| Maria Rendon
Harvard University
Transition out of school and into young adulthood: The role of neighborhoods on the educational and work outcomes of Mexican-origin youth
FINAL REPORT
This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth) to investigate whether or not neighborhood characteristics are associated with four interrelated outcomes in young adulthood: grade completion, likelihood of attaining a four-year college degree, likelihood of dropping out of high school, and the likelihood of being idle/disconnected. The study highlights the case of the Mexican-origin group, specifically the second-generation who is considered to be at-risk of experiencing an unsuccessful transition into adulthood. This study addresses two theoretical arguments about how neighborhoods influence outcomes for the Mexican-origin group. First, the segmented assimilation thesis argues that second-generation youth are most at-risk in the inner city where they are exposed to US-born minorities, such as Blacks. Second, other research suggests that the immigrant context is beneficial and has a positive impact on various life outcomes. Therefore, this study examines whether the proportion Blacks and the proportion immigrants in the neighborhood help explain education and work-related outcomes in young adulthood. Furthermore, this study tests whether or not the school context mediates these neighborhood effects. The results show that the most consistent significant neighborhood effect is the socioeconomic status of the neighborhood for the population as a whole. However, when I analyze the Mexican-origin group only, I find Black concentration in the neighborhood is associated with more grade completion and lower odds of being disconnected. Black concentration in the school is also associated with lower odds of being disconnected. These findings challenge the segmented assimilation thesis. I did not find that immigrant concentration in the neighborhood is significantly related to these outcomes. However, the proportion of Latinos in schools, specifically children of immigrants, was found to increase the odds of dropping out for the Mexican-origin group, on average. Yet, the data suggest that second-generation Mexicans are less at risk of dropping out in a school context with high levels of children of immigrants compared to schools with low levels of children of immigrants. The opposite appears to be true for third and first generation Mexicans.
Back to Funded Dissertation Grants Page |