Abstract
Social bond theory suggests that strong bonds to school influence better outcomes on measures of educational progress and success. However, we know little about the relationship between social bonding to school and educational attainment for the children of Asian American immigrants or how this relationship varies by sex/gender and immigrant generation. We examine how five types of social bonding (attachment, commitment, belief, and academic and sports involvement) influence the educational attainment of female and male children of Asian American immigrants. Drawing from national survey data, our results suggest that strong social bonds to school have the potential to explain sex/gender and immigrant generation distinctions associated with educational attainment for the children of Asian American immigrants; however, the possibility to form such bonds, as well as the strength of their positive effects, vary by sex/gender and immigrant generation. The implications of the relationships between social bonds and educational attainment across immigrant generations and by sex/gender for Asian Americans are discussed more generally.
Received April 27, 2020, Accepted for publication September 21, 2020, Published October 8, 2020
