Linking family ties and young adults' college attainment: Differences between immigrant and non-immigrant children

This study investigates how the association between family affective ties during adolescence and college completion differs for immigrant versus non-immigrant adult children. The children of immigrants inhabit family contexts unique to their immigrant status, ultimately shaping their socioeconomic integration into the United States. Family affective ties to parents may thus carry a different meaning for the children of immigrants by decelerating their integration or encouraging their entry into mainstream social institutions, including college completion. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), this study examines young adults' likelihood of completing college by parent-child affective ties using discrete-time event history models. Findings suggest that the children of immigrants diverge from the children of native-born parents once family affective ties are weak or negative, with immigrant youth demonstrating higher probability of completing college as emotional closeness decreases. Similarly, parental conflict also increased the likelihood of college completion for the children of immigrants compared to the children of native-born parents. In fact, the direction of the association between family affective ties and college completion was different across immigrant status. For the children of native-born parents, stronger parent-child relationships boosted the probability of acquiring a college degree, but the opposite was found for the children of immigrants. These results underscore the divergent patterns of affectual solidarity in tracing children of immigrants' education trajectory and integration into the host country.