(Portes, Fernandez-Kelly and Haller, 2005) the family income stated for each of these nationalities upholds the supposition that socioeconomic factors greatly impact the lives and experiences of immigrant children in the United States. The work of Rumbaut (nd) entitled: "Acculturation, Discrimination, and Ethnic Identity Among Children of Immigrants" reports the experience as stated by Carolyn Hwang as follows:
"My identity is hardly clear-cut… to my parents, I am all American, and the sacrifices they made in leaving Korea…pale in comparison to the opportunities those sacrifices gave me. They do not see that I straddle two cultures, nor that I feel displaced in the only country I
know. I identify with Americans, but Americans do not identify with me. I've never known what it's like to belong to a community…" (Rumbaut, nd)
Facts stated in the work of Portes, Fernandez-Kelly and Haller (2005) include those as follows: (1) Asian-originated families are more likely to remain intact especially Hmong and Cambodian immigrants; (2) the Dominicans are the only Latin American nationality to exhibit the pattern of high family structural instability seen among the Haitians and West Indians; (3) the most cohesive families are the Latin American immigrants; and (4) All of the Asian, European/Canadian, and Black Caribbean groups fell below the sample average in their percent of high-cohesion families; and nearly all of the Asian and Black Caribbean groups scored above the sample average for high-conflict families. Overall, those families were more strongly associated with patterns of dissonant acculturation. It is reported in the work of Portes and Rumbaut (20005) entitled: "Introduction: The Second Generation and the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study" relates that the present "second generation" of immigrants or specifically children of immigrants "may be better defined as undergoing a process of 'segmented assimilation' where rapid integration and acceptance into the American mainstream represent just one possible alternative. This concept describes alternative paths of adaptation as depending on a number of factors." (Portes and Rumbaut, 2005) Four factors are stated to be decisive in nature and include: (1) the history of the first generation; (2) the pace of acculturation among parents and children and its bearing on normative integration;...
This study has found that Asian families remain intact more so than do families of other nationalities and that the Asian, European/Canadian and Black Caribbean groups are well below the average in terms of families that are highly cohesive and were found to be those most associated "with patterns of dissonant acculturation. As well this study finds that primary factors impacting and forming the experience of children immigrants include the factors of the first generation's history in the United States as well as the parent and child acculturation and its impact on integration that is normative and the barriers in terms of culture and economics which are presented to second-generation immigrant children in their successful adaptation expectations and the resources that the family and community make provision of for these children to address and negotiate these barriers.
Bibliography
Portes, Alejandro and Rumbaut, Ruben (nd) Introduction: The Second Generation and the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study. The Second Generation in Early Adulthood. Online available at: http://www.transad.pop.upenn.edu/downloads/Ethnic-Racial%20Studies-Intro.pdf
Portes, Alejandro, Fernandez-Kelly, Patricia and Haller, William (2005) Segmented assimilation on the ground: The new second generation in early adulthood. Taylor and Francis. Online available at: http://courses.washington.edu/setclass/Soc496_07Fall_Honors/Portes.pdf
Rumbaut, Ruben G. Acculturation, Discrimination, and Ethnic Identity Among Children of Immigrants Online available at: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/inequality/Seminar/Papers/Rumbaut1.pdf
Zhou, Min (1997) Growing up American: The Challenge Confronting Immigrant Children and Children of Immigrants. Annual Review Sociology 1996. 23:63-95
