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

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The Impact of Race, Class and Gender on Second-Generation Caribbean Immigrants’ Assimilation Patterns Into the United States The Impact of Race, Class and Gender on Second-Generation Caribbean Immigrants’ Assimilation Patterns into the United States Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in The Graduate School of The Ohio State University. By Mauricia Alissa John, M.Sc. Graduate Program in Rural Sociology The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee Dr. Linda Lobao, Advisor Dr. Joseph Donnermeyer Dr. Kristi Lekies Dr. Lazarus Adua Copyright by Mauricia Alissa John 2012 ABSTRACT 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 ii 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 iii 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. iv DEDICATION Dedicated to my parents Irmin and John-Albert, my sister Marsha John and my grandmother, Gloria John. v ACKNOWLEGEMENTS I am thankful to all of my advisors for their selfless amounts of time and supervision, and for being my mentors throughout my graduate career in the rural sociology program. I am indebted to Dr. Linda Lobao because she has been instrumental in my admittance into the rural sociology program and she has continued to guide and shape me into the academic scholar that I am today. I am grateful to her for teaching me to treat my dissertation not just as the end of my graduate work, but the beginning of a wonderful career and future ahead of me. Her goal has always been for me to mature scholastically, capitalize on my strengths and to create the most meaningful and competitive work in my field of study. I am obliged to Linda for her consistently brilliant ideas for improving my research --thank you Linda for helping me to see the “forest and not just the trees.” Without you I would not be the rural sociologist that I am today. Dr. Joe Donnermeyer has been a great mentor; his advice to me has always been direct, intelligent and practical. On many occasions Joe has helped me to see the humor in situations by teaching me to be less intense, which is my usual approach to my work and career. Joe has also taught me the art of making light of situations that would vi otherwise seem devastating to me. Thank you Joe for your continued support, advice and for breaking up the monotony with your eclectic sense of humor and stories that always put a smile on my face. I am forever appreciative to you for molding me into becoming a great lecturer. Dr. Cathy Rakowski has also been a great source of knowledge and guidance throughout my journey; she has been instrumental in assisting me in honing in on my research questions and she always goes above and beyond in any task of which I have asked her to be a part. Thank you Cathy for giving of your time and effort selflessly during this process. Moreover, I am truly thankful to Linda, Joe and Cathy for the endless letters of recommendations they wrote on my behalf; you have all been instrumental in helping me to secure my job at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania; thank you for your patience and willingness to help me succeed in my career. Dr. Kristi Lekies, though I’ve only recently gotten to know her, has always been willing, enthusiastic and has generously rendered her time and assistance to me. Thank you Kristi for your words of wisdom, for your support and patience throughout this process. Dr. Lazarus Adua has also been a great inspiration to me throughout the months leading up to my defense. He has given of his time, knowledge and expertise in statistical modeling unselfishly. Thank you Lazarus for your time, advice and all of your hard work in helping me realize my goals. My dissertation and my journey over the past four years would not have been possible without the assistance, support and encouragement from my parents. I will be vii forever grateful for the emotional and financial support they provided me throughout this process. My mother Irmin, has always been for me, a voice of reason, calm and reassurance; she taught me the value and importance of prayer and always provided that vote of confidence when I encountered obstacles throughout my academic career. My mother has always been my mentor, friend and supporter. My father, John though he never says much has always been my pillar of strength, his foremost hope for me is regardless of the path I take in life, his support, love and provision for whatever I needed would be unending. My dad remains my silent motivator and voice of reason. My sister Marsha continues to believe in my dreams and her advice has also been invaluable along the way—she has been my best friend and exemplary throughout this process. My grandmother Gloria has been a tremendous source of strength, her prayers, well wishes and positivity has kept me motivated, inspired and optimistic about my future and direction in life. My uncle Clinton has also been instrumental in my graduate career; I am indebted to him for his generosity, support and eagerness to help me succeed. I am also thankful to Brian Soller and Dmitry Tumin, who have both assisted me tremendously with the statistical modeling of my research. Their advice, knowledge and expertise have been crucial in the successful completion of my dissertation and words cannot express how thankful I am for their assistance, proficiency, and your generosity of time. I have also to thank, my friends and colleagues in the rural sociology program for their support, positivity and encouragement over the past four years. I am grateful to have viii met such intelligent, industrious and committed rural sociologists. Thank you to, Joe Campbell, Corey Anderson, Rebecca Som Castellano, Godwin Apaliyah, Molly Bean, Danielle Deemer, Hong Anh Nguyen, Angela Thatcher and Anjel Stough-Hunter for your support throughout my journey. Lastly, I am obliged to the administrative staff here in the school for their efficiency and willingness to get things done in a timely manner—thank you to Amy Schmidt, India Fuller and Mary Capoccia for your organization and proficient service to me as a graduate student. ix VITA May, 2005…………………………………………………B.S. Business Economics June, 2007……………………………………………M.Sc. Development Economics September 2008 to Present…………………………..Graduate Teaching Associate, School of Environmental and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Rural Sociology x TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract..…………………………………………………………………………………..ii Dedication …………………………………………......………………………………….v Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………….
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