Historically, Liberian immigrants to the United States tended to be wealthy, educated individuals who wanted their children to acquire a Western education. The thirteen-year Liberian Civil War resulted in a new wave of U.S. migration. Many recent Liberian immigrants hold low socio-economic statuses. Some came to this country illiterate or with gaps in their education. This has created a cultural-educational gap amongst newly arrived Liberian immigrants. Many young Liberian immigrants struggle with educational and socialization issues. Studies have been conducted on the acculturation experiences of youths from Europe, Asia, and South and Central America. Yet to date, very little research has been done on the lives of African youth, especially those who emigrated from Liberia after the civil war. Their voices have been missing from the literature. This qualitative study provides narratives of four Liberian immigrant youths, between the ages of 18 and 22 years old, who formerly attended schools in Liberia, have lived in the U.S. less than ten years, and have attended at least three years of high school in the United States. Each youth was interviewed regarding their school, home, and community acculturation experiences. Excerpts of their interviews allow the reader to hear the participants' stories in their own words. Findings of the research from emergent themes indicate that the Liberian immigrant youths had many commonalities in their acculturation experiences such as: accent ridicule, bullying by peers, fights between African Americans and Liberian immigrants, and lack of appreciation for African cultures. The participants also struggled with ethnic identity issues, limited finances, and unjust educational and social systems in the United States. All four Liberian immigrants experienced some type of external and internal conflicts. A relationship was found between the possession of resiliency traits and the Liberian immigrant youths' abilities to handle conflicts and successfully acculturate to the United States. Two participants possessed strong resiliency characteristics such as autonomy, problem solving abilities, abilities to forgive, a sense of purpose and future, and creativity. They had favorable acculturation experiences, successfully graduating from high school. Two other participants lacked resiliency traits and had less favorable acculturation experiences. They succumbed to external and internal conflicts and dropped out of high school.

An issue yet to receive much attention in the literature in medical sociology is how family systems may influence the emotional well-being of youth in Canada, particularly among newcomer youth. This study applies the family systems model of Kitzman-Ulrich and her colleagues as the principal theory to examine the emotional well-being of newcomer youth in Canada. Using data from the New Canadian Children and Youth Study (NCCY) on 979 newcomer youth, it explains how family systems and other factors may influence emotional health of newcomer youth. Data were analyzed using multiple approaches. The multivariate analysis includes seven Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models – examining and comparing different groups: an overall model, and separate models for male, female, Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, Filipino/a, and immigrant are performed. The results of this study reveal that variables within the family systems model are weak predictors of the presence of emotional problems among newcomer youth in Canada. Among four family systems variables used in the analyses, family cohesion, permissive parenting, and parental discipline are either weak or insignificant predictors; only parental praise is statistically significant. Furthermore, they are weak predictors compared with other factors beyond the family, such as age, time in Canada, being bullied at school, being immigrant, use of illegal/controlled substances, and being from a Mainland or Hong Kong Chinese group (for females only). The thesis ends with a discussion of limitations, future research, and policy suggestions. / October 2015

A large and growing body of literature has been published on migration in China. This thesis has identified several challenges, namely, the destination-biased framework of migration, the neglect of heterogeneity of migrants, the relative dearth of research on the intersection of mobility and place attachment, and the suppression of the significance of the migrant subject. This research responds to these challenges by adopting a native-place perspective and a life-course/biographical approach and using mixed methods to explore the patterns and meanings of migration among educated young adults from peripheral China. The data come from a life-history questionnaire survey and biographical interviews with university and college graduates, who were born and raised in Chaohu and received higher education outside Chaohu. Firstly, it analyses educated young people’s migration pathways from home to university and onwards to current place of residence, and develops a four-fold typology of spatial mobility (Stick-in, Move-down, Move-up, and Re-entry) from migration trajectories data. Secondly, it explores how spatial mobility is implicated in the process of bonding with places by examining educated young adults’ place attachment and belonging. Four types of migrants (Translocals, Departers, Aliens, and Settlers) and three types of returnees (the Trapped, the Bonded, and the Rooted) are classified. Thirdly, through the lens of agency as a socially situated process, it explores how migration decision-making reflects socially structured patterns, how agency interplays with social structure, and how agency operates in a differentiated and dynamic way. Meanwhile, through its attention to migration aspirations, it further explores the potential for meaningful experiences of geographical mobility to change migrants’ subjectivities and considers the emotional dynamics involved in the intersection of identity with senses of place. This thesis contributes to the field of youth migration by providing a mapping of the spatial patterns for migration of educated young people and addressing the complexities and dynamics of spatial mobility with a case study. Also, the present work highlights the importance of a biographical approach that allows us to appreciate the significance of the migrant subject and to investigate the ongoing nature of migration processes

This dissertation uses the Latino cultural citizenship framework to show how Mexican immigrant young adults are using the GED classroom to construct, negotiate, and transform their lives in the United States. It examines the educational experiences of Mexican immigrant young adults enrolled in GED classes at Central Texas Community College and specifically documents their motives for enrolling, their educational journeys, the value of the GED, and the impact of the GED program on their lives and on their future aspirations. The significance of this study is that it will give Adult Basic and Secondary Education programs, especially the program housed at Central Texas Community College, an ethnographic snapshot of one of their fastest growing student populations. Latina/o students represent 73 percent of GED enrollment in this program. Although this dissertation only includes a very small subgroup of Latinos, findings will supplement the limited academic research available on Mexican immigrant young adults within the scope of adult education. / text

abstract: The Arizona legislature has enacted a number of anti-immigrant policies which negatively impact Latino immigrant families. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of Latino parents on how anti-immigration policies emotionally impact their children and how they believe they can protect their children from the harmful effects of such policies. Secondary data analysis was conducted based on in-depth semi structured interviews completed with a sample of 54 Latino immigrant parents residing in the state of Arizona. Grounded theory methods informed the analysis process. A constant comparative approach was used to complete initial and focused coding. Findings indicate that Latino immigrant parents observed a range of behavioral changes in their children following the passage of anti-immigrant legislature. Parents reported that the emotional impact they observed stemmed from children's social interactions in their home, school, and community environments as well as through their exposure to the media. Latino youth experienced emotional impact is summarized in the following themes, concern and sense of responsibility; fear and hypervigilance; sadness and crying; and depression. Findings further demonstrated that parents protected Latino youth from anti-immigration policies directly and indirect ways by focusing on children's safety and well-being (let children live their childhood, be prepared, send messages), building parents capacity (pursue education, obtain papers), and engaging in change efforts at the community level (be proactive). Parents indicated that by engaging in these efforts they could protect their children, and counter the negative effects of anti-immigrant policies. Implications for social work practice to better advocate and serve Latino youth at the individual, family, and community level are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Social Work 2015

Thesis advisor: Maria E. Brisk / Drawing on Collins' (2009) framework on domination and seeing language as a signifier (Bhaba, 1994), this critical ethnography explores the relationship between language and power within the context of a school focused on serving the needs of newcomer immigrant youth in the United States, a country that has increasingly become polarized around issues of immigration, social, and educational policy. Conducting observations in multiple social contexts and informal/semi-structured interviews, the study focuses on six non-Spanish speaking newcomer immigrant youth navigating a particular phenomenon - English and Spanish being dominant languages in their social contexts inside and outside of school. Data were analyzed using guidelines of critical ethnography (Carspecken, 1996). Salient findings include issues of assimilation, meritocracy, and invisibility at the school. The importance of transnational connection, restoration, and accessing social and cultural capital outside of school were also noteworthy. Suggested additions to theorizing work and research with this population as well as critical implications for newcomer schools are also presented. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Thesis advisor: Thomas M. Crea / The ability of school communities to develop successful integration strategies for youth from immigrant communities is of pressing concern. The goal of this dissertation is to explore how immigrant youth interact with their peers in friendship networks and school communities in order to inform efforts to promote the successful integration of immigrant youth in US schools. Data from the 1994-1995 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) are used in three separate studies to examine processes of integration. First, the integration of immigrant youth is analyzed at dyadic, network, and school institution levels. Second, exponential random graph modeling (ERGM) is used to examine how immigrant generation plays a role in friendship formation in 63 US schools. Third, cross-sectional ERGM and longitudinal stochastic actor-based models (SABM) are developed to examine how race, immigrant generation, spoken language, and social network processes give rise to youth friendship networks in one US school. Key findings are as follows: first, youth from immigrant families overall are successfully integrating into school friendship networks and communities. First-generation youth are located only slightly on the margins while second-generation youth are located in positions of social advantage. Second, school contexts change the nature of friendship decision-making. Immigrant youth in more diverse schools are more likely to integrate through cross-group friendships, providing evidence for contact theory of intergroup relations. Third, while immigrant generation and spoken language emerge as salient predictors of friendship formation, other factors such as grade level, race and ethnicity, as well as social network processes remain the primary drivers of friendship formation. In the final chapter, an applied theory of immigrant integration in school settings grounded in theories of social structure is proposed. Together, the findings of this research will inform efforts to better serve culturally and linguistically diverse youth in American schools and aim to help promote the integration of youth from immigrant communities. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the literature on the educational outcomes and protective factors (i.e., support systems) in the lives of Latino immigrant youth, with a special emphasis on how these experiences relate to and are impacted by their migration experiences. Using the cultural-ecological theoretical framework and the Stages of Migration framework, this study utilized an existing data set to explore the relationships between migration stress, psychological distress, experiences of discrimination, and awareness of discrimination in relation to educational outcomes in a sample of 281 Latino immigrant youth. These relationships were then examined to see if they differed as a function of perceived support, gender, and school type (i.e., middle school versus high school). Structural equation modeling was utilized to test the hypothesized model that included migration stress, psychological distress, and education outcomes. The structural model showed very good fit. Results suggest that migration stress has a significant direct effect on psychological distress and on educational outcomes among Latino immigrant youth. Participants reporting high migration stress reported greater psychological distress and had poorer educational outcomes with respect to academic grades, educational aspirations, and educational expectations. Moderation testing indicated the structural model did not vary as a function of perceived support, gender, or school. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

With rising levels of immigration comes a need to know what fosters positive adaptation for the youth growing up in a new culture of settlement.The issue is increasingly studied; however, little of the research conducted has combined a developmental with a contextual approach. The aim of this dissertation was to explore the adaptation of immigrant youth on the basis of developmental theories and models which put emphasis on setting or contextual conditions. This entailed viewing immigrant youths as developing organisms that actively interact with their environments. Further, immigrant youths were seen as embedded in multiple settings, at different levels and with different contextual features. Two of the overall research questions addressed how contextual features of the settings in which the youth are embedded were related to adaptation. Results from all three studies combined to show that the contextual feature of a setting is not of prime or sole importance for the adaptation of immigrant youth, and that the contextual feature of SES diversity is of greater importance than theethnic compositions of settings. The next two overall research questions addressed how the linkage between settings was related to adaptation. The results indicated that adaptation is not always setting specific and that what is happening in one setting can be related to adaptation in anothersetting. Further, it was found that the cultural distance between settings is related to adaption, but that contextual factors affect this relationship. Overall, the results of the dissertation suggests that the adaptation of immigrant youth is a complex matter that is explained better by interaction and indirect effects than by main and direct effects. This highlights the importance of taking all settings in which the immigrant youths are embedded into account and to account for how the settings interact to understand the factors that foster and hinder positive adaptation of immigrant youth. / <p>The article "Homophily in friendship networks of immigrant and nonimmigrantyouth: Does context matter?" in the list of studies is published electronically as "Peer selection and influence of delinquent behavior of immigrant and nonimmigrant youths: does context matter?"</p>

Catalonia, struggling with a national identity, minority language rights, and an independence movement serves as the backdrop for this dissertation which focuses on the communicative practices of fifteen Honduran youth immigrants living in a segregated neighborhood on the periphery of a Catalan city. Ethnographic fieldwork in a Catalonian neighborhood and high school dominated by Latin American immigrants reveal a number of factors which influence the languaging of Honduran diasporic youths. The participants in this study negotiate multi-layered, often hybrid, transnational identities which influence their linguistic choices both in and out of school. Data collection via in-depth interviews and participant observations identify investment in Catalan language for academic and employment purposes and the maintenance of Honduran Spanish and/or variations for social "currency." Furthermore, this dissertation examines the implications of the Honduran youths' communicative practices for educational and pedagogical purposes as well as for language policy and planning in Catalonia, Spain.