Where to (Next)? Experiences of Family and Childhood Migration and Migration Intentions in Adulthood.

Claudia Brunori , Centre D'Estudis Demogràfics, UAB
Louise Caron, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Sergi Vidal, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Individuals with a migration background display higher migration propensities than those without. On the one hand, having a migration background can facilitate migration through the intergenerational transmission of relevant resources, such as transnational networks, multilingualism and cultural identity. On the other, direct experience of migration, especially in childhood, can shape attitudes towards migration and prepare individuals for further migration. In this article, we study how migration background and migration experience interact in affecting migration intentions, distinguishing between return and onward migration. We use data from the French survey Trajectoires et Origines 2 to investigate differences in return and onward migration intentions by family migration background and personal experience of migration in childhood and in adulthood. Preliminary results show that second- and first-generation individuals are more likely to intend to migrate in future compared to 3+ or 2.5 generation individuals. However, the higher migration intentions of first- and second- generation individuals are mostly driven by return migration intentions, whereas 3+generation individuals have the highest share of onward migration intentions. Having experienced migration in childhood is associated with higher onward migration intentions across all groups except for the second generation. In the latter, childhood migration experience is associated with higher return migration intentions. In future developments of the article, we will look into mechanisms mediating these associations. This research enhances our comprehension of migration by adopting a perspective that regards migration as a recurring and self-reinforcing process throughout the life course and across generations.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session 6. Migration Momentum: Mapping Multigenerational Mobility