Social Networks and Ethnic Identifications of Young Immigrants

年轻移民的族裔认同和社会网络的形成和变化的机制尚未得到充分研究。由于这主要是因为缺乏数据，该项目的主要目的是收集足够的数据。为此，我们首先开发和测试了种族认同的多维测量。然后，我们对9所学校的26个完整的年级网络进行了小组调查，展示了近2100名五年级、六年级和七年级学生的信息。到目前为止，已经收集了两波数据；正在进行的项目中将实现第三波数据。这项提议申请进一步资助另外三波数据。现有专家小组的这一扩展不仅将加强计划分析的数据，还将使其能够处理重要但尚未触及的研究问题。再加上三波数据，这将是德国第一次有可能追踪年轻人在整个初中教育时期的民族认同发展。此外，它将能够测试理论上但迄今未经检验的命题，这些命题声称社会网络和种族认同之间的互惠因果关系在青春期的不同阶段有所不同。

The mechanisms underlying the formation and change of ethnic identifications and social networks of young immigrants have not sufficiently been studied. As this is mainly because of a lack of data, the main aim of the project was to collect adequate data. For this purpose, we first developed and tested a multi-dimensional measure of ethnic identifications. We then built up a panel survey of 26 complete grade-level networks in nine schools exhibiting information about nearly 2,100 fifth, sixth and seventh grade students. Until now, two waves of data have been collected; a third wave will be realized within the ongoing project.This proposal applies for further funding of three more waves of data. This extension of the existing panel will not only strengthen the data for the planned analyses, but also allow to address important yet untouched research questions. Extended with three more waves of data, it will be possible for the first time in Germany to trace the development of youths' ethnic identifications over the whole period of lower secondary education. Moreover, it will enable to test theoretical yet so far untested propositions claiming that the reciprocal causal relationship between social networks and ethnic identifications varies during different stages of adolescence.