Segmented Assimilation Theory Research Articles

Assimilation Theories in the 21st Century: Appraising Accomplishments and Future Challenges

Over a quarter century has passed since theoretical debates surrounding competing assimilation models emerged, and durably structured research on immigrants and their descendants in America and beyond. In this article, I offer a three-pronged reflection on the contemporary state of assimilation research. First, I aim to take stock of the relative merits of segmented and neoassimilation theories and their ability to explain major empirical trends in both the US and Europe. I argue that there is now an emerging empirical consensus about the second generation in the US and Western Europe primarily experiencing intergenerational progress rather than downward assimilation as envisioned by segmented assimilation theory. I then note six analytical challenges facing further theory building: clarifying the role of race and better understanding how cultural difference shapes assimilation trajectories, rethinking the relationship between immigrant socioeconomic mobility and the experience of belonging, acknowledging the importance of immigrant selectivity in conditioning assimilation, facing issues of in- and out-of-sample selectivity due to processes endogenous to assimilation such as ethnic attrition and incarceration, and studying the third generation. Looking out and into the future, I note the need for conversations across methodological traditions and specialist subfields to encourage further theoretical progress and assess existing data infrastructures and future data requirements. Finally, in tandem with machine learning applications allowing for empirical surprise and abductive reasoning, I argue that the current era of data plenitude and unprecedented ability to collect high-dimensional surveys through nonprobability online samples is likely to lead to further theoretical progress.

Segmented assimilation trajectories of physician trust among internal migrants in Shanghai, China: A cross-sectional study

Physician trust is necessary for improving physician–patient relationships and maintaining an effective health-care system. Most studies on the theory of segmentation assimilation have mainly focused on comparing immigrants in different countries and few studies have applied segmented assimilation to clarify physician–patient relationships, especially physician trust among internal migrants in the context of Chinese megacities. A random sample of 1200 internal migrants was collected through an online questionnaire conducted in Shanghai from August to December 2021. An exploratory K-means cluster analysis and multivariate logistic regression models were employed to identify patterns of segmented assimilation and examine their relationships with physician trust, as well as the factors influencing physician trust among internal migrants in Shanghai. Results show four main patterns were revealed, namely first-generation classic assimilation, first-generation integrative assimilation, first-generation segmentation, and second-generation underclass assimilation, supporting the theory of segmented assimilation. Association between assimilation pattern and physician trust was observed. A relationship was found between assimilation patterns and trust in physicians. Migrants belonging to the first-generation classic and integrative assimilation groups exhibited a higher level of trust in doctors compared to those in the segmented assimilation groups. Additionally, undergraduate and postgraduate education attainment, an annual income of <400 000 yuan, visiting the physician ≥2 times in the past year, and self-rated health status before and after population floating were significant contributing factors for good physician trust. The government can implement corresponding measures to maintain physician trust, improve cultural adaptability instead of only at the economic level among internal migrants, achieving the facilitation of their understanding of the health system and health service utilization to increase physician trust.

Working together or apart? Exposure between natives and migrants in Danish workplaces from 1996 to 2019

ABSTRACT This article examines the extent to which the increasing ethnic diversity of Northern Europe’s population translates into exposure between natives and migrants (and their descendants) in the workplace, using Danish register data over nearly three decades. Consistent with the expectations of neo-assimilation theory, we find that Danish workplaces have become a common site of mutual exposure, including exposure between natives and two subcategories of culturally distant migrants. At the same time, consistent with segmented assimilation theory, we find increasing segmentation, even in a highly regulated Danish labour market. The distribution of migrants and their descendants in workplaces increasingly deviates from a (simulated) random distribution and we find increasing discrepancies between opportunity pools and exposure levels, particularly at the lower end of the labour market. By opening the black box of workplace composition, this article demonstrates the co-occurrence of increased exposure and labour market segmentation, with its potential to respectively facilitate and hinder integration.

What theories can be used to study hospitality and tourism consumers in the post-pandemic era?

PurposeThis paper aims to highlight unconventional or underused theories that can be considered for the study of hospitality and tourism consumers. The authors discuss how these theories can be applied.Design/methodology/approachThis research paper is conceptual and descriptive in nature. The authors address the proposed theories by applying the Delphi method.FindingsTheories such as dramaturgical theory, persuasion theory, script theory, customer inspiration theory and segmented assimilation theory are underused but can be applied to studies of hospitality and tourism consumers’ behavior. They can be helpful for understanding various aspects of consumer behavior, such as their decision-making, motivations, attitudes and perceptions, in hospitality and tourism.Originality/valueConsumer behavior is more diverse and complex in the post-pandemic era. The authors draw attention to theories that are underused but have explanatory power with regards to hospitality and tourism consumers’ behaviors. These non-conventional theories can provide new theoretical perspectives and offer new insights.

NAVIGATING THE JOURNEY TO PEACE: A STUDY OF ASSIMILATION AND REINTEGRATION OF EX-OFFENDERS OF TERRORISM

Objective: This research aims to investigate and analyze the assimilation models of ex-offenders of terrorism and identify the factors that drive them to participate willingly in the process of social reintegration. Theoretical Framework: Using the segmented assimilation theory developed by Porter and Zou, this study examines the movement of former convicts through various institutions and social and economic activities has led to their acceptance by society or if they need to follow a different trajectory. Method: A qualitative descriptive ap proach, coupled with the phenomenological method, was employed to gain profound insights into the lived experience of 15 former convicts hailing from diverse districts and cities in Central Java, Indonesia. To collect the data, we conduct interviews individually and in group to gain extensive their trajectory experiences for peace. Results and Discussion: The results of the study indicate that two trajectory models occur in society as a way of returning former terrorists to a peaceful path: (a) the independent model and (b) the institutional model. The independent model focuses on individual roles and initiatives in the ex-offender communicating with the community through family, friends, or community leaders and religious paths to gain the trust of the intended social community. Research Implications: This study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms of social reintegration for ex-offenders of terrorism, highlighting the importance of both individual initiatives and institutional support in facilitating successful assimilation into society. Originality/Value: The study offers an original contribution to the field by examining the specific assimilation trajectories of ex-terrorists, providing a nuanced understanding of the social reintegration process and identifying key factors that influence successful reintegration.

Migration and Youth: The Lived Experiences of Russian Youth in Finland

The number of Russian immigrants to Finland has already been steadily increasing since 1990, when the President of Finland launched an initiative aimed at facilitating the repatriation of Ingrian Finns living in the territories incorporated into the USSR. Today Russian-speaking immigrants account for approximately 1.3% of Finland’s population. The segmented assimilation theory encourages one to explore the lived experiences of second-generation immigrants. This article analyses the data from qualitative interviews conducted within the framework of the field work carried out in the central part of Finland, from 1 October to 31 December 2021. Young people who spoke Russian in their family and were a part of groups where Russian is a tool of communication and used for the intergenerational transmission of cultural traditions were selected for interviews. The empirical data resulting from a study conducted in Finland provide insight into the factors that have contributed to the migration of their families, from the perspective of these young people. Applying the concept of identity as a “moveable feast”, this article focuses on the process of self-identification as depending, first, on the dynamics between inherited and obtained identity and, second, on the identity level (ethnicity, nationality, global identity) at which these dynamics are present.

Do Segmented Assimilation Theory and Racialized Place Inequality Framework Help Explain Differences in Deaths Due to COVID-19 Observed among Hispanic Subgroups in New York City?

This article studies the differences in the correlation between deaths and the Hispanic share for different Hispanic subgroups in New York City. Such differences are predicted by Segmented Assimilation Theory as different assimilation paths. The study is carried out at the level of PUMAs, and it is argued that such geographic locations are macro-level factors that determine health outcomes, as the theory of Racialized Place Inequality Framework claims. The study presents a spatially correlated model that allows to decompose the spatial effects into direct and indirect effects. Direct effects are linked to the macro structure where the individual lives, while indirect effects refer to effects in the adjacent macro structures where the individual lives. The results show that both types of effects are significant. The importance of the direct effects is predicted by RPIF, while the importance of the indirect effects is a new result that shows the complexity of the effects of macro structures. The article also shows results for subsamples that allow to test the importance of different factors that have been linked to the excess deaths observed among Hispanics. The effects of such factors are also found to be heterogenous among the different Hispanic subgroups, which also provides evidence in favor of the Segmented Assimilation Theory. Access to health insurance and doctor density are found to be the most important elements that serve as protective factors for all Hispanic subgroups in New York City, signaling its importance in achieving assimilation for Hispanic immigrants to New York City.

Segmented assimilation of migrant children in urban public schools of China: Impact of family resources and school segregation on their educational aspirations

Rural–urban migrant children are a rapidly growing population in Chinese cities. There is emerging literature on the educational inequality faced by migrant children, but most studies focus on their educational performance or attainments and use non-migrant children with non-agricultural hukou in urban areas as one single reference group. This paper argues that Chinese society is segmented by both hukou type and location, and examines the educational aspirations of migrant children from the perspective of segmented assimilation theory. On the basis of the 2013–2014 wave of the China Education Panel Survey, the results show a segmented assimilation pattern: migrant children with non-agricultural hukou had a similar likelihood of aspiring to tertiary education or above; whereas migrant children with agricultural hukou showed higher aspirations of completing at least tertiary education, and the disparity remained significant after considering family resources and school segregation. In family resources, social capital, in form of social communication with parents, benefited migrant children’s aspirations more than it did for their non-migrant counterparts, regardless of their hukou type. In school segregation indicators, academic segregation channeled migrant children with agricultural hukou to a less desirable condition. These findings carry practical and policy implications for understandings of migrant children’s educational aspirations.

Tracking the settlement patterns of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations in Australia: A census-based study from 2001 to 2021

Tracking the settlement of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations serves as the foundation for population projection, urban planning, and policy making to achieve social justice, equity, and multicultural harmony. Drawing on census data in 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021, our study contributes an Australian nationwide time-series study of the settlement of CALD populations at a fine neighbourhood level, enabling long-term tracking of changing settlement patterns and residential diversity and revealing potential drivers for such changes. Following segmented assimilation theory, we examine whether the CALD populations with higher education levels, higher socioeconomic status and better language skills may tend to partially move out and partially retain their ethnic concentrations, resulting in assimilation that occurs segmentally across urban fabrics. We find that both existing CALD communities and the formation of new CALD concentrations in peri-urban regions exhibit segmented assimilation over time. We also find the settlement patterns of CALD populations in urban areas are more diverse than in rural areas in most states/territories. Our study provides spatially explicit evidence with far-reaching policy implications for migration, place-based health, population and urban planning.

Investigating the Relationships Between Safety and Adverse Experiences for the Children of Immigrants

As the population of children of immigrants increases within the United States, the importance of ensuring the safety, while understanding and addressing adverse experiences with victimization and perpetration, of this segment of the youth population has become paramount. Segmented assimilation theory, which postulates that discrimination, prejudice, and adverse life experiences could place the children of immigrants on a path towards detrimental outcomes, guides this study. In this research, data is drawn from the Children of Immigrant Longitudinal Study to explore if prior detrimental experiences of the children of immigrants, such as discrimination and perceptions of racial/ethnic prejudice, are associated with more frequent reports of being victimized and getting into fights at school, as well as feeling unsafe. Findings suggest racial/ethnic distinctions and nuances regarding how discrimination and prejudice contribute to these school outcomes for the children of immigrants. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Educational integration by the third generation? Placement and academic achievement of students with immigrant background in Germany

Studies show that minority students who were born abroad or whose parents were born abroad are less successful in school than their majority peers. However, little is known on whether these disadvantages persist for the grandchildren of immigrants, i.e., the third generation. Assimilation theories come to different predictions for third-generation students’ educational integration. We investigate third-generation students’ placement in different school types and their reading and mathematics achievements in Germany. Using data on ninth graders (N = 14,958) collected in the National Educational Panel Study enabled us to precisely identify third-generation students and to distinguish students by their ancestors’ countries of birth. Our results reveal that most third-generation students did not differ in their educational success from their majority peers, while first-generation and some groups of second-generation students, on average, were less successful in school. Overall, our findings are in line with classical and new assimilation theories and suggest that educational integration is mostly “completed” by the third generation in Germany. For some groups, however, we do not observe the major trends predicted by classical and new assimilation theories but patterns suggesting processes expected in segmented assimilation theory.

Effects of Asian Americans Ethnic capital on Academic Advantage: Upward Assimilation with the Root

This paper discusses the increasing importance of Asian Americans, one of the biggest minority ethnic groups in American society, in mainstream society and the reasons behind their outstanding academic achievements. By mainly building on Jennifer Lees theory of hyper-selectivity and Min Zhous theory of segmented assimilation, it investigates the level of upward assimilation of Asian Americans in the context of education. Ethnic capital brings advantages to the success of Asian Americans, and upward assimilation is achieved with their ethnic root.

Segmented assimilation and mobility among men in the early 20th century

Segmented assimilation theory asserts that children born to immigrants experience divergent paths of incorporation. While some exhibit substantial gains in well-being, others may fare worse than US-origin whites or their own parents. It is certainly true t

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.

Partnership Transitions among Turkish Immigrants and their Descendants in Western Germany

Adaptation to host country behaviours encompasses both individual and social change, bringing about rising diversity issues in the host society and societal shifts in the country of origin. This study aims to detect whether Turkish immigrants and their descendants converge towards or diverge from the partnership practices of the native-born population in Western Germany. Specifically, transitions from (1) singlehood to the first partnership, (2) singlehood to the first marriage, (3) singlehood to the first cohabitation, (4) cohabitation to marriage and (5) marriage to divorce are investigated. Data from the Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam) survey for the period of 2008-2018 are used, applying Kaplan-Meier survival estimations and Cox proportional hazard models. This is the first study that includes natives, immigrants and their descendants simultaneously in an analysis of extensive partnership transitions covering practices of cohabitation, marriage and divorce and to investigate the proportionality assumption in Cox models. We formulate four research hypotheses based on the hypotheses of socialisation, adaptation and the cultural maintenance and segmented assimilation theory. Supporting our first hypothesis, our findings indicate a difference in partnership patterns between both first- and second-generation immigrants and natives, except for the finding that second-generation immigrants resemble the native pattern in their transition to the first union (including both cohabitation and marriage). Immigrants and their descendants tend to marry directly and have lower divorce hazard ratios than their native counterparts, while consensual unions are uncommon among Turkish immigrants. As suggested by our second hypothesis, the extent of the divergence varies across partnership transitions. Finally, our results provide support for our third hypothesis rather than the fourth in that partnership transition of Turkish immigrants’ descendants more closely resembles that of first-generation immigrants compared to natives.

Where There's a Will, There's a Way? Social and Mental Forces of Successful Adaptation of Immigrant Children in Young Adulthood.

Although the twenty-first century is deemed as a new era of globalization, waves of immigration continue, due to disparities between politically and economically unstable regions and Western democratized and developed countries. Immigration research has therefore reignited its attention on the successful adaptation of immigrants’ offspring, which has profound implications for Western immigrant-receiving countries, as well as worldwide stability. Although immigration research mainly informed by the conventional assimilation theory and/or segmented assimilation perspective accentuates the importance of structural factors, termed as social forces here, in relation to immigrant children’s successful adaptation in adolescence, an argument of determinism and tenability keeps on and the contribution of human mental resources and determination, termed as mental forces here, in shaping life trajectories of immigrant children should be not ignored. For this, with a representative sample of 3344 immigrant children from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS), we examined and compared both the effects of social and mental forces measured in adolescence of immigrant children on their multiple adaptation outcomes in terms of college graduation, engagement in postgraduate study, and first and current job attainments in young adulthood with a Bayesian multilevel modeling framework. The results found that both social forces of segmented assimilation theory and mental forces of immigrant children in adolescence were significantly predictive of immigrant children’s successful adaptation in young adulthood (OR = 1.088–2.959 and β = 0.050–0.639 for social forces; OR = 11.290–18.119 and β = 0.293–0.297 for mental forces), in which, although the latter showed stronger effects than the former, the effects of mental forces on adaptation of immigrant children were conditionally shaped by the contexts of the social forces informed by segmented assimilation theory. The findings of the current study highlight the significance of the organism–environment interaction perspective on immigration research and provide an insight to consider a context-driven response thesis proposed.

Intergenerational and ethnonational disparities in Hispanic immigrant self-employment

Hispanics are important contributors to the self-employment sector. Their entrepreneurial activity varies by immigration status and ethnonational subgroup. We comparatively examine the self-employment of Hispanics who immigrated as adults, those who immigrated as children, and non-immigrants of four groups in the United States: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Southern South Americans. We investigate intergenerational assimilation through self-employment into the three trajectories posited by segmented assimilation theory. We estimate regression models using a sample from the American Community Survey of Hispanics (n = 585,279) and US-born non-Hispanic Whites (n = 2,848,456). In a subsequent exploratory analysis, we estimate models for Hispanic origin and immigrant status groups to compare key predictors. We find that self-employment probabilities indicate distinct assimilation patterns for our origin groups. The exploratory analysis reveals different effects of important characteristics across groups. This work highlights the need for policies tailored toward the heterogeneity in Hispanics’ assimilation processes.

Are Age Differences Between Partners Related To Gender and Generations Among Middle-Aged And Older Asian Americans?

Previous research has shown that women who immigrate to the United States tend to partner with much older spouses. However, most studies have focused on young people and first-generations. Spousal age differences among older Asian Americans with different generations have not been well studied. Using data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement survey (2013-2019), we employed the segmented assimilation theory to test 7,064 married middle-aged and older (50+) Asian Americans. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to understand the association between spousal age differences and individual background, including gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, generation, and marriage types. Of the 3,342 men, 20% were married to wives at least 6 years younger and 2% were married to wives at least 6 years older. Men who were Japanese or had inter-ethnical marriages were more likely to marry women at least 6 years older. Men who were Indian, Vietnamese, or having an interracial marriage were more likely to marry women at least 6 years younger. Of the 3,722 women, 3% were married to husbands at least six years younger and 19% were married to husbands at least six years older. Women who were Indian or Vietnamese were more likely to marry men at least six years older. Women who had a high school diploma or were third-plus generation were more likely to marry men at least 6 years younger. The findings reflect the complexity of Asian senior marriage and provide insight for policymakers to design new or improved social integration programs for senior immigrants.

Segmented assimilation as a mechanism to explain the dietary acculturation paradox

Latinos have disproportionately high rates of diet-related diseases which are associated with acculturation to the U.S. This negative shift in dietary quality is paradoxical in light of gains in income and education that would be expected to lead to better diet. We examined the extent to which the dietary acculturation paradox among Mexican Americans can be explained by segmented assimilation, a theory that considers how immigrants' and their descendants’ trajectories of integration are influenced by a complex interplay of individual, social, and structural factors. First, we performed confirmatory cluster analysis to identify three assimilation segments (classic, underclass, and selective) based on education, income, and an acculturation proxy derived from language, nativity, and time in the U.S. among Mexican-origin participants (N = 4475) of the 2007–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). These segments were then used as independent variables in linear regression models to estimate the relationship between cluster and dietary quality (assessed by the Health Eating Index (HEI)) and the interaction between cluster and gender, controlling for marital status. There were strong effects of cluster on dietary quality, consistent with hypotheses per segmented assimilation theory. The classic assimilation segment had the poorest diet, despite having higher income and education than the underclass segment. The selective segment had higher or similar dietary quality to the underclass segment. Consistent with expectations, this difference was driven by the relatively higher consumption of greens and beans and whole grains of those in the selective and underclass segments. Overall, women had better diets than men; however, the strongest gender contrast was in the underclass segment. This study advances understanding of dietary acculturation and potential disparities in diet-related health outcomes.

The academic aspiration of immigrant youths and their college graduation in young adulthood: A multilevel analysis of individual and contextual carry-over effects

Educational success of immigrant youths in young adulthood, e.g. college graduation, signifies them a milestone of upward mobility (Rumbaed, 2005, p.1043). In this study, I employed a representative sample of 3344 immigrant youths from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) and investigated how individual and school-level academic aspirations of immigrant youths in early adolescence (Mage=14) contributed to their successful college graduation in young adulthood (Mage=24) through their development of academic aspiration in late adolescence (Mage= 17). Results found that, even accounting for structural factors proposed by the conventional assimilation perspective and segmented assimilation theory and pertinent background covariates at individual and school levels, development of immigrant youths’ individual- and school-level academic aspirations during adolescence significantly predicted their successful college graduation in young adulthood.