Immigrant Second Generation in Metropolitan New York

The study analyzes the forces leading to or impeding the assimilation of 18- to 32-year-olds from immigrant backgrounds that vary in terms of race, language, and the mix of skills and liabilities their parents brought to the United States. To make sure that what we find derives specifically from growing up in an immigrant family, rather than simply being a young person in New York, a comparison group of people from native born White, Black, and Puerto Rican backgrounds was also studied. The sample was drawn from New York City (except for Staten Island) and the surrounding counties in the inner part of the New York-New Jersey metropolitan region where the vast majority of immigrants and native born minority group members live and grow up. The study groups make possible a number of interesting comparisons. Unlike many other immigrant groups, the West Indian first generation speaks English, but the dominant society racially classifies them as Black. The study explored how their experiences resemble or differ from native born African Americans. Dominicans and the Colombian-Peruvian-Ecuadoran population both speak Spanish, but live in different parts of New York, have different class backgrounds prior to immigration, and, quite often, different skin tones. The study compared them to Puerto Rican young people, who, along with their parents, have the benefit of citizenship. Chinese immigrants from the mainland tend to have little education, while young people with overseas Chinese parents come from families with higher incomes, more education, and more English fluency. Respondents were divided into eight groups depending on their parents' origin. Those of immigrant ancestry include: Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union; Chinese immigrants from the mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Chinese Diaspora; immigrants from the Dominican Republic; immigrants from the English-speaking countries of the West Indies (including Guyana but excluding Haiti and those of Indian origin); and immigrants from Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. These groups composed 44 percent of the 2000 second-generation population in the defined sample area. For comparative purposes, Whites, Blacks, and Puerto Ricans who were born in the United States and whose parents were born in the United States or Puerto Rico were also interviewed. To be eligible, a respondent had to have a parent from one of these groups. If the respondent was eligible for two groups, he or she was asked which designation he or she preferred. The ability to compare these groups with native born Whites, Blacks, and Puerto Ricans permits researchers to investigate the effects of nativity while controlling for race and language background. About two-thirds of second-generation respondents were born in the United States, mostly in New York City, while one-third were born abroad but arrived in the United States by age 12 and had lived in the country for at least 10 years, except for those from the former Soviet Union, some of whom arrived past the age of 12. The project began with a pilot study in July 1996. Survey data collection took place between November 1999 and December 1999. The study includes demographic variables such as race, ethnicity, language, age, education, income, family size, country of origin, and citizenship status.

本项研究旨在剖析导致或阻碍来自种族、语言背景及其父母在美国所带来的技能与负担混合型差异的移民背景18至32岁人群的同化力量。为确保所发现现象的具体性源自移民家庭的成长经历，而非仅仅是作为纽约的年轻个体，研究还纳入了来自本土出生的白人、黑人及波多黎各背景的比较群体。样本选取自纽约市（除斯塔滕岛外）及其周边地区，这些地区位于纽约-新泽西大都会区的内陆部分，是绝大多数移民及本土出生的少数族裔成员居住与成长之地。研究小组的设立使得诸多有趣的比较成为可能。与许多其他移民群体不同，加勒比第一代移民虽讲英语，但在种族分类上却被视为黑人。研究探讨了他们的经历与本土出生的非洲裔美国人的相似之处与差异。多米尼加人及哥伦比亚-秘鲁-厄瓜多尔人群体虽均讲西班牙语，但生活在纽约的不同地区，移民前的阶级背景各异，且皮肤色调也往往不同。研究将他们与享有公民身份的波多黎各年轻人进行了比较。来自中国大陆的移民往往受教育程度较低，而海外出生的中国年轻人则来自收入更高、教育程度更高且英语流利度更强的家庭。受访者根据其父母的起源被划分为八个群体。移民血统包括：前苏联的犹太移民；中国大陆、台湾、香港及华人散居地的中国移民；多米尼加共和国的移民；来自加勒比英语国家的移民（包括圭亚那，但不包括海地和印度裔）；以及来自哥伦比亚、厄瓜多尔和秘鲁的移民。这些群体构成了定义样本区域内2000年第二代人群体总数的44%。为了比较目的，还采访了在美国出生且父母出生在美国或波多黎各的白人、黑人和波多黎各人。为了具备资格，受访者必须来自这些群体之一。如果受访者符合两个群体的资格，他们将被告知选择哪个名称。能够将这些群体与本土出生的白人、黑人和波多黎各人进行比较，使得研究人员能够在控制种族和语言背景的同时，探究出生地的影响。大约三分之二的第二代受访者出生在美国，主要在纽约市，而三分之一的人虽然出生在国外，但到12岁时已抵达美国，并在该国生活了至少10年，但前苏联的一些移民除外，他们抵达美国时年龄已超过12岁。该项目始于1996年7月的试点研究。调查数据收集于1999年11月至1999年12月之间。研究包括人口统计学变量，如种族、民族、语言、年龄、教育、收入、家庭规模、原籍国和公民身份状态等。