Immigrants,Immigration, and Sociology: Reflecting on the State of the Discipline*

The growth of the field of immigration in multiple directions and across disciplines and areas presents an opportune juncture to pause and reflect on the central role sociology has played in the study of immigrants and immigration, as well as to assess the contributions that immigration research has made to sociology. This essay discusses three subfields in sociology in which the sociological study of immigrants has contributed to bring new light to long‐standing questions: family, religion, and ethnic and racial studies. At the same time, it brings up areas – culture and arts, social movements and civic engagement, and citizenship, belonging and the state – in which immigration scholars in sociology could establish a more vibrant intellectual dialog with those subfields. Far from exhausting the discussion, these comments are intended to offer potential avenues for further research and discussion.     

Turkish Immigrants’ Hopes and Fears around Return Migration

This paper seeks to understand the process by which immigrants decide whether or not to return to their home countries. It aims to analyse the potential for return migration rather than the actual migration process. Empirically, it is based on the narratives of 30 Turkish immigrants living in the United States. The findings indicate that: (1) multiple controllable and uncontrollable, micro‐ and macro‐level factors in both the home and the host countries interact over time to tip the scales towards – or away from – return migration; and (2) most immigrants live in a perpetual state of ambivalence about whether or not to engage in return migration. These findings are discussed, and implications are presented for both practice and policy.     

Latino Immigrant Families and Restrictive Immigration Climate: Perceived Experiences with Discrimination,Threat to Family,Social Exclusion,Children’s Vulnerability,and Related Factors

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between known cultural protective factors, immigration factors, and perceived consequences of restrictive immigration climate. Survey data were collected in the state of Arizona (N = 300). Over eighty percent (83%, n = 248) of the participants were mothers, the remaining participants were fathers (17.3% or n = 52). Eighty-six percent of the participants were married and had three children (SD = 1.12). Participants were more established immigrants (M = 15.8, SD = 6.42). Hierarchical linear regressions were used to assess the associations between immigration variables, protective factors, and perceived effects of immigration policies. The results revealed social support, familismo, deportations, and financial hardship were significant predictors. Implications of the impact of restrictive policies on immigrant families are discussed.     

Transition to adulthood and recession: a qualitative study

While the transition to adulthood has been broadly examined, less is known about the impact of economic recession on the well-being and psychosocial functioning of young people. The present study used qualitative interviews with 12 college students to understand their experience. Consensual qualitative research was used to analyse data and develop core themes around young people's experiences. Interviews focused on how young people perceived the impact of the economic recession on their social context and on emotional, behavioural, and interpersonal dimensions. Although students showed a proactive attitude in dealing with the crisis, findings highlighted a negative impact on psychological functioning characterized by feelings of instability and helplessness and by difficulties in planning for the future. Other general themes emerged, including disengagement from community participation expressed by feelings of isolation, lack of interest, and distrust. Directions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.     

Priming and source credibility effects on individual responses to AMBER and other mediated missing child alerts

This study examined the effects of the AMBER Alert system, which has become a staple on broadcast outlets throughout the United States. Using an experimental design, researchers examined priming effects (labeling the alert as “AMBER” or generically “missing child”) and source credibility (from a branded media outlet or a social networking post) on citizen responses to alerts. Regardless of source, the AMBER label prompted higher participant involvement with a case and higher ratings of message importance. The source cue affected ratings of message quality only.     

移动超市:“比儿子还重要”

正这辆7㎡的破车竟拯救了700万购物难民,月赚1.2亿!9年来,每年的双十一从拂晓时分开始,人们剁手剁掉的就不仅是荷包的容量,还剁死了无数的脑细胞,红包、抢券、预售、满减……要熟练驾驭满减规则比熟练备战数学考试难多了,花点钱都不容易,拼老命了。     

To err is human: Forgiveness across childhood and adolescence

This study examined children's and adolescents' narrative accounts and evaluations of an instance when they forgave a peer and an instance when they did not forgive, as well as their definitions of what it means to forgive. The sample included 100 participants in three age groups (7‐, 11‐, and 16‐year olds). Regardless of age, forgiveness and non‐forgiveness accounts differed in interpersonal features, such as how they responded when hurt and whether the peer apologized. The psychological features of the experiences involving their own thoughts and feelings also distinguished between events that were forgiven and those that were not, but did so for 16‐year olds and, sometimes, for 11‐year olds, but never for 7‐year olds. The distinct ways in which younger and older children narrated their experiences also were reflected in their evolving definitions of what it means to forgive, though children's definitions revealed aspects of their thinking not captured in their narratives. Finally, children at all ages judged forgiving favorably but, with age, their evaluations of not forgiving became less negative. These findings challenge the narrow conceptual and methodological lenses through which forgiveness had been examined, and underscore meaningful age differences in the ways children make sense of and evaluate forgiveness and non‐forgiveness.     

Instability and caregiving in the lives of street‐involved youth from foster care

A large proportion of youth who become street‐involved have experience in foster care, and our sample of 92 street‐involved youth, aged 14–18 years, all had foster care experience. We report on (i) instability of guardians and home from birth to street involvement; (ii) the connection between perceptions about foster care and measures of well‐being; and (iii) the implications of these findings for understanding street‐involved youth and the role of foster care in their life. The average number of transitions per youth from birth to mid‐teens was nine. Youth with experience in permanent care first lived away from biological parents at age 8.5 years, and for those with temporary care experience, it was age 10 years. Foster care was one of many living situations and one of several sources of caregivers. If participants were satisfied with foster care, they were more likely to be currently hopeful and happy. Participants who experienced positive influences from at least one long‐term caregiver tended to have other positive caregiver experiences, and those with negative influences were more likely to also have a positive relationship with a female caregiver. Foster care was one of several ‘way stations’ in their lives, one whose meaning needs further study.