Immigrant Children Research Articles

Health behaviours and COVID-19 prevention among immigrants in the United States.

Recent studies indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has had negative implications for the welfare of immigrant communities. However, few studies have examined the behavioural responses used by immigrants to respond to the spread of the virus. This study uses data from the U.S.-based COVID-19 in American Communities study to examine whether there are disparities in the use of COVID-19 prevention behaviours between first-generation immigrants (i.e., foreign-born persons), second-generation immigrants (i.e., U.S.-born persons with at least one immigrant parent), and third-generation individuals (i.e., U.S.-born persons with only U.S.-born parents). The results indicate that recent first-generation immigrants and second-generation immigrants use the behaviours recommended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 less intensively compared to third-generation individuals. Furthermore, increased exposure to U.S. society is found to have a non-linear relationship with the intense use of these behaviours. Results from the analysis of each preventive behaviour show that there are larger gaps between immigrants and U.S. natives in the use of frequent hand washing and comparatively smaller gaps in the practice of avoiding large crowds. However, the most consistent pattern of low use of COVID-19 prevention behaviours was found among recently arrived first-generation immigrants.

Migration as Cultural Phenomenon in a Globalized World: A Pilot Study on Lifestyle and Eating Behaviours of Adolescents Living in Rome

The aim of this research was to assess, through an observational study, lifestyle and eating behaviours of adolescents (native, and first- and second-generation immigrants), in order to understand if the migration process may have influenced these aspects. The study was carried out by a structured questionnaire packet that investigated anthropometric data, eating habits, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and sedentary behaviours. A total of 105 respondents, aged 10–24 years (51.4% first-generation immigrants, 19.1% second-generation immigrants, and 29.5% natives) were included in the study. The results showed statistical differences in some social aspects by migration status, such as place of residence, living arrangement, parental educational level, and eating differently from family members. Despite these differences, volunteers were perfectly integrated regarding most eating habits and lifestyle behaviour, underlying a process of acculturation. Moreover, our study indicates the existence of inadequate dietary habits, such as skipping breakfast. It is important to implement effective nutrition interventions for adolescents to promote healthier lifestyle choices, considering that they should also include cultural components of dietary habits.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Among Canadian Children: Comparison Between Children of Non-European Descent and Children of European Descent.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) phenotypes may differ between countries and ancestral groups. The study aim was to examine ancestry and subtype variations of children newly diagnosed with IBD. Children newly diagnosed with IBD enrolled into the Canadian Children Inflammatory Bowel Disease Network inception cohort study were categorized into 8 ancestral groups. Prospectively collected data at diagnosis and follow-up were compared between ancestral groups. Among 1447 children (63.2% Crohn's disease, 30.7% ulcerative colitis), 67.8% were European, 9.4% were South Asian, 3.8% were West Central Asian and Middle Eastern, 2.3% were African, 2.2% were East/South East Asian, 2.0% were Caribbean/Latin/Central/South American, 9.9% were mixed, and 2.6% were other. Children of African descent with ulcerative colitis had an older age of diagnosis compared with children of European descent (median 15.6 years vs 13.3 years; P = .02). Children of European descent had a higher proportion of positive family history with IBD (19.3% vs 12.1%; P = .001) compared with children of non-European descent. Children of European descent also had a lower proportion of immigrants and children of immigrants compared with children of non-European descent (9.8% vs 35.9%; P < .0001; and 3.6% vs 27.2%; P < .0001, respectively) . Important differences exist between different ancestral groups in pediatric patients with IBD with regard to age of diagnosis, family history, and immigrant status. Our study adds to the knowledge of the impact of ancestry on IBD pathogenesis.

Language Brokering and Code Switching as Teaching and Learning Tools in Multilingual Settings: Reflections of Two Immigrant Children

Language diversity is generally a norm in multilingual South African classroom. Orellana and García (2014) describe how multilingual speakers need to learn tools to allow them to be flexible with their language skills. Language brokering and code-switching form part of the everyday teaching and learning tools needed in South African multilingual classroom setting. Data was collected by means of observation and semi-structured interviews. Snowball sampling was used to select Francophone immigrant children or learners who were observed outside the classroom in order to establish how they interacted with their peers on school playgrounds. Their personal narratives were collected and analyzed to enhance triangulation and thematic analysis was used to understand how immigrant children acted as language brokers. This research sets out to consolidate the position of language brokering and code-switching as pedagogically oriented language practices in a multilingual classroom setting. Using the sociocultural theories and the funds of knowledge (FoK), the current study rejects a deficit model, where linguistically and culturally diverse institutions of learning are reputed to be incapable of offering rich learning experiences and resources.

The Predictive Role of Quantity and Quality Language-Exposure Measures for L1 and L2 Vocabulary Production among Immigrant Preschoolers in Italy.

In this study, we investigated the lexical ability in L1 and L2 of 60 immigrant children who were 37 to 62 months old and exposed to minority languages (L1) and Italian (L2). Using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories, we measured children's vocabulary production in L1 and L2. From interviews, we collected data on quantitative language exposure (parental input, child output, length of exposure to L2 at preschool, and parental oral fluency) and qualitative home-language exposure (HLE) practices (active, play, and passive) in L1 and L2. We conducted stepwise regression analyses to explore which factors predicted children's vocabulary production in L1 and L2. The child's chronological age and parental education were not predictors of vocabulary production. L2 parental input, L1 child output, and L1 HLE-active practices explained 42% of the variance in children's L1 vocabulary production. L2 child output and L2 HLE-active practices explained 47% of the variance in children's L2 vocabulary production, whereas length of L2 exposure in preschool was a predictor only when we included quantitative language-exposure factors in the model. The effects of the quantity and quality of language exposure on lexical ability among preschool immigrant children are discussed.

Exploring recent immigrant children’s perceptions of interactions with parents before and after immigration to Canada

ABSTRACT Immigration is a major life experience that changes family dynamics and can increase stress and internalizing symptoms in some children. Very few studies have documented these changes using the perspectives of children themselves. This study relied on a convergent mixed-method design (quan + QUAL) and focused on the family representations after immigration of 33 children (6–13 years) who had recently immigrated to Canada. To explore the distinctions between children who experienced this transition more positively and less so, participants were divided into two groups according to whether they had low/normative (n = 23) or clinically significant (n = 10) levels of internalizing symptoms. Family dynamics in the immigration context were documented and compared between the two groups with the aim of identifying potential risk or resilience factors that are significant from children’s perspectives. In both groups, children reported increased time spent with their father following immigration. Children with low/normative internalizing symptoms reported greater diversity in interactions with their parents after immigration. A need for cohesion was frequently mentioned by children who had clinically significant internalizing symptoms. By drawing attention to factors considered important from the perspectives of immigrant children, this exploratory research will help future studies to identify potential resilience factors in that young population.

Immigrant Integration in Europe. A Subjective Well-Being Perspective. Angela Paparusso (2021).

This book explores immigrant integration in Europe in all its complexity and multidimensional character. The author begins by providing a brief historical background of immigration in Europe in order to understand the evolution of this phenomenon towards something structural. She then goes into the traditional models of immigration in that continent and the immigration policies implemented in the different countries, assessing its effect by making reference to the Migrant Integration Policy Index 2020 affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. What makes this book original, in this sphere, is the introduction of the concept of subjective well-being applied both to immigrants and European host countries. This subject is tackled through surveys which lead to the analysis of self-reported life satisfaction among first generation immigrants in seven European countries. In this respect, Angela Paparusso focuses particularly in Italy where she studies the wellbeing and integration of children with a migrant background In her conclusions, she dwells on policy making which calls for the incorporation of local, national, and international governmental institutions and further proposes novel lines of study.

Community participation and subjective wellbeing among the immigrant population in Northern Italy: An analysis of mediators.

Community participation can be a potential strategy to increase the degree of the subjective wellbeing of immigrants within receiving societies. This study aims to analyze the relationship between immigrants' community participation and their subjective wellbeing, testing the two dimensions of sense of mattering (feeling valued and adding value) and psychological sense of community as potential mediators of this relationship. A total of 308 first-generation immigrants living in Northern Italy filled out a questionnaire (45.1% were members of a migrant community-based organization). We found that immigrants who are members of a migrant organization show a higher level of subjective wellbeing, sense of mattering, and psychological sense of community than those who are not members. We also found that the sense of adding value and the psychological sense of community serve as mediators of the relationship between community participation and subjective wellbeing. The findings suggest that active participation is positively related to immigrants' feeling useful and capable of contributing to society and their feeling of belonging, which, in turn, are positively related to their subjective wellbeing. Practical implications are presented, focusing on the need for generative social policies to move beyond the welfarist perspective in which immigrants only "receive" to embrace an active perspective in which immigrants can also "give."

Possessive pronouns in Russian-German language contact: variation or change?

Abstract The article addresses the question of what happens to internal linguistic variability in a language contact situation by looking at how first-generation Russian immigrants in Germany use two variants of possessive pronouns (reflexive and non-reflexive) for referencing the subject. To what extent does the frequency of the variants, as well as linguistic constraints on their use, remain the same as in the monolingual variety, or change to converge with the structures of the majority language? A forced choice sentence completion task was conducted with 96 adult monolingual Russian and 96 adult bilingual Russian-German speakers to measure the frequency of both variants and the effect of animacy and referentiality of the possessum. The results reveal an increased frequency of the non-reflexive variant in bilingual Russian, indicating convergence with German. At the same time, bilingual speakers observe the same animacy and referentiality constraints on the possessive choice as monolinguals. The effect of linguistic constraints, however, is smaller than the influence of individual speaker-related variables. Overall, our study indicates that convergence in language contact affects the frequency but not the conditioning of the variants and only in some bilingual individuals.

Digital Ethnic Enclaves: Mate Preferences and Platform Choices Among Chinese Immigrant Online Daters in Vancouver

In light of the growing racialized immigrant population in Canada and advances in dating technologies, this study examines Chinese immigrants' partner preferences and mate selection processes through the lens of online dating. We draw on in-depth interviews with 31 Chinese immigrants who have used online dating services in Metro Vancouver to search for different-sex partners. Chinese immigrant online daters show strong preferences for dating Chinese. They emphasize permanent residency status and similarity in age at arrival when evaluating potential partners. Given their preferences, Chinese immigrants strategically choose the dating platforms they primarily use. Men exhibit higher selectivity in their preferences and choices of platforms. Notably, platforms catering to Chinese users create "digital ethnic enclaves" where Chinese immigrant daters congregate. The findings illuminate the intersection of race, gender, immigrant status, and age at arrival in shaping divergent experiences of mate selection and immigrant assimilation in the digital era.

Hate Crimes and the Safety Needs of Second and Third Generation Jewish Immigrants

There were many Jewish immigrants fled from different countries during World War II and migrated to the United States. They came from Poland, Russia, Cuba, Brazil, France, Syria, Israel, and other countries, hoping to find a more tolerant and secure place to raise their families. However, anti-Semitic violence and incidents have occurred over the years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of the second and third-generation Jewish immigrants toward their views of anti-Semitic violence and discrimination and safety needs. Additionally, this research relied on Social Identity Theory to understand the causes of the conflicts among the different groups. The author used a quantitative methodology, the author will collect information on participants’ perceptions toward anti-Semitism and safety needs. This study gathered 300 participants of the second and third Jewish immigrant generations in Florida. The results indicated that over 64.7% of Jewish participants strongly agreed or agreed they were more worried about encountering anti-Semitism or discrimination in neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, or other places now than in the past ten years. Moreover, this study provided explicit recommendations for different groups dealing with anti-Semitism and discrimination.

Ethnic stratification in the Spanish education system

The general academic disadvantage faced by children of immigrants is already a well-documented regularity in Spain. However, there is no reliable knowledge on how academic achievement is ethnically stratified and more research is needed to understand the determinants behind these achievement gaps. This study aims to further knowledge of both issues by using the Spanish General Educational Diagnostic Assessment data ( n = 22,267). Students originating from non-European developing countries and two European groups with a lower socioeconomic profile (Romanian and Portuguese) have the largest gap compared to native students, while Western Europeans equal the achievement of natives. Results from multilevel analyses show that social origin and the language spoken at home have a significant impact on the gaps, while the school factors have a limited impact.

Robber Barons and Wretched Refuse: Ethnic and Class Dynamics during the Era of American Industrialization

Robber Barons and Wretched Refuse: Ethnic and Class Dynamics during the Era of American Industrialization

Linguistic ethnography and immigrant youth’s social lives in the liminal interludes of schooling

Abstract In this paper, I examine how liminal spatio-temporal contexts both afford and constrain how immigrant children navigate their social lives in educational settings. Liminal schooling contexts have largely been unexamined in micro-ethnographic approaches to schooling, despite the potential of these contexts for illuminating the educational lives of youth. Shifting the ethnographic lens to the interactions occurring in seemingly liminal schooling contexts (in between ratified activities, in between ratified places, etc.) reveal heightened forms of behavior at the extremes of a continuum ranging from empathy/inclusion to violence/exclusion. On the one hand, liminality can render immigrant youth more vulnerable to racialized bullying, including verbal and physical aggression, since many of the institutional protections that apply in ratified schooling contexts are in abeyance. On the other hand, liminal contexts also allow for displays of support and empathy that can lead to the development of cross-ethnic peer friendships, which can happen when social-ethnic boundaries and hierarchies that are reproduced in more central contexts are relaxed. This paper builds on a linguistic ethnography documenting the social lives of Moroccan immigrant children in a Southwestern Spanish town. Using videoanalysis and ethnographic methods in discourse analysis, I focus on videotaped interactions between immigrant students and their Spanish counterparts taking place in the interstices of school life – when students are walking between buildings, in the fringes/corners of the schoolyard, in between classes … etc. The long-term ethnography allows me to examine the interactions occurring in these liminal contexts in relation to institutional culture and to the relational history between children. This paper calls for examining youth’s schooling experiences more holistically. What happens in liminal contexts is crucial to achieving educational equity in the 21st century: it can, for example, undermine progressive curricular efforts and can have positive/negative implications for immigrant youth’s enduring feelings of belonging and educational enfranchisement.

Contingency and Multimodal Communication in the Learning Environment

From a Vygotskian (1997) theoretical perspective, teachers and learners, of necessity, need to listen and respond to one another in a meaningful way, which, significantly, entails some form of role reversal (i.e., student as teacher and teacher as student). van Lier (1996) furthered this approach in relation to second language (L2) classroom environments, emphasizing the need for conversational symmetry between students and teacher so that participation by all includes contributing individual and collective thoughts and experiences in relation to the content of a lesson, or ‘contingent interaction’, which van Lier also based on a similar approach: Instructional Conversation. Furthermore, van Lier linked his perspective to Vygotsky’s (1987) central premise that language (signs) constitutes the primary mediational tool with which we navigate ourselves and the world, which includes not only meaning (znachenie) but sense (smysl), and as applied in the case of the current study to L2 immigrant children growing up in a multilingual society. Moreover, although Vygotsky had recognized the role of proto-gesture (e.g., an infant reaching for an object that is then brought by an adult) as perhaps the earliest form of semiotic mediation, he did not concentrate on nonverbal forms of mediation, nor did van Lier. However, the current research hopes to demonstrate that speech together with nonverbal forms of communication, especially in combination (multimodal ensembles) can constitute an important aspect of creating L2 contingent interaction, and following van Lier, as connected to the Zone of Proximal Development. Additionally, emotional development (Perezhivanie) as tied to contingency and as an aspect of cooperative social relations is given treatment. Data for the study come from a second-grade classroom of L2 learners of English engaged in a read-aloud lesson directed towards L2 language and literacy development.

Melanin levels in relation to vitamin D among first-generation immigrants from different ethnic groups and origins: A comparative national Canadian cross-sectional study.

Immigrants to Western countries tend to have darker skin than native-born populations. We examined the relationship between skin melanin and serum vitamin D (vitD) [S-25(OH)D] levels and explored whether melanin levels explained S-25(OH)D variations between immigrants and native-born Canadians. This study offers novel findings as no such study has been conducted. We used a national cross-sectional population-based design with data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). Skin melanin levels among first-generation immigrants based on their ethnicity and origin/country of birth were compared with white and native-born populations. We assessed the association between S-25(OH)D and melanin after adjusting for independent variables related to S-25(OH)D, melanin level, and immigration status. Of 11,579 participants, 21.9% were immigrants aged 3-79 years (mean age 39.23 years). Compared with non-immigrants, immigrants had lower S-25(OH)D levels (mean: 51.23 vs. 62.72; 95% CI: 8.37, 14.62; P < 0.001) but higher melanin levels (mean [SE]: 17.08 [0.25] vs. 16.29 [0.29]; 95% CI: -1.29, -0.281; P = 0.004). Melanin did not differ by length of stay in Canada but was weakly positively correlated (r = 0.088, P < 0.001) with S-25(OH)D. Sex (male), age (≥18 years), summer/fall seasons, sunlight exposure, sunscreen non-use, smoking, and alcohol consumption were associated with higher melanin levels, whereas indoor tanning use was not. Skin melanin levels were associated with sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics. Immigrants had higher melanin levels, but melanin did not differ by length of stay in Canada. The weak positive correlation between melanin and S-25(OH)D suggested confounding factors may impact the relationship between melanin levels, S-25(OH)D, and immigration status.

Culture and Language Maintenance Efforts of the Hungarian Community in San Diego

In this paper, I argue that members of the Hungarian community (who are assumed to be first-generation Americans) living in the city of San Diego, California and have assimilated into the mainstream culture of their adopted country, have developed anidentity that can be regarded as a combination of their native language and culture as well as their dominant language and culture. This distinctively dynamic identity contributes to the maintenance of their heritage language and culture. Through negotiating their identity via intentional code-mixing in their written discourse, they invite members of the mainstream group to learn about and become interested in their culture. Among the many types of significant influences that minority communitymedia can have on ethnic identity construction, there is an opportunity for the community to be present inside and outside of the group as well as operating as an essential communicator of culture and a creator of cultural artifacts. The illustrative material analyzed in this paper is sourced from the House of Hungary (San Diego) website and the latest issues of their newsletter.

Pediatric Perspectives and Tools for Attorneys Representing Immigrant Children: Conducting Trauma-Informed Interviews of Children from Mexico and Central America

Pediatric health and mental health professionals with expertise in the physical and emotional needs of immigrant children seeking humanitarian protection are trained to understand and address the sometimes deeply traumatic nature of their experience. This expertise plays an important role in collaborating with immigration attorneys to provide compassionate, trauma-informed representation that centers on children’s best interests. In medicine, we say that “children are not small adults,” such that meeting a child’s needs requires consideration of their developmental stage and the unique impacts of child trauma exposure. This also holds true for legal professionals dedicated to protecting the rights of children in migration. This article aims to (1) review the principles of trauma-informed care in the context of child development, (2) understand the traumatic nature of the migration paradigm for children from Mexico and Central America seeking safety and protection, and (3) suggest ways that healthcare, mental health and legal professionals can inform one another’s efforts to optimize the wellbeing of children and improve legal outcomes. The application of this knowledge in practice can advance legal goals, reduce risk for child re-traumatization during interviews, and reinforce child strengths while also reducing vicarious trauma and burnout for legal professionals.

Parents' planning, children's agency and heritage language education: Re-storying the language experiences of three Chinese immigrant families in Australia.

This study delves into the heritage language experiences of Australian-born Chinese immigrant children under the framework of family language policy. Storytelling as a narrative inquiry method is used to reveal the lived experiences of the protagonists in relation to heritage language and culture. The three family stories involved for case studies reveal different levels of parent agency in Chinese immigrant families regarding their children's home language use and heritage language education. It is noted that the level of child agency corresponds with the level of their parent agency. Where parents strongly advocate and practice heritage language maintenance, stronger agency is observed in their children to continue the use and learning of their heritage language. In addition, maintaining harmony while parents are implementing family language policies and providing children with formal instruction in heritage language are conducive to heritage language development, particularly in terms of its literacy.

Uncovering Youth’s Invisible Labor: Children’s Roles, Care Work, and Familial Obligations in Latino/a Immigrant Families

This paper examines Latino/a children’s roles and obligations to their immigrant families. Bridging insights from the literature on the “new sociology of childhood,” immigrant incorporation, and care work, this essay argues that children perform important—but often invisible—labor in immigrant families. Dominant ideologies depict childhood as an “innocent” time wherein young people are in need of guidance and are too underdeveloped to make meaningful contributions. However, this construction of childhood ignores the lived realities of the children of immigrants, who often serve as gatekeepers and connect their families to services and resources in their communities. This essay examines six dimensions of support that the children of immigrants provide to their families, namely, language and cultural help, financial contributions, bureaucratic assistance, emotional labor, legal support, and guidance with technology. This essay concludes with implications for scholars, students, and policymakers on the importance of recognizing this labor, along with future directions for research.