Coming of age in Germany among descendants of Turkish immigrants: A mixed-methods study based on the SOEP

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Olaf Groh-Samberg; Professor Dr. Martin Kroh, since 11/2015
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: from 2013 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 250506328

This research project is a follow-up to the DFG/ANR project 'Professional strategies and status passages of young adults with a migration background in France and Germany'. The aim of this project was to analyze young adults’ transitions into adulthood, in particular those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. For Germany, we were able to identify typical educational, employment, and family trajectories through longitudinal analysis of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) data. These trajectories will serve as the basis for guided qualitative interviews with long-time SOEP respondents of Turkish origin whose trajectories have been identified. The aim is to gain an interpretive understanding of these individuals' life courses as well as their handling with contextual factors. Four research questions form the core of this mixed-methods project: First, we will analyze typical stable and unstable trajectories in light of biographical decisions and strategies as well as significant turning points in the trajectories. Second, one aim is to analyze to what extent turning points can be identified in the quantitative panel data. Third, based on the results of the preceding project, we will identify the determinants of upward social mobility among the descendants of Turkish immigrants and the relevance of their migration biographies and orientations towards the country of immigration and/or country of parental origin for the different trajectories. This pioneer study will also make it possible to explore the survey methodological potentials and consequences of qualitative interviews with long-term respondents in panel surveys.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemalige Antragstellerin: Professorin Dr. Ingrid Tucci, until 11/2015