Immigrant Generation, Race, and Socioeconomic Outcomes of Mothers in Urban Cities: Who Fares Better?

Immigrants living in the United States tend to exhibit racially stratified outcomes, with greater socioeconomic disadvantage experienced by immigrants of color. However, few comparative studies have examined this relationship among multiple generations of immigrant women. This study compared first-, second-, and third-plus-generation immigrant mothers on seven socioeconomic outcomes. Data came from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Our sample consisted of 4056 first-, second-, and third-plus-generation immigrant mothers living in U.S. urban cities. Logistic, ordinal logistic, and linear regression analyses were conducted to predict socioeconomic outcomes. Among immigrants of color, increased generation status was associated with worse socioeconomic outcomes. Among White immigrants, generation status was largely unassociated with socioeconomic outcomes. Results underscore the need for increasing support for immigrants and their posterity. Further research is warranted investigating mechanisms that lead to racially stratified disadvantages as immigrant generation increases.