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The Impact of Race, Class and Gender on Second-Generation Caribbean Immigrants’ Assimilation Patterns into the United States

John, Mauricia A.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1341618172

Abstract Details

2012, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Rural Sociology.
The premise of this research rests on the idea that race, class and gender are all central to the immigrants’ experience and that assimilation into the dominant culture is influenced by the immigrants’ national origin, the immigrants’ gender and his or her family’s socioeconomic status. I draw from the classical assimilation model proposed by (Gordon, 1964) to construct measures of assimilation and I also employ the contemporary assimilation model proposed by Gans (1992) and Portes and Rumbaut (1996) to examine the ways in which race, class and gender affect the immigrants’ registration to vote, proficiency in English, educational achievement and the decision to out-marry/partner. I employ the Children of Immigrants’ Longitudinal Study to determine the assimilation patterns of second-generation immigrants from Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and the West Indies to the United States. I examine the effects of parental social class on the subsequent assimilation patterns of their children in young adulthood at an average age of 24. For race and ethnicity, I hypothesize that there should be no racial and ethnic differences relative to language proficiency. I hypothesize that racial and ethnic groups with weaker ties to their countries of origin should be more politically active in the host society. I hypothesize that those immigrants belonging to larger ethnic enclaves should be less likely to out-marry/partner. Lastly I hypothesize that Afro-Caribbeans should be likely to attain higher levels of education because they are economically motivated to migrate. With regard to social class, I hypothesize that parents with higher levels of economic resources and education should rear children that are more proficient in English and who attain higher levels of education. I also hypothesize that immigrants belonging to higher socio-economic groups should be more likely to out-marry/partner because they are likely to form ties and stronger relationships with the dominant culture. Lastly, I expect that immigrants with higher levels of education should be more politically active because they understand and value the importance of civic involvement. In terms of gender, I hypothesize that girls should be more proficient in English compared to boys due to the gender dynamic in child rearing in the Caribbean. I hypothesize that women should be more likely to out-marry/partner compared to men due to the transformation in gender roles. Lastly, I expect that there should be no differences between males and females relative to civic engagement and educational attainment. Results indicate that race, class and gender are all significantly related to the assimilation of second-generation Caribbean immigrants. However, class trumps race for this population sample—parents’ socioeconomic status is most significantly related to the four measures of assimilation. Even though both classical and contemporary models of assimilation were used in the dissertation to guide the research, findings suggest that neither of these models fully explain the integration of second-generation Caribbean immigrants. This study shows that second-generation Caribbean immigrants are more representative of a linear path as opposed to a segmented path towards assimilation.
Linda Lobao, PhD (Advisor)
Joseph Donnermeyer, PhD (Committee Member)
Kristi Lekies, PhD (Committee Member)
Lazarus Adua, PhD (Committee Member)
Robert Bailey, PhD (Other)
249 p.
Sociology
caribbean assimilation immigrants migration second-generation

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • John, M. A. (2012). The Impact of Race, Class and Gender on Second-Generation Caribbean Immigrants’ Assimilation Patterns into the United States [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1341618172

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • John, Mauricia. The Impact of Race, Class and Gender on Second-Generation Caribbean Immigrants’ Assimilation Patterns into the United States. 2012. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1341618172.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • John, Mauricia. "The Impact of Race, Class and Gender on Second-Generation Caribbean Immigrants’ Assimilation Patterns into the United States." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1341618172

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2012, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.