Study title

The main objective of the SIMCUR research project is to uncover the processes underlying developmental resilience in children from immigrant families during the transitions to primary and secondary education in three European countries. These processes are examined at the levels of the individual, the family, the school, and the community. By comparing children in Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway, the study also elucidates the impact of broader societal influences. In a longitudinal cohort design based on the two school transitions, we studied 880 migrant families with origins in Turkey allowing across- country comparisons. Mastering major educational transitions is a critical indicator of social integration and is related to individual psychosocial adaptation. For the primary school transition, 364 children from Turkish migrant families (cohort 1) were assessed at ages 5, 6, and 7 in the three participating countries. For the secondary school transition, we assessed 256 children in a second cohort of children at ages 12, 13, and 14. Because this transition takes place earlier in Germany, this country had an extra cohort of 147 children assessed at ages 9, 10, and 11. At each assessment, variables from all levels of functioning are measured using multiple methods (behavioral observation, interviews, tests, and surveys), obtained from multiple sources (mothers, fathers and children). Parents 1. Mother questionnaire: Category 1: Background Family situation: relation to the child / father; caregiver; number of children, marital status; health; education, work and economic situation: years of schooling, ISCED; gainful employment; working hours; total income; neighborhood: managing to make it (length of residence), NICHD (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development); Collective Efficacy Scale; activities at home: literacy and media at home; language use in reading and watching TV; language: language proficiency Turkish and majority language;...