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.