First child of immigrant workers and their descendants in West Germany

This paper investigates the impact of immigration on the transition to motherhood among women from Turkey, Italy, Spain, Greece, and the former Yugoslavia in West Germany. A hazard-regression analysis is applied to data of the German Socio-Economic Panel study. We distinguish between the first and second immigrant generation. The results show that the transition rates to a first birth of first-generation immigrants are elevated shortly after they move country. Elevated birth risks that occur shortly following the immigration are traced back to an interrelation of events - these are migration, marriage, and first birth. We do not find evidence of a fertility-disruption effect after immigration. The analysis indicates that second-generation immigrants are more adapted to the lower fertility levels of West Germans than their mothers’ generation is.event history analysis, fertility, international migration, migrant workers from South/Southeastern Europe, West Germany

First child of immigrant workers and their descendants in West Germany: interrelation of events, disruption, or adaptation?

This paper investigates the impact of immigration on the transition to motherhood among women from Turkey, Italy, Spain, Greece, and the former Yugoslavia in West Germany. We apply a hazard regression analysis to data of the German Socio-Economic Panel study. We distinguish between the first and second immigrant generation. The results show that the transition rates to a first birth of first-generation immigrants are elevated shortly after they move country. We trace the elevated birth risks shortly following the immigration back to an interrelation of events – these are migration, marriage, and first birth. We do not find evidence of a fertility-disruption effect after immigration. Our analysis indicates that second-generation immigrants are more adapted to the lower fertility levels of West Germans than their mothers’ generation.Germany (Alte Bundesländer)

Family change and migration in the life course

This article is an introduction to Special Collection 6 of Demographic Research whose articles investigate the interrelations between the family and migration behaviour of individuals in industrialised countries. We first review the life-course approach and previous research on the interplay between family change and migration. We then describe the contribution of the articles in the collection. This is followed by a discussion of selected issues raised in the papers and an outline of future research avenues. We argue that the life-course approach and event-history analysis offer a fruitful framework to examine how individuals simultaneously structure their family lives and residential trajectories, and thus shape demographic change in society.event history analysis, family, fertility, life-course approach, migration, residential mobility

Editorial on the Special Issue "New Aspects on Migrant Populations in Europe: Norms, Attitudes and Intentions in Fertility and Family Planning"

This paper reviews the most recent literature on the fertility of migrant populations in Europe. In a systematic review of 21 peer-reviewed journals, we found that the literature has focused almost exclusively on actual behaviours related to the quantum and timing of births; it primarily investigates the determinants of demographic behaviour related to the structural integration of migrants. Previous literature on the demographic behaviour of migrants in Europe used factors related to culture more as a residual explanation for group differences, but it barely addressed their role specifically. The aim of our Special Issue is to draw attention to the normative side of fertility and to include aspects of reproductive health and family planning in the picture - both aspects are related to culture. This paper includes a short introduction to the articles contained in this Special Issue and proposes recommendations for future research

Attitudes toward Abortion for Medical and Non-medical Reasons among the Turkish Second Generation in Europe – The Role of the Family and Societal Contexts

This paper studies attitudes toward abortion among the second generation of Turkish migrants and their native counterparts in six western and northern European countries. We focus on Turkish migrants because they not only constitute one of the largest immigrant groups, but are also hypothesised to be culturally and demographically very distinctive from the native group. We used data from the project on “The Integration of the European Second Generation (TIES 2007-08)” from Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. The sample consisted of 4,761 respondents aged 18 to 35, 49.5 percent of whom were children of Turkish migrants born in Europe and 51.5 percent belonged to the respective non-migrant comparison groups. Unlike in other surveys, the question regarding attitudes toward abortion in the TIES questionnaire distinguished between “medical” and “non-medical” reasons for abortion, with the possible answers being “never”, “in specific cases” and “always”. We carried out multinomial logistic regression analyses and investigated three research questions: 1) Departing from assimilation theory, we examined whether the attitudes of migrant descendants differed from those of their non-migrant counterparts. Our results show that both groupings under study expressed a range of attitudes, and that abortion for medical reasons was more accepted than abortion for non-medical reasons. However, second-generation Turks were more likely than the natives to say that they would never accept abortion. 2) We investigated the extent to which the societal climate and the integration context of the respondents influenced their attitudes toward abortion, while assuming that we would find cross-country variation in these attitudes. Our results reveal that among natives, levels of acceptance of abortion are lowest in Germany and highest in Sweden and France. We found a similar country pattern for women and men of the second Turkish generation. 3) We explored the degree to which the respondents’ family contexts (childhood backgrounds as well as current socio-demographic variables) influenced their attitudes toward abortion. While these factors partially explained the variation within the Turkish second generation and within the native comparison group, the country differences remained significant. We conclude that attitudes toward abortion in the Turkish second generation are influenced by their family backgrounds, but also by their socialization experiences in European receiving countries. These findings suggest that cultural assimilation processes are occurring, but not to the point where the attitudes of migrant descendants have converged with the attitudes of natives in the respective destination country. * This article belongs to a special issue on migrant fertility

Editorial on the Special Issue “New Aspects on Migrant Populations in Europe: Norms, Attitudes and Intentions in Fertility and Family Planning”

This paper reviews the most recent literature on the fertility of migrant populations in Europe. In a systematic review of 21 peer-reviewed journals, we found that the literature has focused almost exclusively on actual behaviours related to the quantum and timing of births; it primarily investigates the determinants of demographic behaviour related to the structural integration of migrants. Previous literature on the demographic behaviour of migrants in Europe used factors related to culture more as a residual explanation for group differences, but it barely addressed their role specifically. The aim of our Special Issue is to draw attention to the normative side of fertility and to include aspects of reproductive health and family planning in the picture – both aspects are related to culture. This paper includes a short introduction to the articles contained in this Special Issue and proposes recommendations for future research

Women's Attitudes toward Assisted Reproductive Technologies - A Pilot Study among Migrant Minorities and Non-migrants in Germany

This study examines attitudes toward assisted reproductive technologies (ART) among immigrant women and non-migrants in Germany. The social relevance of ART is increasing in Western countries due to overall low birth rates, a high rate of childlessness, and a gap between the desired and the actual numbers of children. Previous literature has been scarce, however, on attitudes toward ART, and immigrant minorities have rarely been included in studies on ART. Our working hypotheses are drawn from theoretical considerations on political socialisation and cultural integration. The analysis is based on data collected in a pilot study in 2014 and 2015. The sample includes 960 women aged 18 to 50 living in Germany. About 81 percent of the sample are immigrants who originate from Turkey, Poland, the Balkan countries, or countries of the (Russian) Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). We study the social norm to use ART to have a child, the personal attitude of whether a woman would use ART herself, and the methods that they would consider for their own use. Our results show that ART is overall socially acceptable, and the majority of women said that they would use it if necessary. There is significant variation between the origin groups, however. Non-migrants show the lowest acceptance rates and migrants from Poland and Turkey the highest approval. There is also variation in the ART procedures considered for use with the migrants more approving of heterologous methods than non-migrants. The differences between the origin groups diminish only partly when controlling for further explanatory variables, i.e. gender-role attitudes, religiosity, and socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. We conclude that attitudes toward ART are shaped less by socio-demographic characteristics, but rather by cultural factors and the socialization in the migrants’ countries of origin. The diversity in attitudes toward ART by cultural background should be acknowledged in research and public discourses on ART as well as in regulating policies

Women’s Attitudes toward Assisted Reproductive Technologies – A Pilot Study among Migrant Minorities and Non-migrants in Germany

This study examines attitudes toward assisted reproductive technologies (ART) among immigrant women and non-migrants in Germany. The social relevance of ART is increasing in Western countries due to overall low birth rates, a high rate of childlessness, and a gap between the desired and the actual numbers of children. Previous literature has been scarce, however, on attitudes toward ART, and immigrant minorities have rarely been included in studies on ART.Our working hypotheses are drawn from theoretical considerations on political socialisation and cultural integration. The analysis is based on data collected in a pilot study in 2014 and 2015. The sample includes 960 women aged 18 to 50 living in Germany. About 81 percent of the sample are immigrants who originate from Turkey, Poland, the Balkan countries, or countries of the (Russian) Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). We study the social norm to use ART to have a child, the personal attitude of whether a woman would use ART herself, and the methods that they would consider for their own use.Our results show that ART is overall socially acceptable, and the majority of women said that they would use it if necessary. There is significant variation between the origin groups, however. Non-migrants show the lowest acceptance rates and migrants from Poland and Turkey the highest approval. There is also variation in the ART procedures considered for use with the migrants more approving of heterologous methods than non-migrants. The differences between the origin groups diminish only partly when controlling for further explanatory variables, i.e. gender-role attitudes, religiosity, and socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents.We conclude that attitudes toward ART are shaped less by socio-demographic characteristics, but rather by cultural factors and the socialization in the migrants’ countries of origin. The diversity in attitudes toward ART by cultural background should be acknowledged in research and public discourses on ART as well as in regulating policies. * This article belongs to a special issue on migrant fertility

A different perspective on exogamy: Are non-migrant partners in mixed unions more liberal in their attitudes toward gender, family, and religion than other natives?

Classic assimilation theory perceives migrant-native intermarriage as both a means to and a result of immigrants' integration processes into host societies. The literature is increasingly focusing on marital exogamy of immigrants, yet almost nothing is known about their native partners. This explorative study contributes to the literature on migrant integration and social cohesion in Europe by asking whether the native partners in exogamous unions have different attitudes toward gender equality, sexual liberalization, family solidarity, and religiosity/secularization than natives in endogamous unions. Our theoretical considerations are based on preference, social exchange, and modernization theories. We use data of the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) of seven countries. The sample size is 38,447 natives aged 18 to 85, of whom about 4% are in a mixed union. The regression results of the study are mixed. Persons in exogamous unions show greater agreement with family solidarity, are thus less individualistic than those in endogamous couples. Yet, mixing is associated with greater openness to sexual liberalization and gender equality as well as more secular attitudes. These findings can only partially be explained by socio-demographic control variables. Hence, immigrants in exogamous unions with natives may integrate into the more liberal milieu of their host societies, in which natives continue to place a high value on providing support to family members.Partnerschaften zwischen Zuwanderern und Angehörigen der Mehrheitsgesellschaft werden in der Assimilationstheorie als Ergebnis und Ausgangspunkt von Integrationsprozessen betrachtet. Während diese aber vorrangig auf Migranten und weniger auf Nicht-Migranten fokussiert, betrachtet unsere explorative Studie das Thema Integration in Europa mit Blick auf Nichtmigranten. Die Forschungsfrage ist, ob für diese die Unterstützung für Diversität und Exogamie in der Partnerwahl einhergeht mit Unterschieden in Einstellungen zu sexueller Liberalisierung, Geschlechtergleichstellung, familiärer Solidarität und Säkularisierung. Die theoretischen Überlegungen beziehen sich auf Präferenz-, Austausch- und Modernisierungstheorien. Genutzt werden Daten des Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) aus sieben Ländern mit 38,447 Nicht-Migranten im Alter von 18 bis 85, von denen etwa 4% in einer Partnerschaft mit einem Migranten sind. Die Ergebnisse der linearen Regressionen zeigen einerseits eine Verbindung zwischen Partnerschaften mit Migranten und einer stärkeren Betonung familiärer Solidarität, andererseits eine höhere Zustimmung zu Fragen der sexuellen Liberalisierung, Gleichstellung und Säkularisierung. Dies bedeutet, dass sich Migranten in exogamen Partnerschaften in liberalere Milieus der Aufnahmegesellschaft integrieren können, in denen gleichzeitig jedoch die Familie einen größeren Stellenwert hat

Introduction to the Special Issue on "Family migration processes in a comparative perspective"

This paper provides an introduction to this Special Issue on "Family migration processes in a comparative perspective". Following an introduction to the topic, we provide summaries of the papers in this Special Issue and discuss afterwards some overarching theoretical perspectives. This Special Issue contains papers that explore how family lives and intimate relationships are constituted and re-constituted under conditions of transnationality. The authors of the contributing papers, although they have followed very different theoretical and methodological paths, underscore the effect of conducting and facilitating family life and couple relationships during or after an international migration process. They show that the couples and multigenerational families in transnational contexts are constantly undergoing processes of constitution, negotiation, and reconstitution. We conclude that future research should shift from focussing solely on the individual to examining couples and families, and it should adopt dynamic, rather than static perspectives when studying family migration