Model of Migrant Adaptation Through the Sports Community: The Case of North Caucasian Migrants in St. Petersburg
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2023.5.2415Keywords:
segmented assimilation theory, migration, subculture, high-performance sports, martial arts, Saint Petersburg, DagestanAbstract
The article discusses the adaptation of migrants to urban environment through the strength martial arts subculture. The theoretical framework of the analysis is based on the segmented assimilation theory that argues that the assimilation of migrants can occur both through the mainstream of the host society and its inherent sub- and countercultures. The authors study Dagestani migrants in St. Petersburg representing high-performance sports in various kinds of martial arts. In contrast to the classical segmented assimilation theory analysis, this article refers to the first-generation migrants. The study is conducted with qualitative sociological methods.
The analysis of migrants’ sports and post-competition careers demonstrates that inclusion in the force-centered culture allows athletes to pass the primary migration shock (the acute adaptation phase) more easily. However, various types of capital they have accumulated through sports are best converted into the continuation of a career in the sports related sphere, primarily coaching. However, a successful career requires appropriate education, abilities, and skills. Those who do not link a post-competitive career with sports in the absence of additional resources (in particular, family capital) mostly stay in low-resource social networks doing low-skilled labor and sometimes being involved in criminal milieu. Obtaining a good-quality higher education creates better preconditions for non-sports careers than participating in high-performance sports.
Acknowledgements. The article is based on results of research carried out at the Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy.
References
Брюсов Г.П. Сравнительный анализ состояния вольной борьбы в Северо-Кавказском федеральном округе // Ученые записки университета имени П.Ф. Лесгафта. 2012. № 4. C. 12—15. https://doi.org/10.5930/issn.1994-4683.2012.04.86.p12-15.
Bryusov G.P. (2012) Comparative Analysis of Free-Style Wrestling Condition in North-Caucasus Federal Region. Uchenye zapiski universiteta imeni P.F. Lesgafta. No. 4. P. 12—15. https://doi.org/10.5930/issn.1994-4683.2012.04.86.p12-15. (In Russ.)
Agergaard S., Ryba T. V. (2014) Migration and Career Transitions in Professional Sports: Transnational Athletic Careers in a Psychological and Sociological Perspective. Sociology of Sport Journal. Vol. 31. No. 2. P. 228—247. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2013-0031.
Alba R., Nee V. (2003) Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Asfari A., Askar A. (2020) Understanding Muslim Assimilation in America: An Exploratory Assessment of First & Second-Generation Muslims Using Segmented Assimilation Theory. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. Vol. 40. No. 2. P. 217—234. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602004.2020.1781467.
Battochio R.C., Schinke R.J., McGannon K.R., Tenenbaum G., Yukelson D., Crowder T. (2013) Understanding Immigrated Professional Athletes’ Support Networks During Post-Relocation Adaptation Through Media Data. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Vol. 11. No. 1. P. 101—116. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2013.748996.
Berry J.W. (2006) Contexts of Acculturation. In: Sam D. L., Berry J.W. (eds.) The Cambridge Handbook of Acculturation Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. P. 27—42. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511489891.006.
Berry J.W. (2019) Acculturation: A Personal Journey Across Cultures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108589666.
Bourdieu P. (1986) The Forms of Capital. In: Richardson J. (eds.) Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. Westport, CT: Greenwood. P. 241—258.
Clerge O. (2014) Balancing Stigma and Status: Racial and Class Identities Among Middle-Class Haitian Youth. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol. 37. No. 6. P. 958—977. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2012.748209.
Crosset T., Beal B. (1997) The Use of “Subculture” and “Subworld” in Ethnographic Works on Sport: A Discussion of Definitional Distinctions. Sociology of Sport Journal. Vol. 14. No. 1. P. 73—85. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.14.1.73.
Diaz C.J. (2020) Educational Expectations Among Immigrant Youth: Links to Segmented Assimilation and School Context. Social Currents. Vol. 7. No. 3. P. 252—278. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329496519900509.
Dong X. (2018) Capital in Transition: A Case Study of Migrant Children in China’s Martial Arts Schools. Asian Journal of Social Science. Vol. 46. No. 6. P. 706—724. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685314-04606005.
Donnelly P. (1985) Sport Subcultures. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. Vol. 13. No. 1. С. 539—578. https://doi.org/10.1249/00003677-198500130-00016.
Fuchs Ph.X., Doupona M., Varga K., Bon M., Cortis C., Fusco A., Castellani L., Niemisalo N., Hannola H., Giron P., Förster J., Capranica L., Wagner H. (2021) Multi-National Perceptions on Challenges, Opportunities, and Support Structures for Dual Career Migrations in European Student-Athletes. PLOS One. Vol. 16. No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253333.
Habecker S. (2017) Becoming African Americans: African Immigrant Youth in the United States and Hybrid Assimilation. Journal of Pan African Studies. Vol. 10. No. 1. P. 55—75.
Harris A.L. (2006) I (Don’t) Hate School: Revisiting Oppositional Culture Theory of Blacks’ Resistance to Schooling. Social Forces. Vol. 85. No. 2. P. 797—834. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2007.0006.
Karam R.A. (2020) Becoming American by Becoming Muslim: Strategic Assimilation Among Second-Generation Muslim American Parents. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol. 43. No. 2. P. 390—409. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2019.1578396.
Morela E., Elbe A.M., Theodorakis Y., Hatzigeorgiadis A. (2019) Sport Participation and Acculturative Stress of Young Migrants in Greece: The Role of Sport Motivational Environment. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. Vol. 71. P. 24—30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2019.04.003.
Morela E., Hatzigeorgiadis A., Sanchez X., Elbe A.M. (2016) Promoting Acculturation Through Sport: An Ethnic-Cultural Identity Approach. In: Raab M., Wylleman P., Seiler R., Elbe A.M., Hatzigeorgiadis A. (eds.) Sport and Exercise Psychology Research. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. P. 211—225. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803634-1.00010-8.
Murray C. (2012) Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960—2010. New York, NY: Crown Publishing Group.
Palumbo F., Fusco A., Cortis C., Capranica L. (2021) Student-Athlete Migration: A Systematic Literature Review. Human Movement. Vol. 22. No. 1. P. 80—91. https://doi.org/10.5114/hm.2021.99988.
Park R.E. (1952) Sociology, Community and Society. In: Park R. E. Human Communities. The City and Human Ecology. Glencoe, IL: Free Press. P. 178—209.
Portes A., Fernández-Kelly P., Haller W. (2005) Segmented Assimilation on the Ground: The New Second Generation in Early Adulthood. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol. 28. No. 6. P. 1000—1040. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870500224117.
Portes A., Zhou M. (1993) The New Second Generation: Segmented Assimilation and Its Variants. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Vol. 530. No. 1. P. 74—96. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716293530001006.
Ryba T.V., Aunola K., Kalaja S., Selänne H., Ronkainen N.J., Nurmi J.E. (2016) A New Perspective on Adolescent Athletes’ Transition into Upper Secondary School: A Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study Protocol. Cogent Psychology. Vol. 3. No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2016.1142412.
Ryba T.V., Elbe A.-M., Darpatova-Hruzewicz D. (2020) Development and First Application of the Athlete Adaptation Inventory: An Exploratory Study. Performance Enhancement & Health. Vol. 8. No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.peh.2020.100164.
Ryba T.V., Stambulova N.B., Ronkainen N.J. (2020) Transnational Athletic Career and Cultural Transition. In: Hackfort D., Schinke R. J. (eds.) The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Volume 2: Applied and Practical. London: Routledge. P. 671—681.
Sabirova G., Zinoviev A. (2016) Urban Local Sport Clubs, Migrant Children and Youth in Russia. Community Development Journal. Vol. 51. No. 4. P. 482—498. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsv045.
Schinke R.J., McGannon K.R., Battochio R.C., Wells G.D. (2013) Acculturation in Elite Sport: A Thematic Analysis of Immigrant Athletes and Coaches. Journal of Sports Sciences. Vol. 31. No. 15. P. 1676—1686. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2013.794949.
Silberman R., Alba R., Fournier I. (2007) Segmented Assimilation in France? Discrimination in the Labour Market Against the Second Generation. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol. 30. No. 1. P. 1—27. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870601006488.
Smith R., Spaaij R., McDonald B. (2019) Migrant Integration and Cultural Capital in the Context of Sport and Physical Activity: A Systematic Review. International Migration & Integration. Vol. 20. No. 3. P. 851—868. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-018-0634-5.
Stambulova N., Alfermann D., Statler T., Côté J. (2009) ISSP Position Stand: Career Development and Transitions of Athletes. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Vol. 7. No. 4. P. 395—412. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2009.9671916.
Stambulova N. (2016) Athletes’ Transitions in Sport and Life: Positioning New Research Trends Within the Existing System of Athlete Career Knowledge. In: Schinke R. J., McGannon K. R., Smith B. (eds.) Routledge International Handbook of Sport Psychology. London: Routledge. P. 519—535. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315777054-64.
Stambulova N., Ryba T. V., Henriksen K. (2021) Career Development and Transitions of Athletes: The International Society of Sport Psychology Position Stand Revisited. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Vol. 19. No. 4. P. 524—550. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2020.1737836.
Stepick A., Stepick C. D. (2010) The Complexities and Confusions of Segmented Assimilation. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol. 33. No. 7. P. 1149—1167. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419871003599518.
Ungruhe C., Agergaard S. (2021) Migrant Athletes and the Transformation of Physical Capital. Spatial and Temporal Dynamics in West African Footballers’ Approaches to Post-Careers. European Journal for Sport and Society. Vol. 18. No. 4. P. 347—364. https://doi.org/10.1080/16138171.2020.1863706.
Vermeulen H. (2010) Segmented Assimilation and Cross-National Comparative Research on the Integration of Immigrants and Their Children. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol. 33. No. 7. P. 1214—1230. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419871003615306.
Waldinger R., Feliciano C. (2004) Will the New Second Generation Experience ‘Downward Assimilation’? Segmented Assimilation Re-Assessed. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol. 27. No. 3. P. 376—402. https://doi.org/10.1080/01491987042000189196.
Weiss M.R. (eds.) (2004) Developmental Sport and Exercise Psychology: A Lifespan Perspective. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.
Wylleman P., Alfermann D., Lavallee D. (2004) Career Transitions in Sport: European Perspectives. Psychology of Sport and Exercise. Vol. 5. No. 1. P. 7—20. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1469-0292(02)00049-3.
Wylleman P., Lavallee D. (2004) A Developmental Perspective on Transitions Faced by Athletes. In: Weiss M. R. (eds.) Developmental Sport and Exercise Psychology: A Lifespan Perspective. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology. P. 503—524.
Wylleman P., Rosier N. (2016) Holistic Perspective on the Development of Elite Athletes. In: Raab M., Wylleman P., Seiler R., Elbe A. M., Hatzigeorgiadis A. (eds.) Sport and Exercise Psychology Research. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. P. 269—288. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803634-1.00013-3.
Xie Y., Greenman E. (2005) Segmented Assimilation Theory: A Reformulation and Empirical Test. Population Studies Center Research Report. No. 05—581. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.
Yinger J. M. (1960) Contraculture and Subculture. American Sociological Review. Vol. 25. No. 5. P. 625—635. https://doi.org/10.2307/2090136.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes Journal (Public Opinion Monitoring) ISSN 2219-5467
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
