Family neighbours and neighbourhood integration: comparing contacts and networks of migrants and natives

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper tested the sometimes suggested but rarely tested idea that local ties are more important for migrants than for natives. Using nationally representative data from the Netherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study on first- and second-generation Turkish and Moroccan migrants aged 18–45 in the Netherlands in 2009 (N = 1607) and a comparison group of natives (N = 1979), this study described how important local ties were for people with and without a migrant background. The focus was on the amount of contacts with people in the neighbourhood, the presence or absence of parents in the neighbourhood and the geographic dispersion of the core discussion network. Models were estimated to explain differences between migrants and natives using information on socioeconomic status, life course variables, religiosity and neighbourhood characteristics. Findings showed that migrants were more strongly embedded in the neighbourhood than natives and that this difference could in part be explained by the lower socioeconomic status and higher levels of religiosity of migrants. Moreover, among migrants, parents were considerably more likely to live in the same neighbourhood and this played a major role in understanding the more local orientation of migrants. It is concluded that it is important to reconsider ‘family neighbours’ in empirical and theoretical studies of neighbourhood integration.