Constructing the Victim: Early Belief Formation and Children's Immigration Talk

• In Event: Sociology of Culture Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): 8. Migration and Assimilation

Abstract

Early adolescence is a key stage in the formation of beliefs, yet we know little about how children talk through divisive issues like immigration at a time when partisan identities are not yet fully stabilized. This study examines how 10 to 12-year-old children articulate their views about immigration, with particular attention to how they assign victimhood and agency. I then analyze how the way they moralize harm varies by children’s partisan background, their own party identification, and their levels of political knowledge. I draw on semi-structured interviews with and surveys of 64 children and 54 parents in central North Carolina. My findings contribute to debates in cultural sociology and political psychology about belief formation and political socialization.

Author

• Anna Hiltner Nouzeilles, Duke University