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Immigrant Adaptation, Poverty and the Family: New Arrivals in Hong Kong from Mainland China

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Abstract

This essay puts forth 19 postulates of a theoretical framework as a conceptual attempt to probe the social and economic adaptation of new mainland China immigrant families in Hong Kong. The framework focuses on differential pathways to an “upward spiral,” enabling intra- and intergenerational mobility among some immigrant families on the one hand, and to a “downward spiral,” a reproduction and institutionalization of poverty among other immigrant families on the other hand. The essay posits that the central differentiating factor that separates the two types of families is the extent to which the husband/father manages to flexibly redefine and enact his roles in his relations with his wife, son, daughter, and his own parents.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chan Institute of Social Studies (CISS), Hong Kong, China

    Chan Kwok-bun

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  1. Chan Kwok-bun
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Correspondence to Chan Kwok-bun .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Chan Institute of Social Sciences, Flat H, 15/f Century Indus Bldg, Tsing Yeung Street 1, Tuen Mun, Tsing Yeun, Hong Kong SAR

    Chan Kwok-bun

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Kwok-bun, C. (2013). Immigrant Adaptation, Poverty and the Family: New Arrivals in Hong Kong from Mainland China. In: Kwok-bun, C. (eds) International Handbook of Chinese Families. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0266-4_36

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