Child’s presence shapes immigrant women’s experiences of everyday intergroup contact

Abstract

Research on intergroup contact has considered how the occurrence and experience of contact is affected by ingroup members. Qualitative studies of contact in real-life settings have additionally highlighted how multiple actors can affect the manifestation of contact. This article shows how the presence of one’s child can shape immigrant mothers’ contact experiences in multi-ethnic neighbourhoods. Ten immigrant mothers living in Helsinki, Finland, were interviewed twice over a six-month period about their intergroup interactions in their locale. Using a thematic analysis, we identified three themes depicting immigrant mothers’ experiences of intergroup contacts in their child’s presence: i) feeling visible to others, ii) seeking harmonious contact, and iii) anticipating problems. The results illustrate how a child affords unique opportunities for an immigrant mother to engage in interethnic contact, but also brings distinctive threats. This suggests the need to further consider how different types of intragroup dynamics can shape intergroup contacts.

‘Hey, teach these kids to eat their own food!’: Institutional intergroup contact in immigrant mothers' talk

“…Being a mother often leads to changes in social relationships of a woman and increases the need for peer support and, therefore, this stage of life could also afford opportunities for intergroup contact among mothers in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods. When conducting an ethnography as a part of this project, however, we observed that intergroup contact among mothers was rare or described as improbable, and that in the absence of these peer contacts less optimal types of everyday contact became meaningful to many mothers with immigrant background (Paajanen et al, 2022, 2023; Riikonen et al, 2023). In the interviews, which we started at the same with ethnography, we aimed to investigate the everyday life and contacts by asking the respondents about their social relations (e.g., ‘Describe the friendships and relationships you have currently/you have had since the last interview’), everyday life in the neighbourhood (e.g., ‘How the ways and places of spending time have changed when your baby has grown?’), motherhood (e.g., ‘Where and how do you spend time with your child(ren) in the neighborhood?’), and diversity (e.g., ‘Have you got to know mothers from other cultures?’), but not specifically about their encounters with kindergarten and playground workers.…”

“…Although this has shown intergroup contact to be effective (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006), several authors have criticized traditional contact research for its distance from real‐life contacts that are embedded in their material and socio‐historical context (Dixon et al, 2005; McKeown & Dixon, 2017). Critical contact research has approached the problem by studying everyday intergroup contact in places where people actually spend time, showing that contact is often scarce, superficial, or even avoided (Alexander & Tredoux, 2010; Dixon & Durrheim, 2003; Paajanen, Seppälä, Stevenson, & Finell, 2022; Paajanen, Seppälä, Stevenson, Riikonen, & Finell, 2023).…”

Keeping Apart on the Playground: Construction of Informal Segregation on Public Playgrounds in Multiethnic Neighborhoods

“…A diverse neighborhood can provide a number of opportunities for inter- and intraethnic encounters for the parents of young children (e.g., Paajanen et al forthcoming; Schaeffer 2013; Wilson 2013). Such encounters can help immigrant mothers create positive relationships with majority group mothers, thus benefiting the integration of immigrant mothers and enhancing the social cohesion of the community (see Stevenson and Sagherian-Dickey 2016).…”

Who is expected to make contact? Interpretative repertoires related to an intergroup encounter between Finnish majority mothers and immigrant mothers

“…In Helsinki, intergroup contacts and friendships between Finnish majority mothers and immigrant mothers are quite rare (Paajanen, Seppälä, Stevenson, & Finell, 2022 ; Paajanen, Seppälä, Stevenson, Riikonen, & Finell, 2022 ). One way to better understand this phenomenon is to investigate whose actions are constructed as leading to contact or its avoidance.…”