Identifying the Social Pressures Imposed onto Children of Immigrants and their Effects

Identifying the Social Pressures Imposed onto Children of Immigrants and their Effects

The dynamic in homes with immigrant parents—that is parents that have emigrated to the country where their children were born—tends to be distinct from that of households where the parents are generations removed from immigration or they share the same citizenship as their children. This study focuses on how parental expectations might affect children of immigrants and children of United States citizens. The purpose of this study is to explore the different lived experiences of three different groups to see if there are any similarities or differences among them. Many times immigrant parents’ expectations for their children force them to grow up very quickly through various scenarios including, but not limited, to translating important documents, getting good grades, steering them towards practical fields for jobs, who they should vote for or where their political beliefs should align, what religious beliefs they should have, etc. These expectations, if lived up to—whether it be out of respect or purely all they know—might potentially have detrimental consequences. If these children cannot break this cycle, or find the root of the issue and get mental health help, the problem may worsen. These children then have very limited spaces where they can talk about this experience. They can really only relate to peers that have similar parental situations. Peers with parents of American citizenship may not be able to relate so easily. The main question that this study aims to explore is: What are the effects of the pressures put onto first-generation1 immigrant children by their parents?

Sherry, Ashley

Rider University

Fiske-Rusciano, Roberta

Baccalaureate Honors Program

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