Staniewicz, Teresa Agnes (2001) Ethnicity maintenance : its contingent nature and impact on health : case studies of second generation Poles in the West Midlands (UK) and South Michigan (US). PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES
My topic of research is a comparative study of ethnicity and (selected) health
patterns among second generation Poles (and to a lesser extent, first generation
Poles), looked at by means of two case studies, one in the UK and one in the
USA. I examine the level of ethnicity (cultural) maintenance in a white -
assumed assimilated - minority ethnic group in two specific geographic
locations and therefore the context specific nature of ethnicity maintenance.
I also examine whether it is possible to assess the impact of such maintenance on
their personal health, well-being, and quality of life.
METHODS
My research design includes a (smaller, post WWII) selection of first generation
UK and USA Polish respondents who act as point of reference, and allow me to
define within this study, the parameters of the cultural 'nuances' in question. My
design allows for the assessment of any evidence of ethnic self-identity and a
common sub-cultural identity, as well as any differences between the two groups
of respondents in relation to their respective degrees of co-operation, and
accommodation problems, with host groups.
The collection of data is operationalized via multiple methods, including
questionnaires. I employ the use of qualitative, quantitative, and ethnographic
elements, thus allowing for multidimensional analysis of selected issues.
Comparisons are made with extant data from both the host ( indigenous)
communities.
RESULTS/CONCLUSION
Empirical results bore out variations in the degree of maintained ethnic lifestyles,
across a range of social groups. Some of the differences can be explained by the
different environments (UK and USA), as well as the diasporic nature of the first
generation's immigration experiences. Qualitative and ethnographic evidence
was found to be crucial in explaining the various affective ethnic nuances that
quantitative methods are unable to reveal, such as the pervasive impact that the
first generation's diasporic experiences, as well as the nature of the Polish exiled
community, have had on the second generation, both in the UK and the USA,
and their respective qualities of life. This study has indicated that maintaining
one's ethnic roots can for these individuals be just as problematic, although in
differing ways, as for members of non-white ethnic minorities.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Polish people -- United States -- Michigan, Polish people -- England -- West Midlands, Polish people -- Ethnic identity, Polish people -- Health and hygiene
Official Date:	September 2001
Dates:	Date Event September 2001 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Sociology
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Clark, Judith ; Ratcliffe, Peter, 1948- ; Lampard, Richard
Sponsors:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC) (R0042943431)
Extent:	339, 27, [45] leaves
Language:	eng

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