The isolation paradox: A comparative study of social support among migrants and natives

• In Event: 3251 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 5. Comparative Immigrant Integration

Abstract

Support networks of migrants have been usually studied by examining different types of support provided by various types of social contacts, but rarely in a comparative design contrasting different migrant generations and natives. This paper proposes a comparative approach to investigate the ways in which personal networks differ as sources of support for different migrant generations and native residents. Drawing on the first wave of the UCNets survey on personal networks and health (N=1159), we analyze a representative sample of migrants and native residents in the San Francisco Bay Area, comparing potential and actual support networks of first-generation migrants, 1.5-generation migrants, second-generation migrants, and natives. Findings show no systematic difference in the overall size of personal networks between these four groups, but significantly fewer ties for migrants in specific domains of social support. In comparison to other migrant generations and natives, first-generation migrants are at a disadvantage in terms of emotional support, health-related aid, and social companionship. These results suggest an “isolation paradox” in which migrants maintain personal networks as extended as natives’, but obtain less support from them.

Authors

• Basak Bilecen, University of Groningen

• Raffaele Vacca, University of Florida