Dimensions of Ethnic Assimilation: An Empirical Appraisal of Gordon's Typology

J. Allen Williams Jr., University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Suzanne T. Ortega, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Document Type Article

Published in SOCIAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY Volume 71, Number 4, December 1990. Copyright © 1990 by the University of Texas Press. Used by permission.

Abstract

Researchers often begin by acknowledging that ethnic assimilation is multidimensional, but rarely examine more than one type of assimilation. As a result, studies have used quite disparate indicators of assimilation and have yielded contradictory results. The authors of this study empirically test Milton Gordon's classic statement on the seven types of assimilation. Results of factor analysis indicate that Gordon's seven dimensions can be reduced to three-structural, cultural, and receptional.