Heterogeneity or consistency across life domains? An analysis of disparities between second-generation migrants and the Swedish majority population

Migrant integration is theoretically conceived as a multidimensional process where integration in one life domain does not necessarily imply integration in another domain. An expanding literature analyses several aspects of the lives of migrants and their children. However, to date research has mainly assessed how attainment in one life domain influences attainment in another domain. This study analyses the extent to which attainment across multiple life domains–socioeconomic, social and residential–coincides among second-generation migrants. Using Swedish register data, we compare 10,450 children of migrants from six regions of origin, who were aged 30–40 in 2015, to individuals born in Sweden with two Swedish-born parents. Multigenerational linkages moreover allow us to control for parental socioeconomic status as well as residential characteristics when growing up. Our analyses reveal considerable disparities in social and residential outcomes between second-generation migrants and the Swedish majority group, as well as across origin groups. Differences in socioeconomic attainment are comparatively small once we account for parental characteristics and residential background. Second-generation Turkish and Middle Eastern migrants differ in terms of their social and residential outcomes when compared to the Swedish majority group, but have commensurate socioeconomic attainment. In contrast, we find overall consistency across domains for Polish, ex-Yugoslav and Latin American second-generation migrants. Our findings underline the importance of studying outcomes in multiple domains in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the life situation of second-generation migrants.