Sibling, Please help: The Emergence of Resource-procuring Children in the United States.

• In Event: 435 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Immigration and Education

Abstract

Past research claims that children in immigrant families are asked to acquire resources for their families, resources that children with native-born parentage are not asked to contribute; however, most of this research fails to compare the likelihood that children in immigrant families acquire resources for their households, including for their siblings, relative to their native-born counterparts (native-born children with native-born parentage). In this project, I use homework help as an example of a resource that all children can provide to their siblings. I test the likelihood that children of immigrants rely primarily on their siblings for homework help (resource) compared to their native-born counterparts. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K) study, I show that children of immigrants are more likely to rely on their siblings for Language Arts and Mathematics homework help in both 5th and 6th grade. Further, I find that parental constraints, including their lack of English-Language proficiency, mediate, to a large degree, the relationship between the immigration status of children (children of immigrant parents vs. children of native-born parents) and the likelihood that they rely primarily on siblings for homework help. In addition, I show that reliance on siblings for homework help diminishes as immigrant generation increases. Consistent with previous assertions, my results provide evidence that the emergence of the resource-procuring child in the United States – the child who brings resources to his/her household – may be related to migration.

Author

• Yader R. Lanuza, University of California-Irvine