Parenting in the second generation. The changing family figurations of descendants of Pakistani, Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil immigrants in Norway

Abstract

This study explores how second-generation parents in Norway manoeuvre generational and institutional relationships and what consequences this may have for participation in ethnicity-based networks and majority society. The context is an advanced welfare state in which ideals of dual-earner, gender-equal and child-centred families are facilitated through provisions of care for the youngest children. We argue that second-generation families are moving towards a nuclear family model in which the dyadic bond between parents and children takes centre stage, strengthening dependency on institutions and networks in majority society and redefining dependencies on extended family and ethnicity-based networks. The transformed family and generational figuration become a means through which parents negotiate a position as established in Norwegian majority communities. The study contributes by highlighting parenting as a lens through which generational transformations and minority/majority relationships can be analytically bridged and by showing the relevance of Elias’ figurational sociology for understanding social integration processes.