Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS), San Diego, California, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, Florida, 1991-2006

Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) was designed to study the adaptation process of the immigrant second generation which is defined broadly as United States-born children with at least one foreign-born parent or children born abroad but brought at an early age to the United States. The original survey was conducted with large samples of second-generation immigrant children attending the 8th and 9th grades in public and private schools in the metropolitan areas of Miami/Ft. Lauderdale in Florida and San Diego, California. Conducted in 1992, the first survey had the purpose of ascertaining baseline information on immigrant families, children's demographic characteristics, language use, self-identities, and academic attainment. The total sample size was 5,262. Respondents came from 77 different nationalities, although the sample reflects the most sizable immigrant nationalities in each area. Three years later, corresponding to the time in which respondents were about to graduate from high school, the first follow-up survey was conducted. Its purpose was to examine the evolution of key adaptation outcomes including language knowledge and preference, ethnic identity, self-esteem, and academic attainment over the adolescent years. The survey also sought to establish the proportion of second-generation youths who dropped out of school before graduation. This follow-up survey retrieved 4,288 respondents or 81.5 percent of the original sample. Together with this follow-up survey, a parental survey was conducted. The purpose of this interview was to establish directly characteristics of immigrant parents and families and their outlooks for the future including aspirations and plans for the children. Since many immigrant parents did not understand English, this questionnaire was translated and administered in six different foreign languages. In total, 2,442 parents or 46 percent of the original student sample were interviewed. During 2001-2003, or a decade after the original survey, a final follow-up was conducted. The sample now averaged 24 years of age and, hence, patterns of adaptation in early adulthood could be readily assessed. The original and follow-up surveys were conducted mostly in schools attended by respondents, greatly facilitating access to them. Most respondents had already left school by the time of the second follow-up so they had to be contacted individually in their place of work or residence. Respondents were located not only in the San Diego and Miami areas, but also in more than 30 different states, with some surveys returned from military bases overseas. Mailed questionnaires were the principal source of completed data in this third survey. In total, CILS-III retrieved complete or partial information on 3,613 respondents representing 68.9 percent of the original sample and 84.3 percent of the first follow-up.Relevant adaptation outcomes measured in this survey include educational attainment, employment and occupational status, income, civil status and ethnicity of spouses/partners, political attitudes and participation, ethnic and racial identities, delinquency and incarceration, attitudes and levels of identification with American society, and plans for the future.

移民二代适应性纵向研究（Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study，简称CILS）旨在探讨移民二代适应过程，其定义较为广泛，即指至少有一位外国出生父母或早年出生国外后移居美国的美国出生儿童。原始调查针对佛罗里达州迈阿密/劳德代尔堡大都市区以及加利福尼亚州圣地亚哥的公立和私立学校中八年级和九年级的二代移民儿童进行，调查样本量较大。该调查于1992年进行，旨在确立关于移民家庭、儿童人口统计学特征、语言使用、自我认同和学业成就的基线信息。总样本量为5,262。受访者来自77个不同的国籍，样本反映了每个地区最大的移民国籍群体。三年后，即在受访者即将高中毕业时，进行了首次追踪调查。其目的是考察包括语言知识和偏好、族群认同、自尊和学业成就在内的关键适应结果在青少年时期的演变。调查还旨在确定在毕业前辍学的二代青年比例。此次追踪调查回收了4,288名受访者，占原始样本的81.5%。与此追踪调查同时进行的是家长调查。此次访谈的目的是直接了解移民父母和家庭的特征及其对未来的展望，包括对孩子的期望和计划。由于许多移民父母不懂英语，因此问卷被翻译成六种不同的外语进行施测。总计，2,442名父母或原始学生样本的46%接受了访谈。在原始调查后的十年，即2001-2003年，进行了最终追踪调查。此时的样本平均年龄为24岁，因此可以轻易评估早期成年期的适应模式。原始和追踪调查主要在受访者就读的学校进行，极大地便利了数据的收集。在第二次追踪调查时，大多数受访者已经离校，因此需要在他们的工作场所或居住地进行个别联系。受访者不仅分布在圣地亚哥和迈阿密地区，还分布在超过30个不同的州，其中一些调查问卷来自海外军事基地。邮寄问卷是第三次调查中完成数据的主要来源。总计，CILS-III回收了3,613名受访者的完整或部分信息，占原始样本的68.9%和首次追踪调查样本的84.3%。该调查中测量的相关适应结果包括教育成就、就业和职业状况、收入、民事状态和配偶/伴侣的族群、政治态度和参与度、族群和种族认同、违法和监禁、对美国的认同态度和程度，以及未来的计划。