Contact and conflict between adult children and their parents in immigrant families: is integration problematic for family relationships?

TY - JOUR

T1 - Contact and conflict between adult children and their parents in immigrant families: is integration problematic for family relationships?

AU - Kalmijn, M.

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Previous studies have shown that family ties are relatively strong in most non-western immigrant groups in Europe. This paper focuses on differences within the immigrant population and examines how cultural and social aspects of integration affect the relationships that adult children have with their parents. The study is based on survey data with a systematic oversample of persons aged 15–45 with Moroccan and Turkish origins in the Netherlands. The focus is on the amount of contact and conflict that children have with their parents. Findings show that persons of Moroccan and Turkish origins have more frequent contact, but also somewhat more conflict with their parents compared to people without any migration background. Ordinal logit models show that ties to parents are weaker when immigrant children are more liberal in their values and behaviours and when they have more frequent contact with natives. Educational attainment tends to increase conflict between parents and adult children. It is concluded that cultural and social integration may hurt family relationships, pointing to another but less often recognised obstacle for immigrant integration in the west.

AB - Previous studies have shown that family ties are relatively strong in most non-western immigrant groups in Europe. This paper focuses on differences within the immigrant population and examines how cultural and social aspects of integration affect the relationships that adult children have with their parents. The study is based on survey data with a systematic oversample of persons aged 15–45 with Moroccan and Turkish origins in the Netherlands. The focus is on the amount of contact and conflict that children have with their parents. Findings show that persons of Moroccan and Turkish origins have more frequent contact, but also somewhat more conflict with their parents compared to people without any migration background. Ordinal logit models show that ties to parents are weaker when immigrant children are more liberal in their values and behaviours and when they have more frequent contact with natives. Educational attainment tends to increase conflict between parents and adult children. It is concluded that cultural and social integration may hurt family relationships, pointing to another but less often recognised obstacle for immigrant integration in the west.

KW - family

KW - intergenrational relationships

KW - cultural assimilation

KW - social integration

U2 - 10.1080/1369183X.2018.1522245

DO - 10.1080/1369183X.2018.1522245

M3 - Article

SN - 1369-183X

VL - 45

SP - 1419

EP - 1438

JO - Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

JF - Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

IS - 9

ER -