International Migration Review
Growing Up Disillusioned? Unmet Educational Expectations and Perceived Discrimination Among Minority Youth in Spain
2026-07-08
While research on the determinants of perceived discrimination among immigrants has rapidly increased in recent years, much of it focuses on adults, and far less is known about immigrant youth. This article addresses that gap by studying perceptions of discrimination among immigrant youth in Spain. We focus on the role of unmet educational expectations and parental background, as education and awareness play a key role in predicting discrimination perceptions among adults. We draw on a three-wave panel of respondents interviewed between the ages of 14 and 22. We find that unmet expectations — captured by the mismatch between adolescents’ expected and achieved educational levels — are not related to perceived discrimination. We also find little evidence that parental education is associated with their children's perceptions of discrimination. Instead, we find that parental experiences of discrimination largely shape their children's perceptions, highlighting a strong intergenerational transmission of perceptions of discrimination.