Conferences

The dataset on which this contribution is based is composed of a sample of seventy (70) schools in Brussels’ Region. Three thousand one hundred and twenty one (3121) pupils attending in 2007 the last grade of the secondary education in one of the selected schools participated in the study. About half of the sample is composed of second generation migrants from about 100 different countries. The most represented origin countries in our sample are EU countries, Morocco, Turkey and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thus, our sample is composed of a highly culturally diverse youth population.
Acculturation models were measured by three items that could be answered by a 5-points likert scale. They referred to the segregation, assimilation and integration models (Berry, 1997, 2001). From previous studies, it seems that respondents from both the majority and minority groups consider those models as unidimensional. Explorative factor analyses across the cultural groups of our sample confirmed the unidimensionality of the items.
Because of the hierarchical structure of the sample (pupils aggregated within schools), the culturally diverse population of our sample and the unidimensionality of the items, the endorsement of acculturation models by pupils will be analysed in two steps.

In the first step, a Mokken scale analysis will be performed on the three items. This will allow us to test the hierarchical property among the items across the majority and minority groups. If the three items can be ordered by degree of difficulty (or “degree of agreement”) and if this ranking is valid among each cultural group, the underlying Mokken scale can be used as outcome in further analyses.

In the second step, a multilevel linear model with the Mokken scale as outcome will be performed. This will allow us to control and assess the influence of schools on pupils’ endorsement of the adaptation strategies. At the individual level, the power of several variables in explaining ethnic differences on the outcome will be tested. However, the interpretation of the results should be done carefully, because the outcome variable and some possible explanatory variables can have completely different meanings when they refer to second generation migrants or to the majority group.

References:

Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, Acculturation, and Adaptation. Applied Psychology, 46(1), 5-34.
Berry, J. W. (2001). A Psychology of Immigration. Journal of Social Issues, 57(3), 615-631.