Testing Segmented Assimilation Theory with Add Health Data

Investigator:   Yu Xie

In the past decade, there has been a considerable debate in the sociological literature concerning the well-being of immigrant children. One prominent theory that has emerged from the debate is segmented assimilation theory. In the proposed research, we reformulate segmented assimilation theory and elaborate its empirical implications for interactions between micro assimilation processes at the individual level and the macro socioeconomic conditions at the community level. The theory predicts that immigrant children living in a disadvantaged community context are better off not being fully assimilated into the American culture.

This research tests segmented assimilation theory with data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) that began in 1994. It studies the experiences of 2,440 Hispanic immigrant adolescents and 1,214 Asian immigrant adolescents and compares them to their native-born counterparts. Degree of assimilation is measured in a variety of ways. Community context is measured by the environment of the neighborhoods in which Add Health respondents live and the schools that they attend. Many statistical methods will be used, including those particularly tailored for the analysis of longitudinal data. The research will provide a rigorous, systematic, and scientific test of segmented assimilation theory with an excellent and unique data source.

Funding Period: 06/01/2004 to 05/31/2008

PSC Research Themes:

Income Inequality and Poverty (Human Capital, Labor and Wealth)
Contextual Effects (Group Disparities)


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