Ebook: Economic Mobility and Cultural Assimilation among Children of Immigrants

Segmented assimilation theory states that immigrants follow multiple paths of assimilation into different segments of American society. Faulkner tests the theory using data on children of immigrants and later generation youths and analyzes how context of reception, adaptation obstacles, and protective factors are associated with paths of assimilation. She take into account five factors that segmented assimilation theory has not fully considered (1) assimilation’s intergenerational nature, (2) life course stage, (3) assimilation starting points, (4) gender, and (5) later generation comparisons. Assimilation paths differ by these factors. Results suggest that exposure to U.S.-born minorities may not have the detrimental effects that the theory posits and that immigrants’ cultural attributes may be less important for their success than the quality of their family relationships.