MIGRANT ADJUSTMENT IN TEHRAN, IRAN

The purpose of this study is to investigate the process of migrant adjustment in Tehran, Iran. Using socialization as a framework, several dimensions of adjustment were examined including occupational characteristics, quality of housing, and ownership of consumer goods. Adjustment was viewed as a socialization process in which the migrant's attainment of characteristics similar to those of the nonmigrant or native population of the city is a function of age at migration, duration of residence in the city, the socioeconomic status of the persons with whom the migrant has interaction, and the type of reference groups utilized by the migrant. This study was initiated because of the growing concern for rapid urban growth in developing countries. While much of the growth can be attributed to natural increase, rural-urban migration frequently accounts for as much as one-half of the total growth. This rapid increase in population has often strained the capacity of the city to provide the necessary jobs and services needed by its inhabitants and has resulted in underemployment, slums, and squatter settlements in some cities. Furthermore, migrants may be disproportionately concentrated in inferior jobs or housing. Tehran was selected as the site for this study because of the city's demographic characteristics which are similar to those of primate cities in other developing countries, yet, Iran has experienced rapid economic development within the last three decades. Therefore, Tehran is a somewhat unique site to study migrant adjustment. The data for this study were gathered by a multi-stage random sample survey of males between 20 and 44 years of age who were residents of the city. Approximately 600 interviews were completed during late summer and early fall of 1977 approximately one year prior to the Islamic Revolution. Although the focus of this study was not political in nature, it does provide some insights into the recent developments in Iran. The data include both cross-sectional and retrospective longitudinal data for migrants and natives of the city. Migrant adjustment was hypothesized to be inversely related to age at migration and positively related to duration of residence, respondent's age and education, socioeconomic status of socializing agents and large urban reference groups. Specific socializing agents included respondent's father, best friend, and a colleague who was employed at the same place as the respondent. The basic strategy for testing these hypotheses and assessing adjustment was to compare the characteristics of different types of migrants with those of natives. Recent migrants who had lived in the city less than five years were expected to be less similar to natives than long-term migrants who had lived in the city five or more years. Migrants who moved to the city as children were expected to resemble natives more closely than migrants who moved as adults. The migrants were also examined in more detail using age at migration and duration of residence as continuous independent variables. The analysis showed that migrants tended to have lower quality housing, fewer basic consumer goods, less income, less prestigious occupations, and higher frequencies of employment in temporary jobs. . . . (Author's abstract exceeds stipulated maximum length. Discontinued here with permission of school.) UMI