the to which assimilation will take place, and the
way they are received in the United States segment of society into which the children of
translate into significant disparities in the immigrants will assimilate.
resources available to families and ethnic
communities to raise a new generation in Theoretical perspectives fall into two groups
America. Naturally, the outcomes in accul- that may be labeled “culturalist” and “struc-
turation and social and economic adaptation turalist.” Culturalist views emphasize the
vary accordingly. relative assimilation of immigrants into the
cultural and linguistic mainstream; structur-
The research literature has focused on these alist perspectives emphasize the newcom-
differences, although it has been largely ers’ place in the socioeconomic hierarchies
VOL. 21 / NO. 1 / SPRING 2011 221
Alejandro Portes and Alejandro Rivas
Table 1. An Overview of Theoretical Perspectives on Assimilation
Perspective Primary proponents Views toward assimilation Empirical basis
Cultural perspectives
Hispanic challenge Samuel Huntington Pessimistic, not happening Theoretical
The new melting pot Richard Alba and Optimistic, occurring just as in generations Secondary review of historical and
Victor Nee past and transforming society’s contemporary research on immi-
mainstream grant assimilation
Structural perspectives
Second-generation Philip Kasinitz, John Optimistic, the second generation is situ- Cross-sectional study of second-
advantage Mollenkopf, Mary C. ated in a social and cultural space that generation young adults in New
Waters, and Jennifer works to its advantage. York City
Holdaway
Generations of Edward Telles and Pessimistic, Mexican Americans stagnat- Longitudinal study of three-plus
exclusion Vilma Ortiz ing into the working class or assimilating generations of Mexican Americans
into a racial underclass in Los Angeles and San Antonio
Segmented Alejandro Portes and Mixed, assimilation may help or hurt so- Longitudinal study of second-
assimilation Rubén Rumbaut cial and economic outcomes depending on generation youths in San Diego
parental human capital, family structure, and South Florida from early ado-
and contexts of incorporation. lescence to young adulthood
Age of migration Rubén Rumbaut, Dow- Mixed, native-born youths and those arriv- Analysis of 2000 census data and
ell Myers, and Barry ing at an early age have definite linguistic various Current Population Survey
Chiswick and educational advantages. Migrants data
arriving in adolescence are at risk.
of the host society and focus on such areas joining American society’s mainstream. At
as occupational achievement, educational the pessimistic end is the belief championed
attainment, poverty, early childbearing, and by political scientist Samuel Huntington that
incarceration. The two broad types of assimi- children of immigrants are not assimilating.8
lation need not have parallel outcomes. For In this “Hispanic challenge” view, certain
instance, an individual who is fully assimi- groups—Hispanics in particular—have
lated into society’s cultural and linguistic arrived in such large numbers in concen-
mainstream can still experience poor out- trated parts of the country that they are not
comes in the labor and educational markets. inclined to acculturate. Immigrants and their
Conversely, an individual may not become children resist learning English, place alle-
fully integrated culturally and still do well giance in the interests of their ethnic com-
both economically and occupationally. For munities and home countries, and reject the
the most part, these views have been formu- traditional Anglo-Protestant culture of the
lated by U.S. scholars and are grounded on United States.9
the American experience. Although the body
of research on the European second genera- Huntington’s perspective is not rooted in
tion is growing fast, no comparable set of original empirical research, but is rather a
theories has emerged so far. Table 1 presents response to what he perceives to be cultural
a summary of the views to be reviewed next. forces within the immigrant community that
prevent current immigrants from assimilat-
Culturalist Perspectives ing. Critics have had no difficulty countering
Cultural theories range from pessimistic his theoretical assertions with evidence that
to optimistic in their view about how and immigrants are capable of assimilating cultur-
how well immigrants and their children are ally and linguistically. For instance, there is
222 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN
The Adaptation of Migrant Children
little evidence that children of immigrants the new melting pot see it, the mainstream is
avoid learning English or that they continue changing along with immigrants: assimilation
to use their native languages past the second is a two-way process. According to Alba and
generation.10 Nevertheless, Huntington’s Nee’s perspective, assimilation is occurring.
Hispanic-challenge theory remains important Social thinkers should be concerned more
because it resonates with a certain set of the with its nature and mechanics than with its
American public that continues to suspect, factual existence.
evidence to the contrary, that immigration
harms the institutions of the nation. Structuralist Perspectives
Structuralist perspectives too can be orga-
On the more optimistic side of the cultural- nized by their degree of optimism about
ist approach are those researchers who the future of immigrants and their chil-
have dusted off the traditional melting-pot dren. According to the more pessimistic
theory for the twenty-first century. They “generations-of-exclusion” hypothesis, so
argue that cultural and political assimila- named after the book of that title by sociolo-
tion continues to take place just as it has in gists Edward Telles and Vilma Ortiz, immi-
the past and that immigrants assimilate not grants and their children are isolated from
into specific segments of society, but rather the opportunities for mobility offered by the
into a broad mainstream that is simultane- mainstream, not because they avoid assimi-
ously changed by them. The champions of lation, but because they belong to heavily
the “new melting-pot” viewpoint, Richard disadvantaged ethnic and racial groups. In
Alba and Victor Nee, describe assimilation the generations-of-exclusion view, Hispanic
as “something that frequently happens to immigrants and their descendants move into
people while they are making other plans.”11 communities and segments of society that
Although assimilation may take time, they have been racialized—that is, identified in
say, the children of today’s immigrants and negative racial terms—and marginalized.
subsequent generations will eventually join Past waves of immigrants from Europe were
the body of society, even if they do not ulti- able to assimilate both culturally and eco-
mately achieve upward mobility. nomically by gradually elbowing their way
into the more privileged “white” segments of
In Alba and Nee’s new melting-pot view, the American racial hierarchy.13 By contrast,
exposure to the host society and assimilation today’s Hispanic immigrants, whose roots are
are inevitable. For policy makers, this view European, risk becoming a distinct race with
implies the need to increase the exposure of consistently worse outcomes than whites.
children of immigrants to the institutions of
the mainstream by, for example, accelerat- The research of Telles and Ortiz into Mexi-
ing their learning of English and providing can American communities over several
migrant children and their families with generations has borne out many of the expec-
information about educational programs and tations of this racialization view.14 In 2000,
occupational opportunities. The challenge they re-interviewed Mexican Americans who
is to avoid the suggestion, implicit in the old had been part of a 1965 study of the social
melting-pot perspective, that assimilation condition of the Mexican American com-
essentially means imposing the dominant munity. They then constructed a longitudinal
culture on newcomers.12 As supporters of data set following the original respondents
VOL. 21 / NO. 1 / SPRING 2011 223
Alejandro Portes and Alejandro Rivas
and their descendants into the third, fourth, support available to youths who exist at an
and sometimes fifth generation. Most mem- intersection of several social and cultural
bers of those latter generations, they found, currents give them a significant edge for
still lived in predominantly Hispanic neigh- upward mobility. From a public policy
borhoods, married within their ethnicity, and standpoint, the aim would be to maximize the
identified as Mexican. Socioeconomic gains ability of these youngsters to make use of
made between the first and the second gen- their distinct resources. Part of doing so is
erations stalled thereafter, as poverty rates in recognizing that children of immigrants have
the third and fourth generations stayed high multiple pathways for transitioning success-
and educational attainment fell. fully to adulthood.
According to the generations-of-exclusion Between optimism and pessimism lies
perspective, children of immigrants can “segmented assimilation,” a structural view
expect to assimilate into the racial and ethnic that does not automatically predict positive
categories seen as “theirs” by the host society. or negative outcomes. From this perspective,
Outcomes, therefore, will not differ much the forces underlying second-generation
across generations. These children will not advantage may indeed be at play, but specific
join an all-inclusive American “mainstream,” groups of immigrants face distinct barriers
but rather settle into their place in a seg- to upward mobility. Three forces—the
mented and racially divided society. From co-ethnic community, government policy
a policy perspective, the aim would be to toward these groups, and the groups’ race
integrate the second and subsequent gen- and ethnicity—can work either to raise or to
erations socially and economically primarily lower the barriers to successful assimilation.
using the same strategies used to address Supporters of segmented assimilation focus
racial and ethnic inequalities among native- less on whether children of immigrants are
born minorities. assimilating and more on the segment of
society that is their destination. They see
Proponents of another structural theory, the assimilation not as leading automatically
“second-generation advantage,” see benefits upward into the middle class, but also as
for children of immigrants from living in two potentially leading downward.17
societies and cultures. Empirical support for
the idea of a second-generation advantage The segmented-assimilation perspective is
comes from a study of young adults in New supported mainly by findings of the Children
York City conducted by Philip Kasinitz and of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS)
his colleagues.15 The study finds that mem- by Alejandro Portes and Rubén Rumbaut.
bers of the second generation supplement The CILS followed thousands of second-
their searches for employment by tapping generation youths in San Diego and South
into immigrant social networks and by mak- Florida from middle school through high
ing use of resources and institutions estab- school and into post-college young adulthood.
lished to aid native racial minorities achieve The original survey, conducted in 1992–93,
upward mobility.16 interviewed a sample of 5,266 eighth- and
ninth-grade students statistically representa-
At its core, the second-generation-advantage tive of the universe of second-generation
perspective is that the information and youths in these grades. This sample was
224 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN
The Adaptation of Migrant Children
followed and re-interviewed in 1995–96, become increasingly divided, with highly
approximately by the time of high school technical and well-paid occupations at the top,
graduation for most respondents. A random low-paid menial occupations at the bottom,
sample of 50 percent of parents was also inter- and few opportunities in between. A youth’s
viewed at the same time. The final follow-up access to quality education will determine his
survey took place in 2002–03, when respon- ability to gain well-paid future employment at
dents had reached young adulthood. Approxi- the top of this “hourglass” labor market.
mately 70 percent of the original sample was
contacted and re-interviewed. By following Because of the importance of parental
the youths through these vital years in per- resources and the community context into
sonal development, Portes and Rumbaut were which new immigrants are received, families
able to define predictors of their key social of migrants entering the labor force at the
and economic outcomes later in life. bottom of the occupational hourglass can
expect minimal upward mobility. But poorly
endowed immigrant families can overcome
their situation through “selective accultura-
Three forces—the co-ethnic
tion.” Their children can learn the language
community, government and culture of the host society while preserv-
ing their home country language, values,
policy toward these groups,
and customs—simultaneously gaining a solid
and the groups’ race and foothold in the host society and maintaining a
bond with their parents’ culture.19 These chil-
ethnicity—can work either to
dren are thus in a better position to overcome
raise or to lower the barriers the disadvantages suffered by their parents
because they are protected from the negative
to successful assimilation.
effects of discrimination and the lure of gangs
and street life.
According to the segmented-assimilation Selective acculturation is distinct from
approach, the life trajectories of the second second-generation advantage in that it is a
generation are predicted by the racial, labor, strategy employed by parents and the immi-
and socioeconomic sectors of the host society grant community rather than by children
into which their parents were incorporated themselves and is not common to all members
and by the resources at their parents’ disposal of the second generation. Whereas the ben-
to aid their offspring.18 Each child must nego- efits of second-generation advantage depend
tiate the advantages and disadvantages of his on how well children situated between cul-
specific family background. Racial discrimina- tures can make use of community networks,
tion can severely diminish the life chances of the benefits of selective acculturation depend
second-generation youths who are identified on the extent to which parents and a cohesive
by the host society as belonging to a disad- co-ethnic community prevent children from
vantaged minority. The sector of the labor assimilating to the disadvantaged segments of
market to which these youths gain access can the host society and induce them to retain key
also affect their lifetime economic well-being, aspects of their home culture. Policy mak-
especially because the U.S. labor market has ers evaluating children of immigrants from
VOL. 21 / NO. 1 / SPRING 2011 225
Alejandro Portes and Alejandro Rivas
a segmented-assimilation perspective would to mobility without strong and sustained
recognize that assimilation does not neces- external assistance.22
sarily bring about positive social or economic
outcomes and that preserving elements of Empirical Analysis of
the parental culture and resisting uncritical Adolescent Outcomes
acceptance of all features of the host nation In this section, we review certain key out-
can produce the best payoffs. comes of the migrant adaptation process
during adolescence. For reasons of space, we
An emerging perspective that can also be limit the review to those outcomes for which
classified within the structuralist camp a substantial research literature has accumu-
emphasizes how birthplace and age at lated, leading to significant findings for both
migration can shape subsequent educational theory and policy.
and occupational outcomes. Rubén Rum-
baut gave impetus to this view with his Aspirations, Expectations, and
analysis of outcome differences among Academic Performance
children born abroad and brought to the Much of the empirical work on immigrant
United States at different ages and native- adolescent adaptation focuses on the shaping
born children of foreign or mixed parentage power of aspirations and expectations—and
(the second and “2.5” generations).20 Dowell for good reason. Sociologists and psycholo-
Myers and his colleagues later built on the gists have provided consistent evidence of
idea by finding a “gradient of socioeconomic the influence of aspirations and expectations
outcomes” for Mexican immigrant women on adolescent outcomes. The underlying
who arrived in the United States at different rationale is straightforward: adolescents who
ages. Predictably, those who arrived as aspire to a university education may or may
young girls became more proficient in not fulfill their aspirations; but those who do
English than did those who came as adoles- not so aspire will not get that education. In
cents. Early arrivals also had significantly this sense, adolescent aspirations are a neces-
higher rates of high school graduation, sary condition for subsequent achievement.
though their advantage declined in terms of
college graduation rates or access to white- Empirical work on migrant children’s aspira-
collar occupations. tions is based primarily on databases such
as the National Education Longitudinal
Similarly, Barry Chiswick and Noyna Study (NELS); the National Longitudinal
Deb-Burman concluded that youth who Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health);
immigrated as teenagers had worse educa- the Panel Study of Income Dynamics; and
tional outcomes than did native-born youths the census Integrated Public Use Microdata
of foreign parentage and native-parentage Series (IPUMS). Some studies draw on the
youths.21 In terms of policy, the age-of- publicly available CILS, while many others
migration perspective points to the impor- make use of ad hoc samples. The literature
tance of programs targeted on adolescent features a bewildering variety of definitions
immigrants, especially those from poor of outcomes and of units of analysis. Some
socioeconomic backgrounds. The linguistic studies differentiate between aspirations as
and educational disadvantages of such symbolically ideal goals and expectations as
youths can become insurmountable barriers realistic ones. Others lump the two as joint
226 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN
The Adaptation of Migrant Children
indicators of general ambition. Some stud- though that influence differs significantly
ies focus on parental expectations, others by racial and ethnic group and immigrant
on those of migrant youths. Samples may be national origin.26 Fourth, girls consistently
partitioned across generations—from the first have higher ambition and perform bet-
to the second and even the 2.5 generation— ter than boys, while older youngsters have
and across individual nationalities, races, and lower aspirations and worse grades than their
pan-ethnicities. grade-school counterparts.27 Finally, aspira-
tions and academic performance are strongly
Aspirations and Expectations: Areas of correlated, although it is hard to say which
Agreement. Rather than review individual causes which. The most plausible interpreta-
studies, we focus on general areas of agree- tion is a causal loop where these outcomes
ment and cite sources. In general, studies in reinforce each other.28
this area converge on five key points. First,
immigrant children and children of immigrants Aspirations and Expectations: Novel Findings.
(that is, the first and second generations) Specific studies advance novel findings that
tend to have higher ambition (aspirations point toward other important trends.
or expectations, or both) than their third- Cynthia Feliciano, for example, emphasizes
generation and higher counterparts and have that parental status before migration has dis-
generally superior academic performance.23 tinct effects on ambition and performance.29
The research supports Grace Kao and Marta Ambition and performance thus depend less
Tienda’s concept of “immigrant optimism” on absolute socioeconomic status than on
and Portes and Rumbaut’s “immigrant drive.” status relative to the average in the country
Generally speaking, studies agree with the of origin. Krista Perreira and her colleagues
hypothesis of second-generation advantage.24 and Patricia Fernández-Kelly highlight the
Second, immigrants of different national importance of cultural capital brought from
origins vary significantly in both ambition and the country of origin. Although material capi-
performance. Asian-origin groups tend to tal may be higher among natives in the home
have higher and more stable expectations and country, cultural capital tends to be stronger
to perform better in school; Mexican and among immigrants and their children, and it
other Latin-origin groups and those from the leads to a sustained upward drive. Perreira
black Caribbean scatter toward the opposite and her colleagues find, however—in sup-
end of the spectrum. port of the Telles and Ortiz generations-of-
exclusion hypothesis—that cultural capital
These differences are partly attributable dissipates by the third generation.30
to parental socioeconomic status, but they
do not entirely disappear after family status Kao and Tienda find that minority youths’
controls are introduced—that is, when aspirations are uniformly high in the early
the comparison is between groups with secondary grades, but that black and Hispanic
similar status.25 These findings support seg- students tend to lower their aspirations, while
mented assimilation and, more broadly, the the ambition of whites and Asians remains
generations-of-exclusion perspective taken stable through the high school years.31 This
by Telles and Ortiz. Third, parents and peers conclusion confirms earlier findings that very
powerfully influence the ambitions of both high aspirations voiced by minority youths
immigrant and native-parentage children, early in life may not be realistic.
VOL. 21 / NO. 1 / SPRING 2011 227
Alejandro Portes and Alejandro Rivas
In one intriguing study, Vivian Louie reports violent protests in the suburbs of French
that Dominican-origin adolescents are more cities in 2005 were largely triggered by
optimistic about their long-term prospects disaffected second-generation youths who
than are their Chinese-origin counterparts, mobilized against what they saw as their
despite their objectively lower academic per- permanently subordinate position in French
formance. Louie attributes these differences society. Contrary to the “republican” ideology
to the specific frames of reference used by of the French state that sees its residents
both groups. Dominican-origin youths tend to either as citizens or as immigrants and
compare themselves with their counterparts refuses to recognize any domestic ethnicities,
in the island, leading them to assess their these French-born youths often refuse to call
future optimistically; the Chinese, by contrast, themselves French.35 Similarly, in California
compare themselves with their high-achieving in 1994, American-born youths of Mexican
co-ethnic peers and thus have more pessimis- origin mobilized in vast numbers against
tic expectations of their own chances.32 Proposition 187, the ballot initiative that
prohibited illegal immigrants from using state
Self-Identification and Self-Esteem social services, which they saw as a direct
Along with their aspirations and expectations, threat to their and their parents’ identity.36
the self-identities and self-esteem of children
of immigrants are key to their assimilation. Self-Identity: Areas of Agreement. Research
Self-identities are the topic of a burgeoning on self-identity too yields convergent empiri-
literature that has produced a vast array of cal findings. We summarize five such findings
findings. Researchers’ fascination with this and cite specific studies. First, place of birth
topic is noteworthy because, as their work and length of residence in the host society are
shows, identities are highly malleable, powerful determinants of self-identity. The
shifting significantly over time and across native-born second generation is significantly
social contexts.33 The question is how such a more likely to identify itself with the United
mutable and “soft” variable could have States than are youths born abroad and
awakened so much interest. Part of the brought to the United States in infancy. Other
answer is that shifting self-identities lie at the things being equal, the effect of length of resi-
core of the challenges faced by adolescents dence for youths born abroad but brought to
caught between different cultural worlds. For the new home country at an early age (the 1.5
the most part, parents want their adolescent generation) runs in the same direction. These
children to preserve at least some elements trends are supported by both U.S.-based
of their own identity and culture, while the research and studies conducted in various
host society, particularly schools, pulls in the European countries.37
opposite direction. Second-generation youths
have been described as “translation artists” as Second, parental effects on self-identities are
they struggle with and eventually learn to inconsistent. Higher parental status facilitates
meet these disparate expectations.34 identification with the host society, while
having a two-parent family in which both
Self-identities are also important because, parents were born abroad slows it. High
under certain circumstances, they can trigger parental education commonly facilitates
collective mobilizations in opposition to the selective acculturation, which is reflected in
existing sociopolitical order. The massive and the use of hyphenated self-identities. Poorly
228 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN