This is a research planning grant to develop a study of adaptation among adult children of Korean and Vietnamese immigrants. Most of the research on the post-1965 wave of immigrants has focused on first generation adults and, to a lesser degree, second generation adolescents. This study will examine adult children of immigrants between the ages of 18 and 24, as they can better inform us about long-term adaptation processes and outcomes, emerging ethnicities, and prospects for the future. As relatively new immigrant groups, Koreans and Vietnamese are of particular interest in understanding the process of ethnic self-identity and ethnic formation. The major aim of the full project is to develop theoretical models of the dynamic, multidimensional, and contradictory adaptation processes of the "new second generation," and to bring gender to the study of ethnicity and ethnic formation. The general research questions include (l) What are the dynamic adaptation process of adult children of Korean and Vietnamese immigrants? (2) What are their subjective experiences of managing different cultural worlds, including different gender expectations? (3) How must current theorizing be modified to capture the adaptation experiences of second generation Korean and Vietnamese Americans? (4) What kind of ethnic identities are emerging and how do they vary by gender? (5) How do adaptation processes affect family power dynamics, solidarity and conflicts in immigrant families? This study will rely on data from surveys and individual and focus group interviews. There are five goals of the research planning portion of this project. 1) Collect individual and focus group interview data to develop closed ended survey questions and interview guides. 2) Pretest the sampling techniques. 3) Pretest the survey. 4) Analyze pretest data and use findings to revise survey and interview guides. 5) Further develop the theoretical and conceptual framework. This research will contribute to social scientific understanding of immigration and cultural assimilation, a topic of great current interest for both scientists and policy makers. In addition to the scientific gains to be achieved by the research, this award will materially assist a promising early-career researcher to prepare for a larger project, thereby contributing to the strengthening of the national resource of scientists and engineers.
