University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences, Germany.
Soc Sci Res. 2023 May;112:102803. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2022.102803. Epub 2022 Oct 20.
Immigrants' identification with the receiving society is a core dimension of their integration process. Previous research has much focused on the relevance of language acquisition, job market placement, and intergroup friendship as drivers of identification. At the same time, neighborhoods as immediate living environments reflect a relevant experiential setting in which immigrants learn about the social fabric of the receiving society and to which degree (local) public authorities take their concerns into account. This study examines how perceptions of neighborhood social cohesion and disorder relate to immigrants' identification with the receiving society. Using geo-coded panel data from the Netherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study, we find robust empirical evidence that high levels of perceived neighborhood social cohesion predict higher degrees of immigrants' national identification mainly by facilitating intergroup interaction. Our results suggest that perceptions of and experiences in immigrants' immediate living environments are highly relevant for outcomes related to their integration within the receiving society.
移民对接收社会的认同是其融入过程的核心维度。先前的研究主要关注语言习得、就业市场安置和群体间友谊作为认同驱动因素的相关性。与此同时，邻里作为直接的生活环境，反映了一个相关的体验环境，移民可以从中了解接收社会的社会结构，以及（当地）公共当局在多大程度上考虑到他们的关切。本研究考察了邻里社会凝聚力和混乱感如何与移民对接收社会的认同相关。本研究使用来自荷兰纵向生活史研究的地理编码面板数据，发现了强有力的经验证据，即感知到的邻里社会凝聚力水平越高，预测移民的国家认同感越高，主要是通过促进群体间的互动。我们的研究结果表明，移民直接生活环境的看法和体验与他们在接收社会中融入相关的结果高度相关。
