Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Family Resources for Promoting Positive Development Among Minority Children: European Perspectives

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook on Positive Development of Minority Children and Youth

  • 3871 Accesses

Abstract

The focus of this chapter is the role of family factors in fostering positive development among minority children in Europe. The historical overview highlights the heterogeneity among minority families in Europe, differences between indigenous minorities and immigrant minorities and related cross-country differences. The focus of the following sections is mainly on immigrant minority families. Current key research questions relate to families’ coping with challenges resulting from migration, cultural distance, and socio-economic strain. Empirical studies rely mainly on large representative surveys within one or across several European countries but also include some observational, qualitative, and intervention studies. The findings discussed in this chapter address changing family forms, point to strong family ties among immigrant families, provide evidence for the general benefits of parental involvement and care, and highlight the role of early daycare and parental involvement in children’s schooling. The chapter concludes with policy implications and directions for future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 229.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-1226_en.htm.

  2. 2.

    http://ec.europa.eu/justice/discrimination/roma/index_en.htm, accessed Jan. 12, 2015.

  3. 3.

    http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-371_en.htm, accessed Jan. 12, 2015.

  4. 4.

    http://www.eurominority.eu/version/eng/, accessed Jan. 12, 2105.

  5. 5.

    http://www.idescat.cat/dequavi/?TC=444&V0=15&V1=2, retrieved Jan. 15, 2015.

  6. 6.

    https://einleben-zweipaesse.de/, retrieved Jan. 15, 2015.

  7. 7.

    http://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Anlagen/DE/Downloads/Infothek/Statistik/Asyl/statistik-anlage-teil-4-aktuelle-zahlen-zu-asyl.pdf?__blob=publicationFile.

  8. 8.

    http://www.unicef.de/blob/56282/fa13c2eefcd41dfca5d89d44c72e72e3/fluechtlingskinder-in-deutschland-unicef-studie-2014-data.pdf, accessed August 12, 2015.

References

  • Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P. R. (2010). Research on divorce: Continuing trends and new developments. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 650–666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P. R., & Keith, B. (1991). Parental divorce and adult well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Mariage and the Family, 44, 73–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Van Ijzendoorn, M. H., & Juffer, F. (2003). Less is more: Meta-analyses of sensitivity and attachment interventions in early childhood. Psychological Bulletin, 129(2), 195.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bjørknes, R., Kjøbli, J., Manger, T., & Jakobsen, R. (2012). Parent training among ethnic minorities: Parenting practices as mediators of change in child conduct problems. Family Relations, 61(1), 101–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bohlin, G., Hagekull, B., & Rydell, A.-M. (2000). Attachment and social functioning: A longitudinal study from infancy to middle childhood. Social Development, 9(1), 24–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bornstein, M. H. (Ed.). (2002). Handbook of parenting. Volume 5: Practical issues in parenting. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bornstein, M. H., Deater-Deckard, K., & Lansford, J. (2007). Introduction. Immigrant families in contemporary society. In M. H. Bornstein, K. Deater-Deckard, & J. Lansford (Eds.), Immigrant families in contemporary society (pp. 1–6). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burger, K. (2010). How does early childhood care and education affect cognitive development? An international review of the effects of early interventions for children from different social backgrounds. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25(2), 140–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cabrera, N. J. (2013). Positive development of minority children. Society for Research in Child Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabrera, N. J., Beeghly, M., & Eisenberg, N. (2012). Positive development of minority children: Introduction to the special issue. Child Development Perspectives, 6(3), 207–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, W. A., Maccoby, E. E., Steinberg, L., Hetherington, E. M., & Bornstein, M. H. (2000). Contemporary research on parenting: The case for nature and nurture. American Psychologist, 55(2), 218.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conger, R. D., Conger, K. J., & Martin, M. J. (2010). Socioeconomic status, family processes, and individual development. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 685–704.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conger, K. J., Rueter, M. A., & Conger, R. D. (2000). The role of economic pressure in the lives of parents and their adolescents: The family stress model.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, C. R. (2011). Bridging multiple worlds: Cultures, Identities, and Pathways to College.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daglar, M., Melhuish, E., & Barnes, J. (2011). Parenting and preschool child behaviour among Turkish immigrant, migrant and non-migrant families. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 8(3), 261–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, P. T., Harold, G. T., Goeke-Morey, M. C., & Cummings, E. M. (2002). Child emotional security and interparental conflict. Boston, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Derluyn, I., Broekaert, E., & Schuyten, G. (2008). Emotional and behavioural problems in migrant adolescents in Belgium. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 17(1), 54–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dronkers, J., van der Velden, R., & Dunne, A. (2012). Why are migrant students better off in certain types of educational systems or schools than in others? European Educational Research Journal, 11(1), 11–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, G. J., & Magnuson, K. A. (2005). Can family socioeconomic resources account for racial and ethnic test score gaps? The Future of Children, 15(1), 35–54.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dykstra, P. A., & Fokkema, T. (2012). Norms of filial obligation in the Netherlands. Population-E, 67, 97–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dykstra, P. A., Broek, T. V. D., Mureşan, C., Hărăguş, M., Hărăguş, P.-T., Abramowska-Kmon, A., et al. (2013). Intergenerational linkages in families. Families and Societies Working Paper Series.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, N., Losoya, S., Fabes, R. A., Guthrie, I. K., Reiser, M., Murphy, B., et al. (2001). Parental socialization of children’s dysregulated expression of emotion and externalizing problems. Journal of Family Psychology, 15(2), 183.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Emmen, R. A., Malda, M., Mesman, J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Prevoo, M. J., & Yeniad, N. (2013). Socioeconomic status and parenting in ethnic minority families: Testing a minority family stress model. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(6), 896.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. (2013). Council recommendation on effective Roma integration measures in the Member States. COM (2013) 460 final. Brussels, 26 June 2013. http://ec.europa.eu/justice/discrimination/files/com_2013_460_en.pdf. Accessed 12 Jan 2015.

  • Eurostat. (2015). Statistiken zu Eheschließungen und Scheidungen. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Marriage_and_divorce_statistics/de. Accessed 12 Aug 2015.

  • Extra, G., & Gorter, D. (2001). Comparative perspectives on regional and immigrant minority languages in multicultural Europe. In G. Extra & D. Gorter (Eds.), The other languages of Europe. Demographic, sociolinguistic and educational perspectives. (Multilingual matters 118) (pp. 1–44). Trowbridge‚ Wiltshire: Cromwell Press Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Extra, G., & Yağmur, K. (2011). Urban multilingualism in Europe: Mapping linguistic diversity in multicultural cities. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(5), 1173–1184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fazel, M., Reed, R. V., Panter-Brick, C., & Stein, A. (2012). Mental health of displaced an refugee children resettled in high-income countries: risk and protective factors. Lancet, 379, 266–282.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Flink, I. J., Jansen, P. W., Beirens, T. M., Tiemeier, H., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Jaddoe, V. W., et al. (2012). Differences in problem behaviour among ethnic minority and majority preschoolers in the Netherlands and the role of family functioning and parenting factors as mediators: The Generation R Study. BMC Public Health, 12(1), 1092.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grusec, J. E., & Davidov, M. (2010). Integrating different perspectives on socialization theory and research: A domain-specific approach. Child Development, 81(3), 687–709.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grych, J. H., & Fincham, F. D. (2001). Interparental conflict and child development: Theory, research, and applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Harkness, S., & Super, C. M. (2002). Culture and parenting. Handbook of Parenting, 2, 253–280.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hjern, A., Angel, B., & Höjer, B. (1991). Persecution and behavior: A report of refugee children from Chile. Child Abuse and Neglect, 15(3), 239–248.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hooghe, M., Trappers, A., Meuleman, B., & Reeskens, T. (2008). Migration to European countries: A structural explanation of patterns, 1980–20041. International Migration Review, 42(2), 476–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, D., Rodriguez, J., Smith, E. P., Johnson, D. J., Stevenson, H. C., & Spicer, P. (2006). Parents’ ethnic-racial socialization practices: A review of research and directions for future study. Developmental Psychology, 42(5), 747.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Idema, H., & Phalet, K. (2007). Transmission of gender-role values in Turkish-German migrant families: The role of gender, intergenerational and intercultural relations. Zeitschrift für Familienforschung. Journal of Family Research 19(1), 71–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iqbal, H. (2014). Multicultural parenting: Preparation for bias socialisation in British South Asian and White families in the UK. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 43, 215–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jäkel, J., Leyendecker, B., & Agache, A. (2015). Family and individual factors associated with Turkish immigrant and German children’s and adolescents’ mental health. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(4), 1097–1105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Javo, C., Rønning, J. A., Heyerdahl, S., & Rudmin, F. W. (2004). Parenting correlates of child behavior problems in a multiethnic community sample of preschool children in northern Norway. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 13(1), 8–18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kağıtçıbaşı, Ç. (2007). Family, self and human development across cultures. Theory and applications. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalmijn, M. (2010). Racial differences in the effects of parental divorce and separation on children: Generalizing the evidence to a European case. Social Science Research, 39(5), 845–856.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kao, G., & Tienda, M. (1995). Optimism and achievement: The Educational Performance of Immigrant Youth. Social Science Quarterly, 76(1), 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karlsen, S., & Nazroo, J. Y. (2002). Relation between racial discrimination, social class, and health among ethnic minority groups. American Journal of Public Health, 92(4), 624–631.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kohl, K., Jäkel, J., & Leyendecker, B. (2015). Schlüsselfaktor Elterliche Beteiligung: Warum Lehrkräfte türkischstämmige und deutsche Kinder aus belasteten Familien häufig als verhaltensauffällig einstufen (Parental involvement in school is the key to teacher judgments of Turkish immigrant and German children’s behavior problems). Zeitschrift für Familienforschung/Journal of Family Research (in press), 27(2), 193–207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kouider, E. B., Koglin, U., & Petermann, F. (2014). Emotional and behavioral problems in migrant children and adolescents in Europe: A systematic review. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 23(6), 373–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, M. E., & Sutton-Smith, B. (Eds.). (2014). Sibling relationships: Their nature and significance across the lifespan. New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lancee, B., & Dronkers, J. (2008). Ethnic diversity in neighborhoods and individual trust of immigrants and natives: A replication of Putnam (2007) in a West-European country. Paper presented at the international conference on theoretical perspectives on social cohesion and social capital, Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, Brussels.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, R. M., Almerigi, J. B., Theokas, C., & Lerner, J. V. (2005). Positive youth development. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(1), 10–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leyendecker, B. (2011). Children from immigrant families-adaptaion, development, and resilience. Current Trends in the Study of Migration in Europe. International Journal of Developmental Science, 5(1), 3–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leyendecker, B., Citlak, B., Schräpler, K., & Schölmerich, A. (2014). Bildungserwartungen beim Übergang in die Grundschule—Ein Vergleich von deutschen und zugewanderten Eltern. Zeitschrift für Familienforschung/Journal of Family Research, 26, 70–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leyendecker, B., Schölmerich, A., & Citlak, B. (2006). Similarities and differences between first-and second-generation Turkish migrant mothers in Germany: The acculturation gap. In M. H. Bornstein & L. Cote (Eds.), Acculturation and parent-child relationships: Measurement and development (pp. 297–315). Mahwah: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liefbroer, A. C., & Mulder, C. H. (2006). Family obligations. In P. A. Dykstra, M. Kalmijn, A. E. Komter, T. C. M. Knijn, A. C. Liefbroer, & C. H. Mulder (Eds.), Family solidarity in the Netherlands (pp. 123–146). Amsterdam: Dutch University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, N., Cook, K. S., & Burt, R. S. (2001). Social capital: Theory and research. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Margolin, G., Gordis, E. B., & John, R. S. (2001). Coparenting: A link between marital conflict and parenting in two-parent families. Journal of Family Psychology, 15(1), 3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maynard, M., & Harding, S. (2010). Perceived parenting and psychological well-being in UK ethnic minority adolescents. Child: Care, Health and Development, 36(5), 630–638.

    Google Scholar 

  • McHale, J. P., & Lindahl, K. M. (2011). Coparenting: A conceptual and clinical examination of family systems. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McLanahan, S., & Sandefur, G. (1994). Growing up in a single-parent family: What helps, what hurts. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNulty, T. L., & Bellair, P. E. (2003). Explaining racial and ethnic differences in adolescent violence: Structural disadvantage, family well-being, and social capital. Justice Quarterly, 20(1), 1–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mesman, J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. (2012). Unequal in opportunity, equal in process: Parental sensitivity promotes positive child development in ethnic minority families. Child Development Perspectives, 6(3), 239–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milewski, N., & Kulu, H. (2014). Mixed marriages in Germany: A high risk of divorce for immigrant-native couples. European Journal of Population, 30(1), 89–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molcho, M., Cristini, F., Nic Gabhainn, S., Santinello, M., Moreno, M., Gasper de Matos, M., et al. (2010). Health and well-being among child immigrants in Europe. Eurohealth, 16(1), 20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moscardino, U., Bertelli, C., & Altoè, G. (2011). Culture, migration, and parenting: A Comparative Study of mother-infant interaction and childrearing patterns in Romanian, Romanian Immigrant, and Italian Families. International Journal of Developmental Science, 5(1), 11–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nauck, B., & Lotter, V. (2015). Parenting styles and perceived instrumentality of schooling in native, Turkish, and Vietnamese families in Germany. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 18(14)‚ 845–869. doi:10.1007/s11618-015-0630-x

  • Nauck, B., & Lotter, V. (2016). Bildungstransmission in Migrantenfamilien (Transmission of education in migrant families). In: C. Diehl‚ C. Hunkler‚ & C. Kristen (Eds.), Ethnische Ungleichheiten im Bildungsverlauf. Mechanismen, Befunde, Debatten (pp. 117–155). Wiesbaden: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ochieng, B. M. N. (2014). Minority Ethnic Adolescents' wellbeing: Child rearing practices and positive family influences. Health Education Journal, 73(3), 324–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. G. (2001). Legacies: The story of the immigrant second generation. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rumbaut, R. G. (1997). Ties that bind: Immigration and immigrant families. In: A. Booth, A. C. Crouter & N. S. Landale (Eds.), Immigration and the family: Research and policy on US immigrants (pp. 3–46). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schjerve, R. R., & Vetter, E. (2012). European multilingualism: current perspectives and challenges (Vol. 147). Clevedon: Multilingual matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spiegler, O., Leyendecker, B., & Kohl, K. (2015). Acculturation gaps between Immigrant Turkish Marriage Partners: Resource or source of distress? [Online first]. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 46(5), 667–683. doi:10.117/0022022115578686

  • Spiess, C. K., Büchel, F., & Wagner, G. G. (2003). Children’s school placement in Germany: Does Kindergarten attendance matter? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 18(2), 255–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sroufe, L. A., Egeland, B., Carlson, E. A., & Collins, W. A. (2007). The development of the person. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stams, G.-J. J., Juffer, F., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2002). Maternal sensitivity, infant attachment, and temperament in early childhood predict adjustment in middle childhood: The case of adopted children and their biologically unrelated parents. Developmental Psychology, 38(5), 806.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, G. L., Gonzalez, L. M., & Huq, N. (2012). Cultural stressors and the hopelessness model of depressive symptoms in Latino adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(10), 1339–1349.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinbach, A. (2013). Family structure and parent–child contact: A comparison of native and migrant families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75(5), 1114–1129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, G. W., & Vollebergh, W. A. (2008). Mental health in migrant children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(3), 276–294.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stuart, J., Ward, C., & Adam, Z. (2010). Current issues in the development and acculturation of Muslim youth in New Zealand. ISSBD Bulletin, 58, 9–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suárez-Orozco, C., & Suárez-Orozco, M. (2001). Children of immigrants. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan, G. G., Ray, M. P., & Cate, R. (1991). Migrant farm child abuse and neglect within an ecosystem framework. Family Relations, 40(1), 84–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vasileva, K. (2011). 6.5 % of the EU population are foreigners and 9.4 % are born abroad. Romania, 21(462), 462.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walper, S., & Grgic, M. (2013). Verhaltens-und Kompetenzentwicklung im Kontext der Familie. Zur relativen Bedeutung von sozialer Herkunft, elterlicher Erziehung und Aktivitäten in der Familie. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 16(3), 503–531.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willard, J., Agache, A., Jäkel, J., Glück, C., & Leyendecker, B. (2014). Family factors predicting vocabulary in Turkish as a heritage language. Applied Psycholinguistics, 36(4), 875–898. doi:10.1017/S0142716413000544

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wissenschaftlicher Beirat für Familienfragen. (2016). Familie und Migration. Kindheit mit Zuwanderungshintergrund. Wiesbaden: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woellert, F., & Klingholz, R. (2013). Neue Potenziale. Zur Lage der Integration in Deutschland. http://www.berlin-institut.org/publikationen/studien/neue-potenziale.html

  • Yagmur, S., Mesman, J., Malda, M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Ekmekci, H. (2014). Video-feedback intervention increases sensitive parenting in ethnic minority mothers: a randomized control trial. Attachment & Human Development, 16(4), 371–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yaman, A., Mesman, J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Linting, M. (2010). Parenting in an individualistic culture with a collectivistic cultural background: The case of Turkish immigrant families with toddlers in the Netherlands. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(5), 617–628.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Munich, Germany

    Sabine Walper

  2. Bochum, Germany

    Birgit Leyendecker

Authors
  1. Sabine Walper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Birgit Leyendecker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sabine Walper .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Natasha J. Cabrera

  2. Fakultät für Psychologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Birgit Leyendecker

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Editor(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Walper, S., Leyendecker, B. (2017). Family Resources for Promoting Positive Development Among Minority Children: European Perspectives. In: Cabrera, N., Leyendecker, B. (eds) Handbook on Positive Development of Minority Children and Youth. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43645-6_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation