Immigrant Children: A Comparative Study of Their Process ofAdaptation

这个项目调查了第二代年轻人(出生在这里或至少五年前移民)如何适应美国社会。两项调查相隔三年，将在南佛罗里达州对8年级和9年级的学生进行。这些学生包括古巴、海地、西印度群岛以及中美洲和南美洲移民群体的代表。适应的成功及其发生过程中的差异是可以预料到的，并将与每个群体中儿童所遇到的社会背景的各个方面联系在一起。研究的重点是家族史、社会经济背景、就业状况、语言技能和使用、文化适应、自我认同、职业抱负、学校适应和教育程度。研究结果对社会化、语言习得、流动性和文化变迁等理论具有重要意义。

This project examines how second generation youth (born here or immigrated at least five years ago) adapt to U.S. society. Two surveys, three years apart, will be conducted of students in grades 8 and 9 in South Florida. Those students include repre- sentatives of Cuban, Haitian, West Indian, and Central and South American immigrant groups. Differences in success of adaptation, and in the processes through which it occurs, are expected, and will be linked to aspects of the social context encountered by children in each group. The study focuses upon family history, socio-economic background, employment status, language skills and usage, acculturation, self identity, career aspirations, school adjustment, and educational attainment. Results have implica- tions for theories of socialization, language acquisition, mobility, and cultural change.