Immigrant Transnationalism and Modes of Incorporation

几十年来，学者和政策制定者一直把成功的移民融入等同于同化占主导地位的美国白人中产阶级文化。对跨国移民（那些生活模式超越任何一个国家边界的人）的研究对用同化理论来描述当代移民融合提出了质疑。对移民子女的研究进一步表明，同化会损害移民的心理和身体健康。本研究采用随机调查方法，研究了1986年后拉丁美洲移民在南佛罗里达州的融入模式。佛罗里达国际大学民意研究所（IPOR）将对1200名移民进行电话调查。将收集数据来解决移民融合在多大程度上（如果有的话）具有跨国特征的问题，这意味着移民既吸收了美国文化的某些方面，又继续参与他们的祖国。还将审查特定融合模式（例如，两国融合与其他形式的同化，如分段同化和选择性文化适应）与移民对其福祉的主观评估之间的联系。鉴于来到美国的移民数量的增加以及他们的社会来源的日益多样化，这项研究将为继续参与本国社会的程度以及这种参与是否阻碍或鼓励融入美国社会提供重要的见解；以及，2)如果一种特定的合并模式改善了先前的研究人员所记录的美国挣扎的不利影响，这些研究人员认为同化危害移民的健康。更广泛的影响：该研究为南佛罗里达大学和威廉帕特森大学的本科生和研究生提供了研究经验。这些数据将被整合到课程中，以扩展学生的方法论技能，以及他们对移民作为社会学实质性研究领域的理解。从这个项目中收集的数据将提供给参与大学的本科生和研究生，用于论文和学位论文。此外，该项目增加了历史上代表性不足的群体在研究中的参与（所有三位研究人员都是西班牙裔/拉丁裔）。这项研究的发现将揭示新移民是如何融入现有移民社区的，以及哪种特定的融合模式最能提高移民的主观幸福感。这些发现具有政策意义，特别是在移民仍然是立法辩论中一个高度争议的话题的情况下。

SES-0752644Elizabeth ArandaElena SabogalElizabeth VaqueraUniversity of South FloridaFor decades scholars and policy makers have equated successful immigrant incorporation with assimilation to the dominant white, American middle-class culture. Research on transnational immigrants (those whose patterns of living transcend the boundaries of any one nation) has called into question the use of assimilation theory to describe contemporary immigrant incorporation. Research on the children of immigrants has gone further to suggest that assimilation compromises immigrant psychological and physical health. Using random survey methods, the research studies the modes of incorporation of recent, post-1986, Latin American immigrants in South Florida. The Institute for Public Opinion Research (IPOR) at Florida International University will conduct a phone survey of a sample of 1200 immigrants. Data will be collected to address the issue of to what extent (if any) immigrant integration has taken on a transnational character, meaning that immigrants both assimilate to some aspects of American culture while continuing to be involved in their home countries. Links between particular modes of integration (e.g. bi-national integration versus other forms of assimilation such as segmented assimilation and selective acculturation) and immigrants' subjective assessment of their well-being will also be examined. Given the increase in the numbers of immigrants coming to the United States and the growing diversity in terms of their social origins, the research will provide important insights into the extent of continued involvement in home societies and whether such involvement, 1) deters or encourages integration to U.S. society; and, 2) if a particular mode of incorporation ameliorates the adverse impact of U.S. struggles documented by previous researchers who have argued that assimilation jeopardizes the health of immigrants. Broader Impacts: The research provides a research experience for undergraduate and graduate students at the University of South Florida and William Paterson University. The data will be integrated into courses to expand students' methodological skills as well as their understandings of immigration as a substantive area of study in Sociology. The data collected from this project will be made available to undergraduate and graduate students at participating universities for use in theses and dissertations. Moreover, the project increases the participation of historically underrepresented groups in research (all three of the researchers are Hispanic/Latina). The study's findings will shed new light on how new immigrants are integrating into established immigrant communities and what particular modes of integration most enhance immigrant subjective well-being. These findings have policy implications, particularly as immigration continues to be a highly contested topic of legislative debate.