Caught in the Middle: Exploring the Experiences of the American Children of Immigrants

• In Event: Poster Session 1

Abstract

The extant literature on immigration and crime supports that immigrants do not, in fact, bring crime. On the contrary, empirical evidence suggests immigrant status may serve as a buffer to risk from social disorganization and peer deviance. This “immigrant advantage,” however, has been shown to diminish with subsequent generations. Specifically, by the American-born second generation, crime rates begin to mirror those of their generationally-American counterparts. Despite the “immigrant paradox” being well-supported, little is known about the process contributing to these outcomes. Informed by previous pilot studies, the current study deductively investigates the relationship between cultural orientation (as a proxy for host vs ethnic identity) and resilience. A mixed methods approach—first, using snowball sampling, a survey link will be shared at private university. The survey will capture cultural identity and resilience, utilizing instruments from those respective literatures. Additionally, it will screen, and group by cultural orientation (e.g., collectivist, individualist, both), eligible participants for interviews. Second, semi-structured interviews will explore how participants’ cultural self-identification may relate to resilience scores. Findings will test a model of bicultural identity formation, and advise on influential factors of second-generation trajectories. The need to tell the “story” behind the numbers will be addressed.

Author

• Teriin Lee, University of San Diego