Sinus migrant milieus

The Sinus migrant milieus are the result of empirical studies of the migrant population in Germany, which were carried out in 2008 and 2018 (2018 on behalf of the vhw - Federal Association for Housing and Urban Development eV ) by the market and social research company Sinus Institute . The aim of the studies was to generate knowledge about the sensitivities, orientations and perspectives of people with a migration background .

The central finding of the studies from 2008 and 2018 is that the migrant population in Germany - not unlike the autochthonous population - has a large variety of attitudes and ways of life; People with a migration background cannot therefore be seen as a homogeneous population group. The migrant milieus differ less in terms of ethnic origin than in terms of their values ​​and lifestyles. People from the same milieu, but with different ethnicity, religion or immigration history, have more in common with one another than with the rest of their compatriots from other milieus. It is therefore not possible to draw conclusions from the culture of origin to the milieu - and vice versa.

groups

The Sinus migrant milieus group people who are similar in their outlook and way of life (cf. Lebenswelt ). The milieu is divided along two dimensions: “social situation” (low, medium, high) and “basic orientation” (“tradition”, “modernization” and “reorientation”). Fundamental value orientations are taken into account as well as everyday attitudes (to work, family, leisure, consumption, media, etc.). Sociodemographic variables (age, gender, education, income, etc.) serve to describe the migrant milieu in more detail.

The current Sinus migrant milieu model for Germany consists of these ten groups (as of 2018):

Sinus migrant milieu model for Germany 2018 . The Sinus migrant milieus group people in groups of like-minded people along two dimensions (social situation and normative basic orientation). The higher a milieu is located in this graph, the higher the education, income and professional position; the further to the right it is positioned, the more modern value orientations and lifestyles are. The overlapping of the “potatoes” indicates that the transitions between the milieus are fluid.

Sinus migrant milieus

Sinus migrant milieus	Brief description	Population share (in%)
Status-conscious milieu	A career-oriented milieu with traditional roots that aims to achieve material prosperity and social recognition through performance and determination without giving up its references to the culture of origin	12% (approx. 1.8 million)
Traditional working class environment	The established traditional milieu of migrant workers and ethnic German repatriates who strive for material security and recognition, which has adapted and maintains its (family) traditions of the country of origin without offending	10% (approx. 1.5 million)
Religious- rooted milieu	The archaic, patriarchal, socially and culturally isolated milieu, stuck in the premodern patterns and religious traditions of the region of origin, with clear tendencies towards retreat and isolation	6% (approx. 0.9 million)
Precarious milieu	The lower class striving for orientation, home / identity and participation with strong fears for the future, resentment and an often fatalistic attitude towards life that feels excluded and disadvantaged	7% (approx. 1.1 million)
Consumption- Hedonistic milieu	The young, leisure-oriented lower class milieu with a deficient identity and underdog awareness, looking for fun, entertainment and consumption, which refuses the performance and adjustment expectations of the majority society	8% (approx. 1.2 million)
Bourgeois center	The middle of the migrant population who is willing to perform and adapt, identifies with the conditions in the host country, strives for social acceptance and belonging and wants to live harmoniously and securely	11% (approx. 1.7 million)
Adaptive- Pragmatic milieu	The optimistic, performance and family-oriented young mainstream with a joy in technical progress, pragmatic-realistic definition of goals and a high willingness to adapt	11% (approx. 1.7 million)
Experimentalist nice milieu	The individualistic milieu of the fun and scene-oriented nonconformists with a pronounced joy in experimentation, distance from the mainstream and focus on life in the here and now	10% (approx. 1.5 million)
The milieu of the performers	The single-minded, multi-optional, globally thinking future optimists with a high affinity for technology and IT, great self-confidence and high style and consumer demands	10% (approx. 1.5 million)
Intellectually- Cosmopolitan milieu	The successful, enlightened educated elite with a liberal and post-material attitude, a multicultural self-image and diverse intellectual interests	13% (approx. 2.0 million)

background

Migrant milieu research is about establishing everyday consciousness, i.e. H. to explore the subjective perspective of people with a migration background in relation to society (Germany, country of origin) as well as in relation to themselves (cultural, social, ethnic identity), to understand the different living environments in order to identify typical patterns based on this and to quantitatively to measure and model representative.

In 2008, the Sinus Institute transferred milieu research to the population with an immigration history for the first time . Instead of just recording the socio-economic situation, the phase of life or national origin, as was customary up to then, additional basic values, attitude patterns and specific needs in everyday life of this section of the population were systematically determined. As a result of the analysis, u. a. Groups with similar life-world patterns and attitudes are represented as (migrant) milieus. The first migrant milieu survey made it clear that the worlds of life override ethnic origin or religious affiliation. The interest in the first migrant milieu model was great, as was the influence on social research.

In 2018, in view of the increased dynamic of immigration, it made sense to update the model of migrant living environments and basic orientations from 2008. The following developments were decisive for the update: quantitative increase and changes in the social and structural composition of the population with a migration background, functional integration progress and socio-structural changes in this part of the population, contemporary developments since the study in 2008 ( refugee crisis , right-wing populism , NSU , everyday experiences of the population with a migration background ( Integration , discrimination , racism ), etc.).

theory

In the social sciences, milieus are understood as groups of like-minded people with similar basic values ​​and principles of lifestyle, which are characterized by increased internal communication and demarcation from other groups. The model of social milieus serves to expand the traditional division of society on the basis of socio-demographic characteristics such as age, education or income, as these have increasingly lost explanatory power and clarity due to social development (see changing values ). In contrast to lifestyles with their sometimes only short-lived preferences (e.g. fashion), social milieus are characterized by comparatively stable values.

The Sinus migrant milieus is based on the sociological approach of the horizontal differentiation of social classes  (cf. Sinus Milieus ). The result is the identification and description of different milieus, their goals in life, values, lifestyles and levels of integration.

The migrant milieus are not delimited according to ethnicity or religion, but in relation to their basic orientations and their social status. The milieu approach thus claims to depict the social reality of the migrant population more precisely than purely socio-demographic characteristics such as ethnicity, education or income can.

methodology

The milieus are modeled in practice through non-directive explorations of the world in the context of narrative interviews in which the interviewees present all areas of life that are relevant from their perspective. By deriving cross-case categories, an initially hypothetical milieu model is formed that summarizes people who are similar in their value priorities and their basic attitude and way of life. This is followed by the quantitative review and representative generalization of the model - alternating between theory and empirical evidence:

• The hypothetical starting model is modeled quantitatively.
• Inconsistencies between theory and empirical evidence lead to a revision of the hypothetical model.
• The revised model is re-modeled quantitatively, etc.

This iterative process is carried out until the theoretical model can be verified quantitatively to a sufficient extent.

Qualitative lead study 2016

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In order to gain new insights into the everyday reality of people with a migrant background and to be able to generate current insights about their values, life goals, wishes and future expectations , a qualitative lead study was carried out first.

In doing so, non-directive narrative interviews were used, which leave the respondents room for self-description and enable them to express their opinions, attitudes and perceptions in their natural everyday language.

The survey carried out is based on 160 narrative interviews lasting several hours. The main topics of the study were the cultural identity and social integration of the respondents. Of particular interest was the “lifeworld direction” that the various migrant milieus have taken since 2008, the time of the last basic study: Which groups are gradually being absorbed in the host society? In which groups do you see disappointment and resignation due to a lack of integration progress?

Quantification 2017/18

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In the next research step , a nationwide representative study was carried out with 2,053 face-to-face interviews. The population was people with a migration background and resident in Germany aged 15 and over. The interviewees were selected according to quota characteristics. The region of origin, age, gender, level of education and length of stay in Germany were primarily taken into account. The aim was a quota sample that was representative of the population.

Based on the quantification, the migrant milieus were re-modeled. The result is the identification of ten different milieus, their goals in life, values, lifestyles and levels of integration.

Another result of the representative study can be summarized as follows: The dynamics in the living environment of migrants in Germany is characterized by two opposing developments: on the one hand, convergence in the middle and in the modern milieus, i. H. The autochthonous and migrant populations differ less and less from one another. On the other hand, there is divergence - combined with integration deficits - in parts of the traditional and the lower-class milieus. Overall, the willingness to adapt culturally and to integrate in Germany is very pronounced in large parts of the migrant population. It is found more frequently in the socio-culturally modern worlds, but also in the middle classes. In the modern segment of the migrant population, a bi-cultural self-awareness is the norm, in the middle many even tend to a post-integrative perspective, i.e. This means that they no longer see themselves as a migrant, but as a natural member of local society. The feeling of closeness to Germans is correspondingly greatest in the modern and middle segment.

In a third project phase, the newly determined migrant milieus was then transferred to the area on the basis of microgeographic analyzes - in order to find out how they are distributed in the various urban and rural regions in Germany ( Sinus migrant geo milieus ) .

application

The Sinus migrant milieus are used in a variety of ways, e.g. B. in the areas of education, mobility, urban development or (direct) marketing. The vhw - Federal Association for Housing and Urban Development eV . For example, it uses the migrant milieu for questions in the socio-spatial context of housing and urban development, in particular in the form of a micro-geographical transfer into space ( sinus-geo-migrant milieu ). The migrant milieus thus contribute to improving communicative and participatory access or to creating differentiated local needs analyzes.

Web links

• Migrant Milieu Survey 2018
• Information on the Sinus migrant milieus on the website of the SINUS Institute

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bernd Hallenberg: People with a history of immigration in Germany - vhw-Migrantenmilieu-Survey 2018 . In: vhw series of publications . No. 10 , p. 5 .
2. ^ Bernd Hallenberg, Rainer Dettmar, Jürgen Aring: Migrants, opinions, milieus. The vhw migrant survey 2018. Ed .: vhw - Federal Association for Housing and Urban Development eV Berlin, p. 14 ( vhw.de [PDF]).
3. ^ Bernd Hallenberg, Rainer Dettmar, Jürgen Aring: Migrants, opinions, milieus. The 2018 vhw migrant survey . In: vhw - Federal Association for Housing and Urban Development eV Berlin, p. 55 ( vhw.de [PDF]).
4. ↑ Carsten Wippermann, Berthold Bodo Flaig: Lebenswelten von Migrantinnen and Migranten. In: From Politics and Contemporary History (APuZ 5/2009). Federal Agency for Civic Education, accessed on September 4, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Bernd Hallenberg: Basic attitudes and lifestyles in the population with immigration history . In: vhw - Federal Association for Housing and Urban Development eV (Hrsg.): Vhw Forum Housing and Urban Development . tape 1 . Berlin 2017.
6. ↑ Heiner Barz: Educational barriers and further training needs of people with an immigrant background . In: Heiner Barz (ed.): Migration and education. Social science and integration policy perspectives . düsseldorf university press, Düsseldorf 2011, p. 91-110 .
7. ↑ Meral Cerci: The worlds and milieus of people with a migration background . In: Heiner Barz (ed.): Migration and education. Social science and integration policy perspectives . düsseldorf university press, Düsseldorf 2011, p. 25-42 .
8. ↑ Bernd Hallenberg: People with a history of immigration in Germany - vhw-Migrantenmilieu-Survey 2018 . In: vhw series of publications . tape 10 , p. 3 ff .
9. ↑ Bertram Barth, Berthold Bodo Flaig: What are Sinus Milieus? In: Peter Martin Thomas, Marc Calmbach (Ed.): Young life worlds. Perspectives for politics, education and society. Springer Spectrum, Berlin / Heidelberg 2012, p. 11-35 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-8274-2971-1_2 .
10. ↑ Bernd Hallenberg: People with a history of immigration in Germany - vhw-Migrantenmilieu-Survey 2018 . In: vhw series of publications . tape 10 , p. 7 .
11. ↑ Berthold Bodo Flaig, Bertram Barth: High utility value and diverse application: Origin and development of the information system Sinus-Milieus . In: Bertram Barth, Berthold Bodo Flaig, Norbert Schäuble, Manfred Tautscher (eds.): Practice of the Sinus Milieus. Present and future of a modern society and target group model . Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-658-19334-8 , pp. 3-22 .
12. ↑ Berthold Bodo Flaig, Bertram Barth: High utility value and diverse application: Origin and development of the information system Sinus-Milieus . In: Bertram Barth, Berthold Bodo Flaig, Norbert Schäuble, Manfred Tautscher (eds.): Practice of the Sinus Milieus. Present and future of a modern society and target group model . Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2018, p. 5 .
13. ↑ Berthold Bodo Flaig, Christoph Schleer: Migrantische Lebenswelten in Deutschland. Update of the model of the Sinus migrant milieus . In: Bertram Barth, Berthold Bodo Flaig, Norbert Schäuble, Manfred Tautscher (eds.): Practice of the Sinus Milieus. Present and future of a modern society and target group model . Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2018, p. 114 .
14. ^ Sinus-Geo-Milieus Migrants. Retrieved September 4, 2019 . 
15. ^ Integration Council of the City of Cologne, Intercultural Department of the City of Cologne (ed.): Cultural diversity of a city. The worlds and milieus of Cologne residents with a migration background. Cologne 2011.
16. ↑ Monika Scheidler, Claudia Hofrichter, Thomas Kiefer (eds.): Intercultural Catechesis. Challenges and suggestions for practice. German Catechist Association, Munich 2010.
17. ^ The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Department of Culture: From Cult to Culture. From the world to the way of life. Results of the representative study "Living worlds and milieus of people with a migration background in Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia" . Ed .: State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia. Düsseldorf 2010.
18. ↑ Heiner Barz, Kathrin Barth, Meral Cerci-Thoms, Zeynep Dereköy, Mareike Först, Thi Thao Le, Igor Mitchnik: Great variety, fewer opportunities. A study about the educational experiences and educational goals of people with a migration background in Germany. Ed .: Mercator Foundation, Vodafone Foundation Germany. Essen, Düsseldorf 2015.
19. ^ Bernd Hallenberg, Rainer Dettmar, Jürgen Aring: Migrants, opinions, milieus. The 2018 vhw migrant survey . Ed .: vhw - Federal Association for Housing and Urban Development eV Berlin, p. 8th f . ( vhw.de [PDF]).