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DESCRIPTION: The Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) was designed to study the adaptation process of the immigrant
second generation. The immigrant second generation is defined as U.S.-born children with at least one foreign-born parent
or children born abroad but brought at an early age to the United States . The sample includes second-generation children
attending public and private schools in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and San Diego , California . The immigrant groups most
largely represented include Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and West Indians in South Florida and Mexicans, Filipinos, Vietnamese,
Laotians, and Cambodians in California .
The initial interview was conducted in 1992, when the children were in 8th and 9th grades. This survey gathered baseline information
on immigrant families as well as children's demographic characteristics, language use, self-identities, and academic attainment. The
total sample size was 5,262. In 1995, a follow-up survey was conducted to examine the evolution of key adaptation outcomes
- including language knowledge and preferences; ethnic identity; self-esteem; and academic attainment - over the adolescent
years. The survey also sought to establish the proportion of second-generation youths who dropped out of school before graduation.
This follow-up survey retrieved 4,288 respondents or 81.5 percent of the original sample. These surveys were mostly conducted
via self-administration in schools.
In 1995, a random sample of parents was also interviewed. The purpose of this interview was to establish characteristics of
immigrant parents and families and their outlooks for the future - including aspirations and plans for the children. In total,
2,442 parents or 46 percent of the original student sample were interviewed. These interviews were conducted face-to-face
and were often administered in other languages.
A second follow-up interview with the children was just completed. The purpose of this interview was to investigate key factual
outcomes of the second generation adaptation process, including education, employment and occupational status, income, marital
status and ethnicity of spouse, delinquency and incarceration, civic and political participation, and ethnic and racial identities.
This follow-up survey succeeded in tracing and retrieving information from 3,564 respondents, representing 68 percent of the
original sample and 83 percent of the first follow-up. The average age of the respondents was 24.
CODEBOOKS: The codebook for the complete data file (that includes all three surveys) is available on the local area network
(T:\Public\Data\CILS). The codebooks do not include frequencies. The three questionnaires are also available on the local
area network, and may be more useful for identifying and understanding the questions that were asked. The documents are also
available on the CILS website ( http://cmd.princeton.edu/cils.shtml ).
DATA: The current data file includes the first two children interviews and the parent interview. The second follow-up data
have not yet been released. Data are available in SPSS and STATA format.
WEBLINKS: Additional information about the study is available at the CILS website ( http://cmd.princeton.edu/cils.shtml ).
UPCOMING RELEASES: The second follow-up interview - date unknown.
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