Children of Immigrants Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance (1999) / Chapter Skim
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8 Psychological Well-Being and Educational Achievement Among Immigrant Youth
8 Psychological Well-Being and Educational Achievement Among Immigrant Youth
Pages 410-477
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From page 410... ...
Unlike earlier waves of immigrants who were predominantly European, most post-1965 immigrants to the United States have come from Asia and Latin America. The new immigrants have generated much research about their experiences, but most of the studies have focused on the socioeconomic attainment of adult migrants.
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From page 411... ...
I then review racial, ethnic, and generational patterns of educational achievement and explore why there is an apparent anomaly as immigrant children may have lower self-perceptions yet still manage to do well in school, despite the well-documented link between mental health and educational performance among adolescents (Covington, 1984; March, 1986; Rosenberg, 1989; Rosenberg et al., 1989~. Then I describe the data, from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS)
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From page 412... ...
Psychological Well-Being of Immigrant Youth Because immigrant minority youth experience greater psychological strains in their adaptation process than native-born whites, I explore the aspects of psychological well-being that are most likely to differentiate immigrant adolescents from their native-born counterparts. Since the migration experience has been documented to produce significant psychological distress, "even among the best prepared and most motivated and even under the most receptive of circumstances" (fortes and Rumbaut, 1990:144)
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From page 413... ...
Because minority immigrant youth face additional difficulties stemming from their minority and "foreigner" status, one might expect them to report higher rates of alienation from school peers. Moreover, they may suffer in terms of their self-esteem and feelings of self-efficacy (Padilla and Duran, 1995~.
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From page 414... ...
Since I am primarily concerned with how the relationship between these characteristics may differ for immigrant youth and because the data I use are cross-sectional, I cannot evaluate the debate regarding the correct causal order between grades and psychological well-being. Despite myriad reasons to be concerned with the psychological well-being of immigrant children and the well-known association between social-psychological status and educational achievement, recent studies suggest that immigrant youth and native-born youth of immigrant parents perform well in school (Rumbaut, 1990; Caplan et al., 1991; Kao and Tienda, 1995~.
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From page 415... ...
Because the base-year survey included more recent immigrants and larger samples of minority students, for these analyses I relied solely on the 1988 base-year survey. DESCRIPTIVE TABULATIONS Overall, immigrant Asian, Hispanic, and black youth tend to have lower psychological well-being scores.
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From page 416... ...
The colors of the bar correspond with their immigrant status, such that light gray columns correspond to immigrant youth, dark gray bars represent nativeborn youth with one immigrant parent, and white columns depict native-born youth with native-born parents. Immigrant youth who are Asian, Hispanic, or black all suffer from a de
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From page 417... ...
The patterns in this figure are consistent with findings on adult immigrants; immigrant status coupled with minority status negatively influences feelings of self-efficacy. I also examined racial and generational differences in self-concept (or self-esteem)
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From page 418... ...
(9.100) Reading test scores 50.856*
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From page 419... ...
GRACE LAO south, 419 Hispanics rn of rn Immigrant Generation Whites Native-Born of Foreign-Born Parents Native-Born of Native-Born Parents Native-Born of Native-Born Parents -0.202*
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From page 420... ...
(0.262) Currently enrolled in 0.109*
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From page 421... ...
GRACE LAO 421 Hispanics rn of rn Immigrant Generation Whites Native-Born of Foreign-Born Parents Native-Born of Native-Born Parents Native-Born of Native-Born Parents 0.604*
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From page 422... ...
(8.333) (1 0.33E Reading test scores48.185*
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From page 423... ...
GRACE K;AO 423 Whites rn of rn Immigrant Generation Native-Born of Foreign-Born Parents Native-Born of Native-Born Parents 0.115 0.072 0.056 (0.594)
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From page 424... ...
p < .05. SOURCE: National Education Longitudinal Study, 1988.
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From page 425... ...
GRACE K;AO 425 Whites rn of rn Immigrant Generation Native-Born of Foreign-Born Parents Native-Born of Native-Born Parents 0.083*
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From page 426... ...
As popular? Answer categories: I = Very, 2 = Somewhat, 3 = Not at all." School Achievement Outcomes 1.
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From page 427... ...
Questions encompassed understanding the meaning of words in context, identifying figures of speech, interpreting the author's perspective, and evaluating the passage as a whole." Family Background Characteristics Family Income: Exact wording BYP80: "What was your total family income from all sources in 1987? (If you are not sure about the amount, please estimate.~" 1 = none; 2 = less than $1,000; 3 = $1,000-$2,999; 4 = $3,000-$4,999; 5 = $5,000 $7,999; 6 = $7,500-$9,999; 7 = $10,000-$14,999; 8 = $15,000-$19,999; 9 = $20,000 $24,999; 10 = $25,000-$34,999; 11 = $35,000-$49,999; 12 = $50,000-$74,999; 13 = $75,000-$99,999; 14 = $100,000-$199,999; 15 = $200,000 or more All categories recoded to midpoint value to ease interpretation of t-test results.
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From page 428... ...
accepted by their relevant school peers. The relationship between psychological well-being and academic performance among youth is well established; hence, since minority immigrant youth are susceptible to low self-efficacy and feelings of alienation, one might expect their precarious psychological well-being to negatively influence their academic achievement (Rosenberg et al., 1989, 1995~.
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From page 429... ...
4.0 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.4 3 3 . 3.2 3.1 3.0 2.9 2.8 2.7 Asian Hispanic Black White Immigrant Generation Native-Born of Native-Born Parents Native-Born of Immigrant Parents FIGURE 8-3 GPA by race and generational status.
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From page 430... ...
tend to have higher grades and perform better on standardized math and reading tests. Native-born Asians with immigrant parents have especially high achievement test scores since they benefit from having English-language skills compared to their foreign-born counterparts.
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From page 431... ...
In contrast, for Hispanic youth, generational status seems to have little effect on academic performance. However, note that Hispanic immigrants tend to be less educated and have lower incomes than their native-born counterparts.
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From page 432... ...
About 83 percent of immigrant Hispanic youth use their native language primarily or exclusively at home, while the comparable figure for immigrant Asians is 68 percent. Among native-born youth of foreign-born parents, 58 percent still use Spanish primarily at home, while the figure is about 43 percent for native-born Asians with immigrant parents.
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From page 433... ...
In contrast, Asian youth of all generational statuses as well as black native-born youth of native-born parents are more likely to be currently enrolled in a gifted or honors class than their white counterparts. While Asians' higher participation in gifted classes is consistent with their higher test scores and grade point averages (GPAs)
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From page 434... ...
These tabulations show immigrant youth to be relatively resilient in their academic performance despite feelings of limited control over their lives and their difficult social adaptation at school. Table 8-3 presents tabulations that show how generational status influences the outcomes of Chinese, Filipino, and Mexican youth.
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From page 435... ...
3 under each outcome variable adds other dimensions of student life that may account for discrepant psychological well-being outcomes of immigrant and nonimmigrant youth. First, I include measures of home language use since lack of English being spoken at home, especially among children with immigrant parents, may signal parents' relative inability to communicate in English.
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From page 436... ...
(9.600) Reading test scores49.480*
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From page 437... ...
GRACE K;AO hnicity 437 Filipinos rn of Native-Born of Native-Born of Native-Born of rn Immigrant Foreign-Born Native-Born Native-Born Generation Parents Parents Parents Whites -0.156 0.011 -0.006 0.056 (0.631)
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From page 438... ...
(0.263) School Experiences Ever repeated a grade 0.121 0.029*
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From page 439... ...
GRACE K;AO 439 Filipinos rn of Native-Born of Native-Born of Native-Born of rn Immigrant Foreign-Born Native-Born Native-Born Generation Parents Parents Parents Whites 0.269*
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From page 440... ...
(10.1 21 ) Reading test scores 43.420*
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From page 441... ...
GRACE LAO 441 Other Hispanics rn of rn Immigrant Generation Whites Native-Born of Foreign-Born Parents Native-Born of Native-Born Parents Native-Born of Native-Born Parents -0.086*
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From page 442... ...
Moreover, native-born minority youth of native-born parents also have lower self-efficacy than their nativeborn counterparts with immigrant parents. This pattern indirectly suggests the changing nature of the minority experience in this country.
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From page 443... ...
Thus, it is likely that native-born children of immigrant parents have the highest sense of self-efficacy, while immigrant youth suffer primarily from their immigrant status and
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From page 444... ...
(0.047) Hispanic immigrant -0.253*
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From page 445... ...
GRACE K;AO 445 Self-Concept Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 0.100*
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From page 446... ...
Currently enrolled in a gifted program 0.005 Adjusted R2 0.013 0.045 0.136 0.042
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From page 447... ...
GRACE K;AO 447 Self-Concept Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 -0.234*
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From page 448... ...
(0.114) Hispanic native of -0.043 -0.164 -0.238*
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From page 449... ...
Mostly English -0.050 (0.083) English only School Experiences Ever repeated a grade Ever skipped a grade Currently enrolled in bilingual education program Currently enrolled in a gifted program Adjusted R2 0.005 0013 0.020 -0.030 (0.056)
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From page 450... ...
and native-born Hispanics of immigrant parents also experience feelings of discomfort compared to native-born whites with native-born parents. Only native-born Hispanics and African Americans of native-born parents fee]
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From page 451... ...
Overall, these characteristics account for all of the negative influences of minority generational status on self-esteem for all groups except Asian youth of immigrant parents. In other words, the lower self-efficacy of Hispanic and black youth is completely accounted for after including measures of home language use, grades, and school experiences in
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From page 452... ...
Some immigrant minority youth, however, fee] more alienated at school than their native white counterparts.
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From page 453... ...
also earn higher grades and math test scores, while Asian native-born youth of immigrant parents have higher reading test scores as well. Native-born Asians of native-born parents perform at comparable levels to white native-born youth of native-born parents except in reading scores.
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From page 454... ...
(0.024) Other Hispanic immigrant -0.131*
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From page 455... ...
GRACE K;AO ical 455 Self-Concept Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 0.1 08*
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From page 456... ...
456 PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT TABLE 8-5 Continuecl Locus of Control Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Self-Con Model 1 Female Parent's education Family income (in $10,000) Middle school grades Home Language Use Non-English only Mostly non-English Mostly English English only School Experiences Ever repeated a grade Ever skipped a grade Currently enrolled in a bilingual program Currently enrolled in a gifted program Adjusted R2 0.012 0.044 -0.032*
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From page 457... ...
GRACE K;AO 457 Self-Concept Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 -0.255*
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From page 458... ...
(0.225) Other Hispanic native of 0.271 0.193 0.156 native-born (0.180)
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From page 459... ...
SOURCE: National Education Longitudinal Study,1988: Base Year.
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From page 460... ...
(0.341 ) Hispanic native of -0.196*
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From page 461... ...
GRACE LAO chievement: 461 Math Test Scores Model 1 Model 3 52.667*
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From page 462... ...
Mostly English 0.010 (0.01 9) English only School Experiences Ever repeated a grade Ever skipped a grade Currently enrolled in a bilingual program Currently enrolled in a gifted program Adjusted R2 -0.375*
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From page 463... ...
GRACE K;AO 463 Math Test Scores Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 (0.030)
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From page 464... ...
(0.580) Hispanic native of -5.547*
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From page 465... ...
p < .05. SOURCE: National Education Longitudinal Study, 1988: Base Year.
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From page 466... ...
However, Hispanic youth of all generational backgrounds earn lower grades and lower math and reading test scores than white youth. The difference in GPAs between foreign-born and native-born Hispanics of immigrant parents and whites is rendered insignificant after the inclusion of family background, while individual schooling experience variables make little difference to these effects.
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From page 467... ...
Among blacks, youth with immigrant parents earn comparable grades while American blacks earn lower grades and lower math and reading test scores than white native-born youth. The general pattern of higher academic performance among immigrant youth is apparent across all groups, although it is most stunning among blacks and Asians.
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From page 468... ...
(0.707) Other Hispanic native of -0.153*
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From page 469... ...
GRACE K;AO 469 Math Test Scores Model 1 Model 3 37.638*
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From page 470... ...
Currently enrolled 0.398 in a gifted program (0.014) Adjusted R2 0.022 0.105 0.282 0.049
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From page 471... ...
GRACE LAO 471 Math Test Scores Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 1.31 8*
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From page 472... ...
(0.385) Other Hispanic immigrant -4.406*
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From page 473... ...
p < .05. SOURCE: National Education Longitudinal Study, 1988: Base Year.
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From page 474... ...
However, only native-born children of immigrant parents earn higher math and reading scores than their native-born counterparts with native-born parents, and this difference is rendered statistically insignificant after adding measures of socioeconomic background. Thus, the immigrant advantage is less prevalent among Filipino youth.
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From page 475... ...
However, if we are to take the current course of native-born minorities of native-born parents to be the future course of the offspring of children of immigrants, the United States must reflect on what it is about assimilation that lowers the educational trajectory of minority students. As Portes (1995)
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From page 476... ...
National Center for Education Statistics 1990 The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988: User's Manual, Base Year: Student Component Data File User's Manual. Washington, D.C.: U.S.
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From page 477... ...
Sue, S., and S Okazak~ 1990 Asian-American educational achievements: A phenomenon in search of an explanation.
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