Social structure and immigrant identification: Impact of race, economic participation, and social participation

The intent of this study was to explore immigrant adaptation in the United States, particularly immigrant identification with, or feelings of attachment to, the new society. Using a framework that conceptualizes adaptation as multidimensional and involving synergistic interaction between the individual (pre-migration characteristics) and social structure (context of receiving society), producing, over time, both objective and subjective outcomes, three hypotheses were derived. It was hypothesized that race, economic participation, and social participation would each be related to identification. Analysis of covariance and partial correlation were used to test the hypotheses.; The convenience sample, 249 adult immigrants, from ten countries, all graduates during the 1980s of the same New York City employment training program, was divided into two groups: immigrants of color and white immigrants. Each respondent completed an 88-item English-language questionnaire. Data were collected on demographic variables and three scales: economic participation, social participation, and identification, which had reliabilities (Chronbach alpha) of.89,.83, and.85, respectively.; The principal findings were that (1) race had an impact on identification (F ratio = 8.53, p =.004), with immigrants of color significantly less identified with the U.S. than white immigrants; (2) economic participation was not related to identification (partial r = {dollar}-{dollar}.02, p =.723), a finding inconsistent with previous studies; and (3) social participation was statistically significantly related to identification (partial r =.18, p =.007), but there were differences by race. For immigrants of color (partial r =.24, p =.003), social participation had a statistically significant impact on identification, but for white immigrants (partial r =.02, p =.888), it did not.; Both immigrants of color and white immigrants are disadvantaged in the society due to their status as immigrants. However, the racial stratification system in the U.S. presents specific adaptation challenges to immigrants of color. Whereas white immigrants benefit from the climate of white privilege, immigrants of color experience additional barriers due to white racism. Social participation, for immigrants of color, appears to overcome the direct effect of racism in terms of identification. Failing to include race as a specific variable when studying immigrant adaptation may confound empirical and theoretical perspectives. Implications for policies on white racism and intergroup interaction are discussed.{dollar}sp*{dollar} ftn{dollar}sp*{dollar}Originally published in DAI Vol. 58, No. 12. Reprinted here with corrected title.