Imagining the Future of Immigrant Fathers

Imagining the Future 1

Chapter 12

ImaginingtheFutureofImmigrantFathers

RossD.Parke1,EricVega1, Jeffrey T. Cookston2, Norma Perez2, & Scott Coltrane1

UniversityofCalifornia,Riverside1 SanFranciscoStateUniversity2

“Thiscountrywasputtogethernotonlybybloodlines,kin andtradition,butbytidesofnewcomersofeverystock,creedandpersuasion.”

PeterC.Newman,1997

CanadianJournalist

HalifaxNSImmigrationMuseum

ThisquoteaboutCanadacanapplyequallytotheUnitedStatesandmanycountriesinEuropeandremindsusthatimmigrationisanaturalphenomenon,notanovelorpathology-inducingevent.Infact,onecouldarguethatcitizensofmanycountriesareinfactonlyimmigrantswithseniority(Bryant,1997).Inthischapterwespeculateaboutthefuturestatusofimmigrantfathersandprovidesomeguidelinesfortheorydevelopmentandresearchinthecomingdecade.

TheHistoricalContextofImmigration

Severalassumptionsguideourthinkingabouttheissuesassociatedwithparenting,immigration,andchilddevelopmentthatsuggesttheneedtoexaminethehistoricalcontextofimmigrationinrecognitionofthediversityofimmigrantfathers.Tofullyappreciatehowimmigrantfathersadapttotheirnewgeographicandculturalmilieus,thehistoricaltimeperiodinwhichthesegroupsmigrateneedstoberecognized.Forexample,thepatternofacculturationthatcharacterizedimmigrantgroupsintheUnitedStatesattheturnofthe20thcenturywasoneofrelativelyrapidassimilationintothemainstreamcultureandwhereethnicorientationswereboundedbyhomogenousethnicenclaves.Incontrast,thecurrentwaveofimmigrationthatisoccurringacenturylaterislesslikelytopromoteanabandonmentorboundedexpressionoftheculturalheritageofone’scountryoforiginandmorelikelytoencouragebiculturalismandmutualaccommodation.

Touseculturalbrokeringasanexample,itisclearthatearlierhistoricalimmigrantpopulationsfacedlinguisticissues(Gerber,Seller,Guitar,Fisher,1997;JanniMcLean,2002),althoughitisnotcleartowhatdegreechildrenactedastheliaisonsbetweentheirparentsandthesocialcontextoutsidethehomeandtheirethniccommunities.Forchildrentoactasculturalbrokersfortheirparents,theymustbemoreadeptintheuseoftheEnglishlanguage,possiblyasafunctionofahistoricaltrendinwhichmoreimmigrantchildrenareparticipatinginpublicschoolingandbecomingmorefacileintheirsecondlanguageacquisition.Researchonprevalenceofculturalbrokeringnotestheimportanceofconditionsthatnecessitatecommunicationbetweenimmigrantpopulationsandthehostcountry,wherestrategiesincludingbrokeringareinfluencedbyethnicdiscriminationandthedegreeofself-sufficiencythatimmigrantcommunitiesestablish(Zhou,2001).Couldthemeaning,consequences,andutilityofchildculturalbrokeringbethesamewithindifferenthistoricalperiods?Withinthepasttwentyyears,opportunitiestointeractwiththeU.S.culturehaveemergedindependentoftheschoolcontext,includingtheavailabilityandaccessibilityofpersonalcomputers,theinternet,cellphones,andothertechnologicaldevicesthatarecommonlyusedbychildren(andneverquiteaswellbytheirparents).Tofullyappreciatehowthechanginghistoricalcontextmodifiesthisphenomenonrequiresadetailedhistoricalexaminationofform,frequencyandconsequencesofbrokeringindifferentpointsinourhistory.AsimilaropportunityispresentwiththepatternsofworkermigrationfromEasterntoWesternEurope;thisissuecouldbenefitfromU.S.-Europeancomparisonswithbothviewedthroughanhistoricallyinformedperspective.

Moreover,thedemographiccontextofimmigrationinNorthAmericahasimportantimplicationsforexperienceoftheimmigrant.IntheUnitedStates,immigrationpatternshaveshiftedradicallyoverthelastcentury.Seventytoeightyyearsago,thepercentageofthepopulationthatwasminoritywas9.7%AfricanAmericanand1.7%otherracialminorities(U.S.CensusBureau,1933).Inotherwords,90%ofthepopulationwasWhite.Incontrast,accordingtorecentCensusfigures(U.S.CensusBureau,2003),thedemographicpicturehaschangedradically.In2003,31%ofthepopulationbelongedtoaracialorethnicminoritygroup-athreefoldincreaseintheminoritypopulationsincethe1930s.TrendssuggestthatinpartsoftheUnitedStatessomeethnicgroups,suchasLatinos,willbeamajoritybytheyear2030.Thisshiftindemographicproportionalrepresentationwillhaveprofoundimplicationsforeconomicopportunities,politicalinfluence,andsocialpolicydecisionsthatwillaltertheroleoffathersaswellasthesocio-emotionaladjustmentsoffathersandtheirfamilies.IfLatinofathersarepartofthemajorityinsomeregions,forexample,theneconomicstatusmayincreaseandsocialservicesmaybemoreavailable;inturn,fathersmayhavemoretimeforchildren,maysufferlessdiscriminationandprejudiceand,inturn,theirchildrenmaybeaffordedmoreopportunitiesto be betteradjusted.Assuch,itappearsimportanttotrackratesandchangesincohortsofimmigrantfatherstodescribeandevaluatethechangingdemographiccontextofimmigrantfathersinNorthAmerica.InCanada,bycontrast,immigrationpatternsappeartobefollowingadifferentpathbutasimilarlycompellingone.WhereasittookseventytoeightyyearsfortheethnicminorityproportionofthepopulationintheUnitedStatestoincreasethreefold,asimilarthreefoldpatternwasbeenobservedinCanadabetween1981and2001(StatisticsCanada,2003).In1981,only1.1millionindividualsinCanada(4.7%ofthetotalpopulation)wereethnicminoritycomparedtothe3.2millionwhoidentifiedthemselvesasminorityin2001(11.2%).By2016itisprojectedthatone-fifthofthepopulaceofCanadawillidentifyasethnicminority.InviewofthesedemographicshiftsinNorthAmerica,thereisbothanopportunitytoevaluatethegeneralizabilityofourassumptionsaboutdevelopmentalprocessesandamoralobligationtobetterunderstandalargesegmentofourpopulation.

Beyonda SingleSnapshotofthe ImmigrantFather:FromSnapshotstoVideo

Thereisnosinglelikenessofimmigrantfathersbutmanyportraits.Progresswillonlybemadeifwerecognizetheheterogeneityofimmigrantfathers.Avarietyoffactorsneedtobeconsideredthatwillinfluencefatheringattitudesandbehavior.Immigrantscometoanewcountryforverydifferentreasons.Someareasylumseekersorrefugeeswhowishtoavoidreligious,political,orethnicprosecution.Othersseekneweconomicopportunities.Combining immigrantswhoarriveforvastlydifferentreasonswillmakeourtaskofunravelingthepuzzleofimmigrantfathersmoredifficult.Ratherweneedtoknowhowmotivationstoimmigrateexplainandalterfatheringbehaviors.

Reasonsforimmigrationarenotindependentoflegal/illegalstatus.Whileasylumseekersand/orrefugeesmayoftenbelegalimmigrants,manyeconomic-opportunityorientedimmigrantsmaybeillegalresidents.Undocumentedfathersarelikelyinfluencedbytheirperceivedneedforsecrecyandbyalackoftrustinofficialinstitutions.Althoughthislackoftrustistobeexpectedgivenfearsofdeportation,doesthismistrustleadtomoresocialisolationfromothersinthecommunityandfromtheresourcesthatareavailabletoaidfamilies,suchassocialservice,educational,andhealthagencies?Towhatextenthavefathersforgedalternativerelationshipswith“non-official,non-reporting”kinshipgroupsorfaith-basedorganizationsandhowhavethesenetworksinfluencedfatheringpracticesandnotionsoffatherhood?

Welfarereformsenactedin1996excludedmanynon-citizensfromeligibilityforpublicprograms,leadingsomeimmigrantparentstorefrainfromseekingpublicbenefitsfortheirchildrenwhowereeligibleforsuchbenefitsifbornintheUnitedStates(Hernandez,2004).ItisclearthatimmigrantchildrenarelesslikelytobeinsuredorusementalhealthservicesthanU.S.bornchildren(Huang,Yu,Ledsky,2006),andthechildrenofundocumentedimmigrantsareusingservicesatgreaterratesthantheirparents.Overhalfofthechildreninimmigrantfamiliesliveinmixed-statushouseholds(whereatleastonehouseholdmemberisnotaU.S.citizen),andthisposesnewchallengesforserviceproviders(Hernandez,2004).Non-citizenparentsmaynotknowthattheirchildrenareeligibleforimportantservicesormaybeafraidthattheywillbedeportediftheycontactgovernmentagencies.

Thesedilemmasraisenewquestionsforresearchersstudyingimmigrantfamilies.AreeconomicallymotivatedfathersmorelikelytoreturntotheirhomecountryafterestablishingadegreeofeconomicresourcesthanrefugeeswhoarelessabletosafelytravelbetweentheU.S.andtheircountryoforigin?Aretheymoreorlesslikelytotransplanttheirfamilyfromonecountrytoanotherstrictlybasedonearningsthatareeasilytransferredacrossborders?Variationsinlong–termcommitmenttothehostcountrywillhaveprofoundimpactsonattitudestowardnewcustoms,norms,andlanguage.Ratesofassimilation,forexample,willvarydependingontheprospectofstayingpermanentlyorreturningtoahomecountryasalong-termgoal.Itispossiblethatreligiousandpoliticalrefugeesaremorelikelytofocusontheseopportunitiesandinstilltheseinterestsintheirchildren.Assuch,areeconomicrefugeesmorelikelytoinvolvetheirchildreninfamilyeconomicwork?Althoughearlyinvolvementinworkoutsidethehomehasbeenassociatedwithproblematicdevelopmentfornative-bornchildren(GreenbergerSteinberg,1986),considerablylessattentionhasbeenpaidtotheeffectsofsuchemploymentforforeignbornchildren.

Howdothefamilystructuresofdifferenttypesofimmigrantsvary?Sojournerfathers(ormothers)whoimmigrateforrelativelybriefperiodsoftimeinordertotakeadvantageofseasonalorperiodicjobopportunitiesmayhaveverydifferentfamilycontactpatternsthanpermanentimmigrants(Glenn,1992;Hondagneu-SoteloAvila,1997).Sojournersmaymovetemporarilywithouttheirfamilieswhostayinthecountryoforiginincontrasttopermanentimmigrantswhomaycomeasafamilyunit.Weknowlittleabouttheimpactofthesealternativecontactpatternsonhouseholdauthoritypatterns.Dofatherswhoareabsentexperiencemoredifficultyinassertingtheirauthorityrelativetomothersorextendedkinwhoarestablefiguresinchildren’slives?Domaritalproblemsincreaseasaresultofthepatternsofinter-countrymobility?Dotheseoutcomesshiftwithdurationofabsenceand/orthedegreeofcontactbetweenfathersandtheirfamilies?Asfree-market,neo-liberaleconomicagentscreateincreasingeconomicdisparitiesinsemi-peripheryandperipherycountries(Chase-Dunn,1998;VolkerChase-Dunn,1985),decisionstomigrateinternationallyforworkarebecomingincreasinglynecessary.Inthefuture,withtheincreasinglywidespreadavailabilityofnewcommunicationtechnologiessuchastheinternetfortransmissionofphotos,videophones,andotheradvances,theimpactoftheseseparationsonfathersmayshift.However,immigrantfamiliesareoftentoopoortohaveaccesstothenewtechnologies.Moreoverfamiliesinthecountryoforiginmayhavelimitedaccesstocomputersaswell(Suárez-OrozcoSuárez-Orozco,2001).AsSanger(1999)found,accessvariesacrossethnicgroups:Asian-AmericanshavemoreaccesstothesenewmodesofcommunicationthanLatinosorAfricanAmericans.

Finally,immigrantstendtoresideindifferenttypesofcommunities.Sojourners,forexample,oftenliveinhighlyhomogeneouswork-basedcommunityfacilitiesorientedtowardunmarriedorunaccompaniedworkerswithfewfamilycenteredhousingopportunities.Incontrast,permanentimmigrantstendtocluster–atleastinitially–inethnicallyhomogeneouscommunitiesthatareoftenmorefamily-oriented.Others,duetoeconomicconstraints,mayresideinethnicallymixedcommunitiesandhigh-riskneighborhoods(Coltrane,Melzer,VegaParke,2005).Trackinghowthesecommunitycharacteristicsalterfatheringbehaviorsisamajorchallenge.

Asthetitleofthissectionsuggests,weneedtorecognizethedynamiccharacteroftheimmigrationprocessandmovebeyondthemetaphorofsnapshotsthatarecross-sectionalandtimeboundtoamorecontemporary“video”metaphor(Pomerantz,Ruble,Bolger,2003)thatislongitudinalandisabletocapturechangeacrosstime.Documentingthechangesacrosstimeforthediversetypesofimmigrantfathersiscriticalforprogressinthisarea.

TheContinuingInterplaybetweenWorkandImmigration

Inthissectionweconsideravarietyofissuesthatwillconfrontimmigrantfathersandtheirfamilies,includingeconomicchallenges,educationalbarriers,andlanguageobstacles.Althoughmanymenleavetheircountryoforigintoimprovetheireconomicsituation,economichardshipremainsasignificantproblemformanyimmigrants.Immigrantscontinuetoworkinlowpayingjobsthatrequirelonghourstomakealivingwage.Asourrecentwork(Coltrane,Parke,Adams,2004;Parkeetal.,2004a)illustrates,immigrantfatherswhoexperienceeconomichardshipshowsimilarpatternsofadjustmentproblemsastheirEuro-Americancounterparts,namelyincreasesindepressionandmaritalproblems,higherlevelsofharshparentingand,inturn,higherlevelsofinternalizingandexternalizingamongtheirchildren.

OurquantitativefindingsarereflectedinthequalitativeinterviewswithMexicanAmericanfathers.Whenasked,“Whathewouldyouchangeinyourparenting?”,onefathertalkedabouthowwork-relatedstresscanleadtoharshandexplosivereactionstohischildren:

Memolestorapido.Medesespero.Talvezseaporelcansancio,nose,perosimemolesto.Medesespero.

Igetupsetquickly,Igetfrustrated.Maybeit’sbecauseI’msotired,Idon’tknow,butIgetupset,Igetfrustrated.

-36-year-oldfirst-generationMexicanimmigrantfather

A30-yearoldfirst-generationimmigrant father,inresponsetothequeryaboutwhathewouldliketochangesaid“changemytemper“, stated:

Cambiariaunpocomicharacter,micharacteravecesporeltrabajo.Olaspreocupacionesdeldinero,poresosoyunpocoexijente.

Iwouldchangemycharacteralittle,mycharacterbecauseofwork,orfinancialworries,becauseofitI’mabitdemanding.

-30-year-oldfirst-generationMexicanimmigrantfather

Moreover,economicstresstakesitstollonimmigrantfathers’availabilitytotheirchildrenaswell.Someofthesefatherslamentaboutthelackoftimewiththeirchildrencausedbyworkdemands.

Pues,jugarmasconelypuesnotenemostiempodejugarconel.Eltrabajonome

deja,ytrabajoastalosdomingos.

Well,playwithhimmorebecausewedon’thavetimetoplaywithhim.Workdoesn’tletme,IevenworkonSundays.

- 30-year-oldfirst-generationMexicanimmigrantfather

Asthesequotesillustrate,economicconditionsplayamajorroleinshapingthequalityandquantityoffatherinvolvement.

However,focusingtoonarrowlyoneconomicallydisadvantagedimmigrantfatherspresentsadistortedviewofimmigrantfamilylife.AsSuárez-OrozcoandSuárez-Orozco(2001)noted,

Anemergingfeatureoftheneweconomiclandscape–theincreasing‘hourglass’shapeoftheopportunitystructure–isofcentralrelevancetothelivesandfutureofimmigrantsandtheirchildren.Ononeendofthehourglass,high-skilledimmigrantsaremovingintowell-remuneratedknowledge–intensiveindustriesatanunprecedentedrate(e.g.SiliconValleyjobswhere32%areimmigrants).Ontheotherendofthehourglasseconomy,largenumbersoflowskilledimmigrantsareenteringpoorlypaidanduninsuredservice–sectorjobs(p.61).

Whereourfocusasafieldhasbeenonthelowerhalfofthehourglass,inthefutureweneedtodescribeinmoredetailthelivesofimmigrantfathersatthetopendofthehourglass.Dotheystill,inspiteofeconomicsuccess,experiencediscriminationandprejudice?Howistheirfatheringdifferentfromeconomicallydeprivedfathers?Dothedemandsofhighprestigeandtime–demandingjobsmakethemlessavailabletotheirchildrenasfathers?Canwelearnnewlessonsfromtheseeconomicallysuccessfulimmigrantsintermsofstrategiesforimprovingeconomicsuccessofmoreimpoverishedimmigrants?Onenoteofcaution–thereareclearconfoundsbetweeneconomicsuccessandcountryoforiginthatneedtobeaddressedinthisarea.WhilemanyMexicanandLatinoimmigrantsareoftenpoorandrelativelylimitedintheireducation,AsianandIndianimmigrantsareoftenbettereducatedandareabletomovetotheU.S.legallyasaresultoftheirjobskillsandcorporatesponsorship.Dothesefathersmovewiththeirfamiliesmorefrequentlythanlesseducatedimmigrantfatherswhooftenleavetheirfamiliesbehind?Suchdifferencesunderscoreourneedtorecognizeandlearnfromthediversitythatcharacterizesimmigrantfathers.Therearemanytypesofeconomicexperiencesthatimmigrantfathersfaceandweneedtopaymoreattentiontothisdiversityofeconomicopportunitiesandassessitsimpactonfathering.

ImpactoftheEducationalDisparitybetween ImmigrantFathersandtheirChildren

Anotherconsequenceofthedifferentialopportunitiesavailabletoimmigrantparentsandchildrenistheresultinginabilityofmanyimmigrantfatherstoserveaseducationaltutorsandguidesfortheirchildren.Notonlydoesthisimpedetheeventualacademicattainmentoftheirchildren,butmaybeafurthersourceofintergenerationalconflictandcauseofheightenedemotionaldistancebetweenfathersandtheirchildren.Itmayalsolessenthechild’srespectfortheirfathersduetotheirawarenessofhiseducationallimitations.Childreneventakeadvantageofparents’linguisticlimitationsandtheirlackofknowledgeabouttheeducationalsystem.Forexample,Suárez-OrozcoandSuárez-Orozco(2001)reportedthat“athirteen-year-oldMexicanboyadmittedtousthathehadtoldhisparentsthattheFonhisreportcardstoodfor‘fabulous’”(p.74).FromourownworkwithMexicanAmericanfamilies,wefindthatfathersarepainfullyawareofhowtheirlimitationsinEnglishinterferewiththeirabilitytohelptheirchildrenwiththeirhomework, as illustrated below:

Loqueyo,nocambiariacasi,masbientratariadepoderayudarlasmasensuscuestionesdeescuela,porquecasinohepodidoyouayudarlaseneso,porlabarrerdelInglesyporquenosoymuybuenoparalaescuela.

Iwouldn’tchangemuch.ActuallyIwouldtrytohelpmoreinherschoolworkbecauseIreallyhavenotbeenabletohelptheminthatbecauseoftheEnglishbarrierandbecauseI’mnotgoodatschool.

-33-year-oldfirst-generationMexicanimmigrantfather

Or consider the problems immigrant fathers with limited English proficiency face when trying to deal with schools.We asked fathers the following question:Howhaveyouhandledproblemsthatyourchildhashadatschool?

Posplaneartodoeltiempotratandodequehayga,sivamosalaescuelaquealguienquienmehableespanol.Si,siporque…younormalmentesientiendopoco,pocoinglesperonomucho.Nosu…hablandonolosehablar,caray.Comoaveceselavecesledigoque,oseaquemeestanhablandoinglesdigoquemedigaquemeestandiciendo,oseanomesabedecir,comoquese...comosedice…leda,ledaverguenzayalultimonosabedeciresloqueestandiciendoeningles.

Welltoplanallthetimetotrytobe,ifwegotoschoolthatthereissomeonethattalkstomeinSpanish.Yes,yesbecause…Inormallyunderstandalittle,alittleEnglishbutnotalot.Nohis…tospeakitIdon’tknowhowtospeakit,darn.Likesometimeshe…sometimesItellhim,ImeanthattheyaretalkingtomeinEnglishItellhimtotellmewhatheissaying,Imeanhedoesn’tknowhowtotellme,likeIknow…howdoyousay…hegets,hegetsembarrassedandattheendhedoesn’tknowhowtosaywhatitisthattheyaresayinginEnglish.

- 47-year-oldfirst-generationMexicanimmigrantfather

Anotherfatheransweredasfollows:

Yodiria,tartardeayudarleenlastareascuandodicequenoentiende.Yohagotodolopossibleporayudar.Porayudaraunqueavecessemehacedificilporelidiomayqueellameayudeenquediceeningles.

Iwouldsay,trytohelponherhomeworkwhenshesaysshedoesn’tunderstand.IdoallIcanalthoughsometimesit’sdifficultbecauseofthelanguage.ShewillhelpmeunderstandwhatitsaysinEnglish.

-48-year-oldfirst-generationMexicanimmigrantfather

Orconsiderthisfatherwhorecognizesthathischildhasadvancedbeyondhisownlevelofeducationalachievement:

Mihijalamayorentro,llegoaoctavogradoahighschool,yellosempezaronaver matematicas,algebra,yyorecordandoviejostiempos,yotratedeexplicarleunasequacionesdeprimergrado,segundogradoymesentimuybienqueellaloasimiloapesardequeyotuvequerevisardenuevotodoloquetraialabibliografiaytodoslostextosqueellatraia,queellautilize.Meacorde,tratedeexplicarleyloentendio,yhatenidomuybuenascalificacionesenmatematicasyyapuesahoraasiyameplaticaenchinoporqueyatienetrigonometria,analitica,geometriaanaliticaqueyoyanoentiendo,peroellaestaavanzando.

Myoldestentered,gottoeighthgrade,highschool.Itriedtoexplainsomeequationsfromfirstgrade,secondgradeandIfeltverygoodwhensheassimilatedthemeventhoughIhadtogothroughallofthebibliographyandallofthetextbooksthatsheused.Iremember,Itriedtoexplainandsheunderstood,andshehasgottenverygoodgradesinmathematics,andnowwell,nowit’slikeshespeakstomeinChinesebecausesheistakinganalytictrigonometry,analyticgeometrythatIdon’tunderstand,butshe’sadvancing.

-43-year-oldfirst-generationMexicanimmigrantfather

Finally,someimmigrantfathersmaysimplybeunawareoftherulesandroutesthroughtheeducationalsystemsuchasthecoursesthatareneededtoentercollege,thepotentialsourcesoffinancialaid,ortheavailabilityofcareercounselingservices.Thislackofinformationmaylimittheirabilitytoofferguidanceandhelptotheirchildrenastheytraversetheeducationmazeandresultinoftenprematuredeparturefromtheschoolsystem.

“Doyouthinkitisharderforkidswhoseparentsdidnotgotoschoolhereasopposedtothekidswhoseparentsdidgotoschoolhere?”wasanotherquestionthatweposedtoimmigrantfathers.

Yopiensoquesi.Porquequierequeavacesunoleayudeyosinceramentenopodemos.Nisiquieraelidiomapodemos.Desgraciadamenteninuestroidiomapodemosexplicarlenonostorosno.Puessiavecessesienteunomal.Quequiereayudarleynopuede.

Ithinkitis.Becauseshesometimeswantsustohelpandsincerelywecan’t.Wecan’tevenhelpinthelanguage.Unfortunately,wecan’tevenexplainittoherinourlanguage,nowecan’t.Wellsometimesonedoesfeelbad.Thatwantstohelpbutcan’t.

-48-year-oldfirst-generationMexicanimmigrantfather

Another question was posed, “Doyouthinkitisharderforkidswhoseparentsdidnotgotoschoolhereasopposedtothekidswhoseparentsdidgotoschoolhere?”

Apuesyoucreoquesi.Puesporejemplolossenoresporlomenoshablanelidiomaytienenestudio.Porejemploqueyotodaviaestoyhaciendoaquimihighschoolaquicomosea,mefaltaparadarleexplicacionaella.Haytareasqueseledanahoritayveoqueestarenegando.Siyopudierapueslaayudariaperodesgraciadametenotengolaideaparaayudarla.Siesoesloduro.

Well,Ithinkso.Well,forexample,theguysatleastspeakthelanguageandtheyhavestudied.Forexample,thatIamstilldoinghighschoolherelikeitis,Icannotgiveanexplanationtoher.Therearehomeworksthattheygetnow,andIseethatsheiscomplaining.IfIcould,well,IwouldhelpherbutunfortunatelyIdon’thaveanideatohelpher.Yes,thatisthehardest.

-48-year-oldfirst-generationMexicanimmigrantfather

Theseexamplesillustratetheproblemsthatmanyimmigrantfathersfaceastheyseektosupporttheirchildren’seducationalprogress,therefore,weneedtobeawareofthediversityofeducationalattainmentacrossfathersfromdifferentcountriesoforigin.TherelativelyhighsuccessrateofAsianandWhiteimmigrants,forexample,remindsusthatwecannotgeneralizeeasilyacrossimmigrantgroups(VernezAbrahamse,1996).Clearly,moreattentiontohowdifferentethnicgroupsnegotiatetheeducationalsystemandsupporttheirchildren’slearningisneeded.

RecognitionoftheDynamic InterplaybetweenImmigrantFathers,FamiliesandHostCountry

AsBerry(thisvolume)andothers(Phinney,2006)haveargued,weneedtomovebeyondundirectionalconceptionsthatfocusonthechangesthatoccurfortheimmigrantfathersandexplorethechangesthatoccurformembersofthehostcountryasaresultofcontactwithimmigrants.Suchconsiderationswillshiftthedialoguefromafocusonthenegativeimplicationsofimmigrantsonthehostculturetoamorebalancedviewthatrecognizesthepositiveeffectsofimmigrantsonmembersofthehostculture.Inparticular,wepositseveralfactorsthatmayinfluencetheimpactofimmigrantfathersonhostfathers.First,thedegreeofexposuretoimmigrantfathersandtheirfamiliesisamajordeterminant;thisislikelytovaryacrossdifferentareasoftheUnitedStateswithresidentsintraditionalimmigrationsitessuchasNewYork,Florida,Texas,Arizona,andCaliforniabeingmostlikelytohavehighexposuretorecentimmigrants.Asweknow,contactperseisunlikelytoresultinpositiveperceptions(Dixon,Durrheim,Tredoux,2005).Indeed,thenatureoftheinterpersonalexperiencebetweenimmigrantsandhostindividualsneedstobemeasuredaswell.Together,theamountofcontactandthepositive/negativevalenceoftheexperienceareimportantdeterminantsofwhetherthereisopennessordismissaloflessonsofferedbyimmigrantfathers.

Inthecurrenthistoricalcontext,perceptionofeconomicthreatintermsofreductionofjobopportunitieswillhaveamajorinfluenceonattitudesofmembersofthehostculturetowardimmigrants.Variationsacrosssocialclassandeducationlevelswillbelikely,withlowerSESandmorepoorlyeducatedhostcountryfathersbeingmostthreatenedbyimmigrantsofcolor(Rubin,1994).Ontheotherhand,astherecentfilm,“ADayWithoutaMexican”sodramaticallydocuments,manymiddle-classfamiliesdependonanimmigrantworkforcetofulfillneedsforgardeners,housekeepers,daycareproviders,andnannies.Thehotel,travel,entertainment,service,andmanufacturingsectorsoftheeconomyareincreasinglydependentonimmigrantlaborinallregionsoftheUnitedStates,andagriculturalproductionisstillheavilydependentonimmigrantsasasourceofinexpensivelaborforplantingandharvesting.AccordingtooccupationalanalysisfromtheBureauofLaborStatistics,two-thirdsofallU.S.jobsdonotrequireformaleducationorexperience,atrendexpectedtocontinueforanotherdecade(Hecker,2001;NightingaleFix,2004).Althoughthelaborpracticesinmanyemploymentsectorsdisadvantageimmigrantworkers,theheavydependenceonthelaborofimmigrantscouldleadmanymanagersandbusinessownerstodeveloppositiveattitudestowardimmigrants.

Similarly,hostacceptanceislikelytodependuponperceptionsoftheeducationalimpactofimmigrantsontheirownchildren’seducationalexperiencesandopportunities.Somehostfathersmayviewexposuretootherculturalandlinguisticgroupsasopportunitiesforteachingattitudesaboutacceptanceofdiversityandbroadeningofchildren’sculturallearning.Othersmayviewbilingualclassroomsorothereducationalaccommodationstoimmigrantsasthreatstoeducationalqualityofhostcountrychildren.Perceptionsoftheimpactofimmigrantfamiliesonavailabilityandcostofmedicalandlocalserviceswillbeafurtherfactorthatwillshapeattitudesofhostcountryfathers.ChildrenofAsianimmigrantstendtodobetterinschoolandachievehighercollegeattendanceratesthanhostcountrychildren(withtheexceptionofSoutheastAsians,seeYang,2004),leadingsomehostcountryparentstoreactnegativelytoallAsiangroups.Anti-immigrantinitiativesdenyingservicestonon-citizensandrequiringtheuseofEnglishhavebeenappliedtoallimmigrantgroups,thoughintheAmericanSouthwest,theyweremotivatedbyarapidlygrowingLatinopopulationandtheformerlydominantAnglomajorityfeelingthreatened(HoodMorris,1998;Wilson,2001).Onthepositiveside,hostfathersmaybenefitfromthestrengthsofimmigrantfamiliesintermsoftheirfamilyvalues–familisminLatinofamilies–indicatingcommitmenttotheinvolvementofextendedfamiliesinrearingchildren.SuchpracticescanprovidealternatemodelsoffamilyfunctioningthatcanbecontrastedwithanindividualisticstyleinheritedfromnorthernEuropeanforbearers.

Howwillfathers’rolesinthehostcountrychangeasaconsequenceofbothexposuretoandattitudestowardimmigrantfathers?Acarefulanalysisofhowfathers’engagement,accessibility,andresponsibilityforchildrenshiftasafunctionofexposuretoimmigrantfathersisatopicripeforfurtheranalysis.WillAmericanfathers’focusonplayfulinteractionshiftinresponsetoexposuretoalternativemodelsoffatherhood?Forexample,siblingsandmothersratherthanfathersoftenserveasplaypartnersforyoungerchildreninMexicanculture(Zukow-Goldring,2002).Similarly,willhostfathersseekmorecontactandsupportfromextendedfamilymembersasaresultofthisexposure?Clearly,fathersintheUnitedStateshavemuchtogainfromexposuretoalternativefatheringmodels;towhatextenttheywillbeinfluencedremainsanopenquestion.

Acculturation:Who,How,When

Acculturationisanotherfactorthatneedstobeconsideredifwearetoincreaseourunderstandingofimmigrantfathers.Differentindividualsinthefamilyacculturateatdifferentratesandthereforeweneedtomovetowardamoredifferentiatedmodelofacculturationinwhichacculturationtrajectoriesofdifferentfamilymembersarerecognized.Forexample,mothers,fathersandchildrenacculturateatdifferentratesduetovariededucationalandworkexperiences.ChildrenlearnEnglishatafasterratethanadultswhilefathers’andmothers’ratesofacculturationmayvaryasafunctionofthetypeofemploymentsettings in which they work Parentswhostayathomeorwhoworkinethnicallyhomogeneousgroups(e.g.,hotelmaids;garmentworkers;constructionworkers;gardeners)acculturatemoreslowlythanthosewhoareexposedtoawiderrangeofethnicitiesintheworkplace(e.g.,schools,banks,andotherwhite-collaroccupations).Howdotheresultingdiscrepanciesinratesofacculturationinfluencefatheringrolesandmaritalrelationships?

Fromourownwork(Parkeetal.,2004b)withMexican-Americanfamilies,acculturationwasassociatedwithlessuseofharshdisciplineonthepartofparents.Atthesametime,maritalproblemsincreasedaswomenacculturatedtothehostcountryandbegantoexpectmoreequalitywithinthemarriage(andbetweentheparentsandchildren)thandidtheirhusbands.Moreover,theempowermentthatmaycomeasaresultofchildren’slinguisticandcultural(host)competencemayincreasechild-parentconflictduetochildren’spushforautonomyandgreaterdecision-makingwithinthefamily.Similarly,conflictbetweenparentsandchildrenmayincreaseasaresultofchildren’sadoptionofnormsandbeliefsbasedontheirexperienceinthehostculture.Issuesofdresscodes,curfew,andactivitieswithpeersarelikelytoproduceconflict with parents (Raffaelli & Ontai,2004). Inourownstudies(Vega,Coltrane, Pyke & Parke,2006)weseetheseconflictsincreasemostdramaticallyforMexican-bornfathersastheyattempttocontroltheiradolescentdaughtersmoretightlythantheiradolescentsons.Belowisanexcerptfromafatherwhodiscusseshisworriesabouthisdaughter.

Yllebarlaytraerla.Yahoraellemedicenovayaspormi,yomevengocaminando;ledigoperonoquieroquevengascoqueteando,verdad.Yaestastangrande,yporquecualquierseguitaorrenguita,ledigoyaallitevanarobar.Ysiledigonoquierestenerproblemasconnadie,notevayascaminandosialguienlamolesta,quedigaquesabesquesiquiesieratuamistadoturaice,oloquesea,yamipapavieneymetraeymellebanonecesitodenadien.

Itakeherandbringher[toandfromschool].Andshetellsme‘don’tgoforme,Iwillwalk’,butItellher,‘Idon’twantyouflirting’understand.Sheisoldnowandwithanylittlethingthatyoudotheyaregoingtostealyou.Itellherthat‘ifyoudon’twantanyproblemswithanyone,don’tgowalkingifsomeonebothersyou,thatsaysyouknow,doyouwantafriendship,oraride,orwhatever.’Tellthem,‘mydadiscomingandhebringsmeandtakesmesoIdon’tneedanythingfromnoone.

-52-year-oldfirst-generationMexicanimmigrantfather

Inpaststudies,littleattentionhadbeengiventothepossibledifferencesinacculturationthatcanoccurbetweensiblingsandhowimmigrantfathersmightrespond.Itisexpectedthatdifferentialacculturationstylesmayaffectfamilydynamicsandinparticularthefather-childrelationships.Thisisimportantbecausethesiblings’levelsofacculturationhasbeenrelatedtohowcomfortableandconnectedeachchildfeelswiththeirparentsandextendedfamilymembers(Pyke,2005).Whenlanguagewasanissue,itwasalsofoundthatonesiblingneededtotranslateforamoreacculturatedsiblingwhenintergenerationalinteractionwasinorder.Itwillbeimportantforfutureresearchtofocusondifferentialsiblingacculturationandhowthiscanoccurinrelationtotheirageatimmigration,birthorder,andgender.Byfurtherstudyinghowthesedifferentfactorsaffectacculturationwithinafamily,wecanbetterunderstandtheoutcomesrelatedtoimmigrantfamilies’environments.

Itislikelythatsiblingsofdifferentageswillacculturateatdifferentratesduetotheageatwhichtheyareexposedtoanewlanguageandcultureandthefamily’sdifferentialtreatmentofeachchild(Pyke,2005).Forexample,Newport(1990)hasshownthatchildrenwhoareexposedtoanewlanguagebeforepubertywillacquirethenewlanguagefasterandspeakwithalesspronouncedaccentthanthosewhoareexposedtoanewlinguisticenvironmentonlyaftertheonsetofpuberty.Siblingswhoarrivebeforeandafteradolescencemayhavedifferentiallanguageproficiencies,which,inturn,mayresultindifferentpatternsofsiblingrelationships.

Inaddition,dependingontheageatimmigration,thenewschoolclimatemaydiffersubstantiallyfromtheschoolsysteminthecountryoforigin.InCalifornia,childrenofparentswhoseprimarylanguageisnotEnglisharetestedforEnglishproficiencyandreferredtomandatoryEnglishinstructionasneeded.Followingthegoalsofthe“English-only”proposition(CAProp227)childrenareplacedin“immersion”(Englishonly)classroomswhereonlyEnglishisspokenandprovidedwithspecialEnglishlanguagedevelopmentinstruction.AchildwithlimitedEnglishproficiencyiseligible,uponparentrequest,tobeplacedinabilingualprogram,withthegoaloffullimmersionwithinayear(CaliforniaEducationCode300-340).Becausethemannerinwhichmainstreamsocietyacceptsmulticulturalismhasaneffectonacculturationoutcomesandethnicidentity(Phinney,Horenczyk,Liebkin,Vedder,2001),itisexpectedthatschoolexperienceswillhaveaneffectonchildren’sacculturationandethnicidentity.Therefore,siblingsofdifferentagesmayhaveasubstantiallydifferentschoolexperienceandfeeldifferentpressurestoassimilateintothenewenvironment.

Aspreviousresearchhasfound,languageissignificantlyrelatedtosocialcompetence(DamicoDamico,1993).Ifsiblingsenterintothemainstreamschoolsystematdifferentages,theirEnglishlanguageskillsandaccentmaynotonlydiffer(Newport,1990),buttheirsocialcompetencemaydifferaswell(DamicoDamico,1993).IfonechildhasalesspronouncedaccentandismorecomfortablewiththeEnglishlanguage,socialactivitywithchildrenofdifferentculturalandlinguisticcompetenciesmayoccurmorefrequentlyandfluidly,thusfacilitatingfurtheracculturation.Ontheotherhand,anothersiblingwithlimitedEnglishskillsmayfeelmorecomfortableinteractingwiththeirparentsandpeersfromthesameethnicbackground,thuslimitingtheirenculturationopportunities.

Anotheraspectofthesiblingrelationshipwhichhasbeenalludedtoistheissueofbirthorder.Researchershavefoundthatoldersiblingshaveastrongergraspofthenativecultureastheyhavehadmoreexperienceinthenativecountryandhavemoredirectcontactwiththeirparents(Pyke,2005).Also,asmorechildrenenterintothefamily,thefamily’stime,andresourcesmaybefurtherstrainedandtheyoungerchildmayberaisedwithfeweropportunitiestobeenculturatedbythefamily(ChengKuo,2000).Thelesstimechildrenhavewiththeirparent,orfamilymemberswithastrongconnectiontothenativeculture,thelesstheyareabletoestablishastrongculturalfoundation.Andassiblingsacculturatedifferentlyandatdifferentratestheirrelationshipwiththeirparentsmayalsobedifferent.

Finally,wemustalsolookatgenderasaneffectonthedifferentialtreatmentwithinthefamily.Assiblingstructurediffersbetweenfamilies,sowillthedynamicsofthefamily.Forexample,ithasbeenfoundthatall-malesiblinggroupshavehigherintimacywithparents,andbeingafemaleinamostlymalesiblinggroupisassociatedwithlessintimacy.Insuchasiblingstructure,thefathersmayfeellessintimatewiththeirdaughtersbecausetheymayfeelpressuredtosocializetheboysfirstandforemost(LawsonBrossart,2004).Intermsofacculturation,itstandstoreasonthatthesiblingstructurewillaffectthemannerinwhicheachchildispressuredtomaintainthenativeculture,andhowclosethechildrenfeeltowardstheirparents,andinturntheirconnectionstothenativeculture.

Aswehavestated,anumberofconditionsmayleadtodifferentialacculturationamongsiblings.Itisnecessarytounderstandhowsuchconditionsrelatetooneanothertogainfurtherknowledgeofhowthefatherrolemaychangeasaconsequenceofthedifferentialacculturationrates.Pyke’s(2005)findingthattranslationbetweensiblingsandparentswassometimesnecessaryhasimplicationsforfather-childdynamics.Forexample,afathermayhavelessauthoritywithinthefamily,ashemustdependononechildtotranslateforhiminordertotalktoanotherchild.Onechildmayfeelpressuretobethedisciplinarianforhisfather,astheotherchildmayneverexperiencedisciplinedirectlyfromthefather.Inaddition,assiblingsacculturatedifferentlytheymayformdistinctideasofwhatafathermustbe.Thereforeinordertobeaneffectivefather,inhischildren’seyes,hemustparenteachchilddifferentlyinordertofulfillthedistinctneeds.Howconnectedafatheristohischildren,andhowwellhisbehaviormapsontowhathischildrenfeelheisdoing,mayhaveasubstantialeffectonlaterdevelopmentalandbehavioraloutcomes,andforthisreasonitmeritsattention.

CulturalBrokers

Recentworkonchildrenwhoserveas“brokers”betweenparentsandthewidercultureillustratestherichnessofthisculturalvariationforunderstandingnotonlyfamilydynamicsinimmigrantgroupsbutalsothedynamicandbi-directionalnatureoftheparent-childrelationship.Therefore,childrenoftenactasculturalbrokersonbehalfofthefamilyinpartduetothelinguisticlimitationsoftheparents:“Withresponsibilityasinterpretersofthenewcultureandlanguage,immigrantparentsareofteninapositionwithnoonetotranslateorinterpretforthem.Traditionalintergenerationalauthorityrelationshipschangeandthechildalsobecomesinvolvedintheworriesandconcernsofthefamily,suchashassleswithlandlords,arrangingformedicalcare,anddealingwiththelegalsystem”(OlsenChen,1988,p.31).AsBuriel,Chao,andtheircolleagues(Buriel,Perez,DeMent,Chavez,Moran,1998;Chao,2001)havediscovered,thesenaturalexperimentsofmigration(culturalbrokering)produceparent-childrolereversal,shiftsingenerationalpower,andincreasesinresponsibilitytaking.Whiletheseexperiencesmaybematurityenhancingaswellasstressfulforchildren,theymaybethreateningtofather‘sauthorityinthefamilyandapotentialsourceofconflictbetweenparentsandchildren.Assuch,theyprovideuniqueopportunitiestotestourassumptionsaboutthecapabilitiesofchildrentomanagedevelopmentallyoff-timechallengesandabouthowfamiliescopeandadapttotheobstaclesofenteringanewculture.Theuniquesituationofculturalbrokeringhasimportantimplicationsforchildren’ssocioemotionalandacademicdevelopmentaswellasgivingusinsightintohowfatherrolesshiftunderthesechangesinfamilypowerdynamics.

ResearchDirections

Inthissection,weexplorefuturedirectionsthatresearchonimmigrantfathersmighttakeincludingamultidisciplinaryfocus,theendorsementofmulti-levelmodelsofanalysisandinnovationsinsamplinganddesign.

Multidisciplinaryorientation.First,multipledisciplinesarenecessaryifwearetofullyunderstandimmigrantfathers.Historiansarenecessarytoremindusofpriorimmigrationexperiencesandtoshowhowhistoricalshiftsshapefatheringroles.Didtheimmigrantfathersofthelate1800’sexperiencethesameissuesasimmigrantfathersof2005and2020?Demographersremindusthatdemographictrendsareimportantcontextsforourunderstandingandinterpretationoffatheringroles,opportunitiesandbehaviors.Tracingthedemographictrendlinesisacriticaltasktounderstandhowfatheringismodifiedbyshiftsintherelativepercentagesofdifferentimmigrantgroupsrelativetothehostculture.Anthropologistsremindusthatconceptsofinter-culturalcontactarederivedfromclassicanthopologicalstudies(Redfield,Linton,Herskovitz,1936)andthatethnographicmethodsarecriticaltoolstoemployinthisprocess.Sociologistsremindusthatsocietalorganizationintermsofclass,andrace/ethnicityshapeattitudes,opportunities,andaccesstosocietalresourcesandservicesandare,thus,criticalconsiderationsintermsofunderstandingfathers.Economistsremindusthateconomicopportunityisacriticaldeterminantofthevariationsinimmigrantfatheringbehavior.Father’sperceptionsoftheirrolesas“provider”willbealteredbyvocationalcircumstancesandthefamily’sleveloffinancialstressandsecuritywillbedetermined,inpart,byeconomicopportunitiesforbothfathers(andmothers).Politicalscientistsremindusthatthepoliticalpowerandinfluenceacquiredbydifferentimmigrantgroupswillhavemajoreffectsonsocialpoliciesthatwilldirectlyimpactthelevelandculturalappropriatenessofsocialservicesaswellaseconomicopportunities.Psychologistsremindusthatavarietyofpsychologicalprocessesmeritexaminationatvariousphasesoftheimmigrationexperienceincludingcopingstrategies,socialsupportavailabilityandutilizationaswellasinterpersonalrelationshipsamongfamilymembers.

Theoreticalconsiderations.Whatkindoftheoreticalframeworkisneededtounderstandimmigrantfathers?Whatarethenewtechniquesthatareavailablethatwillhelpusbetterunderstandfathersingeneralandimmigrantfathersinparticular?Weshouldproceedfromamulti-levelframeworkasaguideandconsiderthetechniquesthatmaybeavailableforassessingindividual,dyadic,familial,socialandculturallevelsofanalysis.Finally,atransactionalmodelandmultilevelframeworkarenecessarytounderstandimmigrantfathersandtheirimpactonchildren’sdevelopment.

Individuallevel.Individualleveldifferencesinsocialandpsychologicalcharacteristicsoffathersintermsofattitudestowardinvolvement,motivationforfathering,skillandcompetence,andgender-basedattitudestowardfatheringhavelongbeenrecognized(Lamb,2004).However,therehasbeeninterestrecentlyinthebiologicalbasisoffatheringwiththerecognitionthathormonalchangesoccurinresponsetothetransitiontofatherhood.Forexample,Storey,Walsh,Quinton,andWynne-Edwards(2000)foundthatmenexperiencedsignificantpre,periandpostnatalchangesineachofthreehormones,prolactin,cortisol,andtestosterone,apatternofresultsthatwassimilartothewomenintheirstudy.Specifically,prolactinlevelswerehigherforbothmenandwomeninthelateprenatalperiodthanintheearlypostnatalperiodandcortisollevelsincreasedjustbeforeanddecreasedinthepostnatalperiod.Perhapsofgreaterinterestisthefactthatmenwhoarehighlyinvolvedwiththeirpartnersduringpregnancyaremorelikelytoshowlowerlevelsoftestosteroneinthepostnatalperiod.Inturn,thismayincreasetheirresponsivenesstoinfantcuesduringthepostnatalperiod.

Whatarethehormonalchangesassociatedwiththetransitiontofatherhoodamongimmigrantfathersofdifferenttypes?Forexample,aresojournerimmigrantfatherswhoareabsentforpartoftheprenatalpregnancyperiodlesslikelytoshowhormonalshiftsthathavebeenfoundforfatherswhoareavailableandinvolvedwiththeirpartnersduringpregnancy?Andwhatarethelong-termimplicationsofthesedifferentpatternsofhormonalchanges?Studiesofthesequestionsnotonlyprovidenewinsightsintoimmigrantfatherprocesses,butprovidenaturalexperimentaltestsofvariationinfatheravailabilityontheirbiologicalresponsestobecomingafather.

Dyadiclevelprocesses.Atthedyadiclevelfather-child,father-motheraswellasco-parentingrelationshipsarerecognizedasimportantaspectsoffathering.Atpresent,weareinabetterpositiontoevaluateandmeasuredyadiclevelprocessesthanpreviously(Kenny,Mohr,Levesque,2001)bybeingabletoevaluateactor,partner,ordyadlevelcontributionstorelationships.Howdothesecomponentsshiftacrosstimeinresponsetothetransitionanddegreeandtypeofacculturativeexperiencesvariousfamilydyadshave,suchasparent-child(father-child;mother-child)andhusband-wifedyads?Dotheindividuallevelcomponentsbecomemoreimportantasaresultof:(a)entryintoamoreindividualisticallyorientedculturefromamorecollectivistcultureand(b)differentratesofacculturationtothehostcultureonthepartofdifferentpartnersintheparent-childor–maritaldyads?

Familylevelprocesses.Doesthecommitmentandexpressionoffamilismchangeasaresultoftheimmigrationexperience?Again,newtechniquesforassessmentoffamilylevelvariableswillbehelpfulinmovingthislevelofanalysisfrommetaphortomeasurement.RecentworkbyCookandKenny(2004)forassessmentoffamilylevelvariablescouldbeusefullyappliedtofamiliesofimmigrantfathers.Otherfamilylevelassessmentssuchasroutinesandrituals(Fiese,Foley,Spagnola,2006)areusefulindicesoffamilyorganizationandfunctioning.Assessmentofhowthesechangeacrosstimeorareaconsequenceofimmigrationwouldbeusefulnotonlytogaugefamilyrelationshipsbutalsotomeasureofhowfamiliesadapttonewculturalcontexts.Thefilm“What’sCooking,”isanexcellentillustrationofhowVietnamese,Latinos,African-American,andJewishfamiliesincorporatebothelementsthatareculture-specificaswellasAmericanintheircelebrationoftheThanksgivingdinnerritual:Allcookedaturkeybutcollardgreens,rice,latkesandtamaleswerecentralpartsforthefeastforAfrican-American,Vietnamese,JewishandLatinofamilies.This,infact,maybeanexampleoftheconceptofCreolization–acreativemelangeofvaluesofthetraditionalculture(Chinese,Mexicanetc.)andU.S.culturalnorms(seeSilversteinAuerbach,thisvolume).

Communitylevel.Fathersareaffectednotonlybyindividual,dyadic,andfamilylevelfactorsbutbywhethertheyareembeddedinanetworkofcommunitylevelinfluencesaswell.Newtechniquesfortheassessmentofcommunitylevelinfluencessuchasneighborhoodsarebecomingavailableincludingcensustractmeasures,communitysurveys,andsystematicsocialobservation(LeventhalBrooks-Gunn,2000;Sampson,2005).AnotherpromisingmethodologicaltoolforneighborhoodlevelassessmentsisGeographicalInformationSystems(GIS)alsotermedcomputermappingthatallowspictorialmapsthatdepictvariationsinthedistributionsofgroups,services,crimelevels,andothercommunitylevelindicators(Cadora,Swartz,Gordon,2003).Thesenewneighborhoodlevelapproacheswillallowustobettercharacterizethequalitiesofdifferentcommunitiesintermsoftheirethnicvariationand/orhomogeneity,theeconomicopportunitystructure,theavailabilityofservices,thelevelsofsocialcapitaaswellasthelevelsofviolence-allfactorsthatmayhaveaninfluenceonfatheringbehavior.Forexample,immigrantfathersinneighborhoodsthatarecharacterizedbyhighlevelsofperceiveddangermaybemoreauthoritarianthanfathersinlessthreateningcontexts(Dodge,McLoydLansford,2005).InourstudiesofMexicanAmericanfamilies,wehavefoundthatimmigrantfatherswholiveinroughneighborhoodsaremorelikelytomonitorandcontroltheirchildren’sactivities,butthattheyalsorelyonsupportfromkinandco-ethnicswholivenearby(Coltraneetal.,2005).Inthetraditionofecologicalsystemstheory(BronfenbrennerMorris,1998),thetaskwillbetodescribethewaysinwhichshiftsinthesevariouslevelsofanalysischangeovertimeasaresultofacculturationandnewwavesofimmigrationandtodeterminehowtheseshiftsaffectfathers’rolesandlevelsofinvolvement.

MethodologicalIssuesinResearchon ImmigrantFathers

Astheresearchbaseintheareaofimmigrantfathersaccumulatesevidence,therewilllikelyberelatedmethodologicalinnovationsthatwillinformthestudyofimmigrantfathers.Ashasbeenurgedelsewhere,itisimperativeforfuturestudiestoincludemultiplewavesofmeasurement(Phinney,2006)withdatagatheredusingmixedmethodsfrommultiplereporters(PattersonYoerger,1993).However,wefocushereonotherinnovationsthatshouldbeconsideredinresearchstudies.InotherworkweoutlinedsomeofthebarrierstoresearchwithLatinofathers(e.g.,recruitment,attrition,measurementequivalence;Parkeetal.,2004b)andinthissectionweofferrecommendationsforthefutureofresearchonimmigrantfathers.

Qualitativeandquantitativeapproachesarebothuseful.Developmentalists(andothersocialscientists)areoftenpronetobinarythinking.Thisappliestomethodologicalpreferencesaswellasavarietyofconceptualissues(Parkeetal.,2004b).Innocaseisthismoreevidentthaninthedivisionbetweenthosewhoendorsequalitativeapproachesandthosewhoendorsequantitativeapproaches.Althoughmostchilddevelopmentalistsaretrainedinquantitativemethods,asourresearchagendahasbroadenedtheneedforanalysisofqualitativedataisincreasinglyrecognized.Qualitativeapproachessuchasfocusgroupsandethnographiesarecommonlyusedinotherdisciplinesbuthavelessoftenbeenusedbychilddevelopmentalists(BurtonPrice-Spratlen,1999;Garcia-CollMagnuson,1999).Focusgroupsareexcellentforumsinwhichtoexploreaswellastoexaminesimilaritiesanddifferencesacrossgender,socioeconomicclasses,andethnicgroups.Thesegroupsprovideauniqueopportunityforparentsandchildrentoarticulatetheirconcerns,values,andgoalsinacontextthatislessconstrainedthantheusualinterviewformat.Thistechniqueisofparticularvalueintheearlystagesofresearchwithunderstudiedpopulationsandisofparticularvalueinthestudyofimmigrantfathers(seeParkeetal.,2004bforexamplesofthisapproachforthestudyofLatinofathers).However,thisapproachisusefulatthedatainterpretationstage,aswell.Forexample,Cooper(1999)usedfollow-upfocusgroupstoaidininterpretationofparadoxicalfindings.Cooper foundthatalthoughChineseAmericanandVietnameseAmericanstudentsholdstrongfamilyvaluesandrespecttheirparentsagreatdeal,theydonotnecessarilyinvolvethemindecisionsordiscussionsabouttheircollegemajorsorsexualorientations.FocusgroupshelpedCooperresolvetheparadox:studentsdidnotcommunicatewiththeirparentsaboutsuchsensitivetopicsoutofdeference,notlackofrespect.

However,qualitativestudiesarenotwithoutlimitations.Forexample,manyqualitativestudiesdonotgeneralizetolargerpopulationsandmostqualitativestudieslacktheanalyticabilitytotestcomplextheoriesoffamilyprocesses.Also,qualitativestudiesaretime-intensiveanddifficulttoreplicate,thus,theremaybealongdelaybetweenastudybeingconductedandthedisseminationoftheresults.Finally,becausemanyqualitativestudiesemploymethodsthatareuniquetothatparticularstudy,theyareoftentimesnotpublishedintop-tierpeer-reviewedjournals(e.g.,onlyonequalitativestudy, Wassenberg,Feron,Kessels,2005waspublishedinChildDevelopmentbetween2001and2005)andqualitativestudiescanoftentimesbeoverlookedbypolicy-makersandacademics.Asaresult,weurgeresearcherstoconductqualitativestudiesasanessentialfirststep,butalsorecommendthatfuturestudiesemploylargesamplesusingacombinationofquantitativeandqualitativeapproaches.

Innovationsinsampling.Thefieldneedstoentertainapproachesbeyondtraditionalrandomsamplingproceduresbecausesuchmethodsareunlikelytoyieldrepresentativesamplesofimmigrantfamilies(Brown,Long,Gould,Weitz,Milliken,2000;Gillissetal.,2001;Ness,Nelson,Kumanyika,Grisso,1997).Alternatively,thereareanumberofmethodsthatpromoterecruitment,curbattrition,andfacilitateparticipationamongmarginalizedgroups.Specifically,researchersofimmigrantfathersmaywanttoconsideremployingeitherparticipantactionresearchmethods(Gilmore,Krantz,Ramirez,1986)orrespondent-drivensamplingmethods(Heckathorn,1997,2002).Participantactionresearch(PAR)isbynomeansnew(Lewin,1946),butinvolvesallowingresearcherstocollaboratecloselywiththeindividualstheystudy.OnestudyofadolescentstudentsthatemployedPARmethodsinvolvedselectingadiversegroupofstudents,trainingtheminresearchmethods,informingthemoftheprojectgoalsandmethods,elicitingtheirinputabouttheplan,andadaptingtherecruitmentstrategiesgiventheirinput(Fineetal,2005).Asagroupofmethods,PARseeksto“learnbydoing”andcanbeemployedwhenresearchersbothwishtostudyandaffectaphenomenoninshortorder(Gilmore,etal.,1986).Likequalitativemethods,PARdemandsagooddealoftimeandenergyexpenditurebyresearcherstodeveloprelationshipswithincommunitiesandalsorequirestheresearchertogiveupcontrolwhenitcomestorecruitmentandinterviewing.However,PARdoesnotpresumethatestablishedresearchmeasuresandmethodswillnotbeemployedoncethesampleisobtained.Ontheotherhand,respondent-drivensampling(RDS)–amethodofestimatingpopulationparameterestimatesbasedonsnowballsamplingmethods–allowsfortheidentificationandrecruitmentofpopulationsforwhichknowledgeofgroupmembership(e.g.,undocumentedimmigrantstatus)mayhaveassociatedriskorstigma(e.g.,deportation).Thisapproachisusefulinsituationswhereitisnotpossibletorandomlysampleapopulationwhichisundergroundorhiddenduetotheirfearoftheconsequencesofidentification(i.e.,incaseofundocumentedimmigrants).Throughtheuseofappropriateincentivesandrigorouscontrols,RDSaccountsfortheproblematicbiasesthatarepresentinexistingchain-referralmethods(e.g.,snowballsampling)bystatisticallymodelingthechainofreferralinamannerthatallowsfortheestimationofunbiasedpopulationestimates(Heckathorn,1997;2002).RDSusesgroup-mediatedsocialcontrolprocesses(Heckathorn,1990)torewardparticipantstwice:oncefortheirinvolvementinthestudyandagainwhentheyrecruitotherparticipants.Inastudyofreferralsformentalhealthtreatment,AsianAmericansweremorefrequentlyvoluntarilyreferredbyfriends,lovedones,andorganizationsthanotherethnicgroupsinwhichcoercivereferralsweremorecommon(TakeuchiCheung,1998).Itispossiblethatsimilarsociallymediatedgroupreferralprocessescanbeprofitablyemployedinfuturestudiesofimmigrantfatherpopulations.

Constructvalidityinresearchonimmigrantfathers.Thereisaneedforadditionalconstructvaliditystudiesofmeasurementequivalenceamongimmigrantpopulations.Thestepsinvolvedinconductingresearchwithimmigrantfamiliestendstoincludepreliminaryqualitativeworktodeterminethescopeoftheresearchquestionandtoexploretheusefulnessofresearchmeasuresfollowedbysubsequentstudiesinwhichestablishedresearchmeasuresareadaptedandsubsequentlyusedinlarge-scalestudies(KnightHill,1998).However,manywidelyusedmeasuresofadjustmentandstresshavenotbeenvalidatedwithethnicminorityandimmigrantpopulations.TheChildBehaviorChecklist(AchenbachEdelbrach,1983)isanexceptionwithvaliditystudiespublishedfromsamplesinChina(Su,Yang,Wan,1999),Norway(Bilenberg,1999),andGermany(Lösel,Bliesener,Köferl,1991).Inaddition,studieshavedeterminedthecross-ethnicequivalenceofmeasuresofhealthoutcomes(Klimidis,Minas,Yamamoto,2001;Lubetkin,Jia,Gold,2004),acculturation(Zea,Asner-Self,Birman,2003),intelligence(TeNijenhuis,Tolboom,Resing,2004),andinterculturaladjustment(Matsumoto,LeRoux,Ratzlaff,2001).Weencourageresearcherstoconductanddisseminatetheresultsfromtheirconstructvaliditystudies,eitherinpeer-reviewedjournalsorasworkingpapersavailableon-line.Inaddition,itwillbeimportantforeditorstoincludesuchstudiesintheirjournals.Byconductinganddisseminatingthesefindings,otherresearchersofimmigrantfatherswillbeabletoemployestablishedresearchmeasuresaspartoftheirownstudieswhichwillallowforreplicationandeventuallyamorecrediblebodyofknowledge.

Advancesinthemeasurementofcontext.Thereisagrowingbodyofevidencetosuggestthattheexperiencesofimmigrantfamiliesarelinkedtoboththecontextsinwhichtheylive(GuerraSmith,2006)aswellastheirperceptionsofthosecontexts(Greenberger,Chen,Beam,2000;Katz,1999).Inaddition,regardlessofwhetheroneactuallylivesandworksnearimmigrants,perceptionsofthenumberofimmigrantsintheUnitedstatesischangingsuchthatnonimmigrantsoverestimatethenumberofimmigrantsinthecountry(Alba,RumbautMarotz,2005).However,creatinganoperationaldefinitionofcontextisacomplextask.Byaskingparticipantstoprovidetheirzipcodes,itispossibletousecensustractestimatestoobtaininformationonneighborhoodcharacteristicssuchashouseholdstructure,income,andemployment.Althoughthesescensusbasedapproachestocontextarewidelyused,theymaycaptureonlypartoftheimportantvariationincontextssuchasneighborhoods(Furstenbergetal.,1999;Sampson,2002).Alternatively,non-census-basedmeasuresofcontextthatmayberelevanttotheexperiencesofimmigrantfatherincludestatelawsregardinglegalandundocumentedimmigration,accesstopublictransportation,andpublicschoolpolicies.Agreaterfocusontheroleofcontextasadeterminantofimmigrantfatherattitudesandbehaviorsmaybeusefulinexplainingwhichimmigrantfathersthriveandwhichfathershavedifficultyadaptingtothehostculture(Coltraneetal.,2005).

Increasedfocusonwithin-groupvariability.Researchersofimmigrantfamilieshavetendedtoreportmeanleveldifferencesbetweendifferentimmigrantgroups(e.g.,comparingMexicanandChineseimmigrants)ormeandifferencesbetweenimmigrantsandnon-immigrants.However,afocusonmeanleveldifferencestendstooverlookthevariabilitywithingroups(Parke & Buriel, 2006; Parkeetal.,2004a).Thiscouldbeespeciallysalientforresearchonimmigrantfathersforanumberofreasons.First,meandifferencesbetweenimmigrantandnon-immigrantfathersmaynotreflecttruescoredifferencesbutinsteadmaybeafunctionofmeasurementvariability.Second,althoughitisreasonabletohypothesizedifferencesbetweengroups,suchdifferencesareonlymeaningfuliftheyexplainuniqueratesofadjustmentovertime.Third,toomanystudiesgroupimmigrantsfromdifferentcountriesandcomparethemtonon-immigrants.Whereassuchgroupingmethodsmaybeusefulintermsofofferinginsightsaboutpolicy,researchersoughttofocusnarrowlyonaparticularnationalheritagetodemonstrateimportantprocesseswithingroups(Sue,Sue,Sue,Takeucki,1995).Forexample,immigrantfathersfrombothChinaandthePhilippinesmayvaluefilialpietyandbelievefamilymembersshouldavoidshameforthefamily.However,thepoliticalandeconomicdifferencesinthesetwocountriesthatmotivatedtheirdecisionstoimmigratemightdifferentiallyexplainwhethersuchsimilarvaluestranslateintosimilarordifferentpatternsofbehaviorandprocesseswithinfamilies.

Conceptualizingfatherinvolvementamongimmigrantfathers.Considerabletheoreticalworkhassoughttodescribethecomponentsoffatherinvolvement.Twodecadesago,Lamb,Pleck,Charnov,andLevine(1985,1987)urgedthatfatherinvolvementbeassessedasamultidimensionalconstructcomprisedofaccessibility,engagement,andresponsibility.Thisframeworkhasprovedausefulguideforconceptualizingfatherinvolvement.However,theapplicabilityofthisconceptualschemeforunderstandingimmigrantfatherinvolvementremainsuntestedandalternativetheoreticalconceptualizationsoffatherinvolvementinthecontextofimmigrantexperienceshavebeguntoappear(CabreraGarciaColl,2004).Awell-conceivedconceptualizationofimmigrantfatherinvolvementisneededtoguideresearchinthisdomain.Thistheoreticalconceptualizationneedstogobeyondanarrowfocusonstatuspredictorssuchasgenerationofimmigrationandinsteadincluderesourcesandvulnerabilitieswithingroups.

Ethicaltreatmentofimmigrantfathersasresearchparticipants.Asinterestinimmigrantfathersflourishes,sotoowillthenumberofstudiesonimmigrantfamiliesincrease.Inourincreasingeffortstocollectinformationfromthesefamilies,itwillbeimportanttoensurethatparticipantsareincludedinstudiesinamannerthatisethicalandappropriatelyadjustedtotheirculturalexpectations.ImmigrantswhohavecometotheUnitedStatesasrefugeesmayexperiencedistressinresponsetoquestionsaboutthedecisiontoleavetheirnativecountries(Suárez-OrozcoSuárez-Orozco,2001).Asaresult,itisimportanttodevelopdemographicmeasuresofthepre-immigrationhistoryusingsurveysandinterviewtechniquesthataccuratelycapturethoselifeexperienceswithoutunnecessarilyupsettingthereporter.Asmethodsforgatheringthisinformationbecomemoreprevalent,researchersmaywishtoconsiderstandardizingcollectionofthisdatatoelicitinformationwithoutevokingemotionalreactions.Inaddition,researchersoughttobetrainedtoofferextensiveopportunitiesforparticipantstobedebriefedtominimizetheirdistress.Finally,weurgeresearcherswhorecruitlow-incomeparticipantstobesensitivetoperceivedeconomicpressuresassociatedwithlargeamountsofmonetarycompensation.Ifacompensationamountistoolarge,someimmigrantfathersmayfeelcompelledtoparticipate,despiteprivacyconcernsthatmightotherwisepreventthemfrombeinginvolved.

Researchersinthisareaneedcommunity.Inthe1930sthefoundingmembersoftheSocietyforResearchinChildDevelopmentheldtheirfirstconferenceintheconferencespaceofasmallTravelodge.Whilethemembershipnowfillsalargeconventioncenter,thoseearlydayswereimportantintheestablishmentofalike-mindedacademiccommunity.Today’stechnologiesofferremarkableopportunitiesforaccesstoinformation,long-distancecollaboration,anddisseminationofknowledge.TheSpecialInterestGrouponStudyingImmigrantFamilies(SIG-SIF),aninteractiveonlineforumthatallowsfordiscussionanddisseminationofknowledgeandopportunitiesinthisarea,isonesuchgroup.Accessibleat

Usecontinuousmeasuresto“fillthecells.”Onechallengefacingempiricalinvestigationsofimmigrantfamilyexperiencesconcernsthedifficultyofgatheringparticipantsinawaythatallowsformeaningfulwithingroupcomparisons.Forexample,wearecurrentlyconductingastudyofthesocialconstructionoffatherhoodamong393familiesusinga2x2designbasedonethnicity(EuropeanAmericanvs. MexicanAmerican)andtype of family structure(biological fathers in intact families vs.stepfathers in remarried families ).Inourdata,wehave118first-generationimmigrantfathersand,thus,canexplorevariabilitybetweenourfirst-andsecond-generationfathers;however,wehavenootherethnicitiesinoursamplenoranyfamiliesfromnever-marriedorsingle-motherfamilies.

Althoughitisimplausiblethatasingleresearchprojectcouldresolveallofthequestionsrelatedtoaphenomenon,wehopemethodologicaladvanceswillpermitustoanswerquestionsnotonlyatthegrouplevelbutthroughtheusecontinuousmeasuresofgroupstatusaswell.Returningtotheexamplestudyabove,generationofimmigrationisagroupvariablethatcouldbequantifiedintermsofnumberofyearsintheUnitedStates.Similarly,stepfatherpresencecouldbequantifiedintermsofnumberofyearsthatthestep-fatherwasinthehome.Bymovingawayfromstatuswemaybeabletomorereadilyaccountforwithingroupvariabilitythatdoesnotrequireassignmentofcasestocellsonlyonthebasisofgroupstatuscriteria.

Inthissectionwehaveofferedanumberofthoughtsaboutmethodologicalinnovationsthatfutureresearchersoftheimmigrantfatherexperiencemaywishtoconsiderinordertofurtherourunderstandingofthiscriticalissue.

PolicyImplications

Fewareasofscholarshipareaspolicyrelevantasworkonimmigrantfathers.AsthecurrentnationaldebateintheUnitedStatescontinuesaboutthestatusandrightsofimmigrant-fathersaswellasmothers,childrenandotherrelatives,researchisneededtoguidethepolicymakingprocess.Moreattentiontotheeconomiccontributionsofimmigrantfathersandtheirfamiliestothenationalwelfareisneededinadditiontoeffortstoquantifythecostsofprovidinghealthcareandeducationtofamiliesandtheirchildren.Whataretherightsofnative-bornchildrenwhentheyareborntoundocumentedparents?Althoughthefocusofthecurrentdebateisontheshort-termeconomiccostsandbenefitsimaginingthefuturerequiresalongertermperspective.Forexample,populationreplacementratesaredeclininginmanycountrieswhich,inturn,threatenlong–termeconomictaxbasesandthesupplyofworkforceparticipants.AsTierney(2006)recentlynoted,

“Thefertilityrateofnative-bornAmericansinmanystates,includingCalifornia,has fallentonearorbelowthereplacementrate,asithasinEuropeancountriesthatarestrugglingtosupporttheiragingpopulations.WorriedEuropeanleadershavebeentryingtoreversethedeclinebyofferingsubsidiestoparents,liketheheftypaymentannouncedthismonthbyPresidentVladimirPutinofRussia.ButAmericaisinbettershapethanEurope.Itspopulationisstillgrowingrobustly,partlybecauseofthearrivalofadultimmigrants,andpartlybecauseimmigrantsdon’thavetobebribedtohavechildren.Theirhigherfertilityratehelpsoff-setthenatives’,bringingtheoverallnationalratejustaboutuptothereplacementlevel.Some“nomás”nativescomplainthatthecountrycannotabsorbimmigrantsthewayitoncecould.ButthesenativesalsoexpectSocialsecurityandMedicaretosustainthemduringtheirretirement.Nowthatbirthratesarelowandretireesarelivingsolong,Americaneedsimmigrantsmorethanever. Iftherewereamoratoriumonlegalimmigration,thesocialsecuritydeficitwouldrisebynearlyathirdoverthenext50years(Anderson,2005).Evenillegalimmigrantshelpthesystem’sfinancesbecausewhentheygiveemployersbogus Social Securitynumbers,thetaxespaidontheirbehalfendupinthetrustfund.Withfewerimmigrants,we‘d havetoeitherraisetaxesorcutretireebenefits.Andwhowoulddotheworkthey’renowdoing?”(p.A23)

Insum,bytakingthelongerviewitispossiblethatimmigration–asithasinthepast–benefitsnotjusttheimmigrantsbutthemembersofthehostcountryaswell.Atthesametime,predictingthefutureisahazardousendeavor.AsRobertColes(1999)remindsus,“Timeholdsitsmysteriesandthefutureresistsoureasygrasp,howeveranxiouswebetoassertitconclusively” (p. 17).

FinalMessage

Byrecognizingthatfathering,includingimmigrantfathering,isadynamicconceptopentohistorical,cultural,andtechnologicalinfluenceswewillbebetterpositionedtounderstandtheinevitablechangesthatwilltakeplaceforfutureimmigrantfathersandbebetterabletodesignpoliciesandprogramsforimmigrantfathersinthisnewmillennium.

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