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Like "first-generation immigrant", the term "second-generation" can refer to a member of either: The second generation of a family to inhabit, but the first natively born in, a country, or; The second generation born in a country (i.e. "third generation" in the above definition)
Nevertheless, the integration of immigrants into US society usually requires more than one generation: children of immigrants regularly achieve higher standards in terms of educational qualifications, professional level and home ownership than their parents. [154] In Canada, immigration is the largest contributor to population growth.
Between 1970 and 2007, the number of first-generation immigrants living in the United States quadrupled from 9.6 million to 38.1 million residents. [9] [10] Census estimates show 45.3 million foreign born residents in the United States as of March 2018 and 45.4 million in September 2021, the lowest three-year increase in decades. [11]
This means that sociologists define people who move to (in the case of immigrants migrating to the United States) the United States from another society, as adults, as "first generation" immigrants, their American-born children as "second generation" immigrants, and their children in turn as "third generation" immigrants. [8]
In particular, children in immigrant families may have greater access to education and work opportunities. These, in turn, can help facilitate social mobility, raising the socioeconomic status of subsequent generations of immigrants relative to first generation immigrants (see Second generation immigrants in the United States).
Research finds that first generation immigrants from countries with less egalitarian gender cultures adopt gender values more similar to natives over time. [ 308 ] [ 309 ] According to one study, "this acculturation process is almost completed within one generational succession: The gender attitudes of second generation immigrants are difficult ...
First-generation Mexican immigrants to the United States were found to have lower incidences of mood disorders and substance use than their bicultural or subsequent generation counterparts. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] Similarly, immigrant youth in general are less likely to engage in risky behaviours and substance use, including alcohol and marijuana ...
In addition to first-generation immigrants whose permanent ineligibility for citizenship curtailed their civil and political rights, second-generation Asian Americans (who formally had birthright citizenship) continued to face segregation in schools, employment discrimination, and prohibitions on property and business ownership. [26]