Detached Childhood: Overall Life Satisfaction among Child and Young-Adult Immigrants in Europe

Oriya Levy , Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The present study examines the overall life satisfaction (OLS) of immigrant children and young-adults in Europe. The research questions are: Are there disparities in life satisfaction between immigrant children and young adults from different continents on the one hand, and native children and young adults in thirty European countries, on the other. There has been very little research on this topic. Moreover, few, if any, previous studies have based their results on the children’s direct assessment of their OLS rather than external data or parents’ assessment about the feelings of their children. In addition, unlike previous analyses, my analysis includes a macro variable, which examines the extent to which native adults accept immigrants of different racial or ethnic backgrounds. The present study uses data from eight waves of the European Social Survey (ESS). I investigate disparities in life satisfaction between immigrant children and young adults from different continents on the one hand, and native children and young adults in thirty European countries, on the other. Major findings from a regression analysis show that life satisfaction is significantly lower among immigrant children and young adults than among natives; young-adult immigrants from Africa, followed by those from Asia, are the least satisfied with life; the level of discrimination, measured by the extent to which older native adults are sympathetic toward immigrants of different racial or ethnic backgrounds, is negatively associated with the life satisfaction of immigrant children and young adults.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session P1. Postercafe