Research Interests

• Race and Ethnicity: panethnicity, ethnic collective action and conflict, racial/ethnic identity
• Immigration: Asian Americans, civic and political incorporation of immigrants, immigrant and second-generation youth
• Social Stratification: occupational and residential segregation, labor market dynamics
• Social Psychology: identity processes, group processes

Current Research Projects

• "Asian American Panethnicity"
  This project explores how distinct ethnic groups in the post-Civil Rights era were able to come together to create a broader panethnic identity around which to organize.  Using Asian Americans as the main case, this research documents patterns of panethnicity over time and in different locations across the U.S.  It moves beyond the racialization hypothesis and draws upon theories of ethnic boundary formation to illuminate the conditions under which groups will cross ethnic boundaries to create new identities and solidarities.  Analyzing patterns of panethnic collective action, organizational formation, organizational coalitions, and intermarriage, this project forges new ground by developing a systematic understanding of group boundaries and change. 

• "The Civic and Political Incorporation of Immigrants in New Destinations" (with Kimberly Ebert)
  Funded by the Russell Sage Foundation, American Sociological Association, and National Science Foundation
  This project has two main goals: (1) to document the patterns and types of immigrant collective action in non-traditional and traditional destinations, and (2) to investigate how variation in contextual factors across metropolitan areas and their change over time influence the occurrence and rate of protest and civic events where immigrants are the main organizers and participants. The study is based on statistical analyses of an original data set documenting immigrant collective action constructed from English- and Spanish-language newspapers, and it will identify potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between context and immigrant adaptation. This research provide new insights on the civic and political integration of immigrants in the U.S. with an emphasis on  understanding of adaptation as a group or collective process.   See additional description at Russell Sage Foundation website: http://www.russellsage.org.
• "The Role of Community-Based Organizations in the Lives of Immigrant and Second-Generation Youth"
  Funded by the Scholars Award from the William T. Grant Foundation
  This multi-method study examines how and the extent to which neighborhood and community contexts - with a special focus on community-based organizations - facilitate the adaptation of immigrant and second-generation youth.  Using nationally-representative and regional data sets, this research will illuminate the the mechanisms through which immigrant and ethnic communities influence the educational competence, physical health, and emotional well-being of youth.  In later phases of the project, neighborhood sites will be chosen to study the processes and practices occurring within community-based organizations.  The project will provide a comprehensive understanding of youth adaptation outcomes and much needed information about how organizations within immigrant communities work, both of which can be used to develop effective programs and organizations to improve the lives of young people.  See the William T. Grant Foundation press release.

Selected Publications

• Okamoto, Dina and Rima Wilkes. 2008. "The Opportunities and Costs of Voice and Exit:  Modeling Ethnic Group Rebellion and Emigration."  Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 34(3): 347-369.
• Okamoto, Dina. 2007. "Marrying Out: A Boundary Approach to Understanding the Marital Integration of Asian Americans." Social Science Research 36(4): 1391-1414.
• Okamoto, Dina. 2006. "Institutional Panethnicity: Boundary Formation in Asian-American Organizing." Social Forces 85: 1-25.
• Okamoto, Dina. 2003. “Toward a Theory of Panethnicity: Explaining Asian American Collective Action.” American Sociological Review 68: 811-42.
• Okamoto, Dina and Lynn Smith-Lovin. 2001. “Changing the Subject: Gender, Status, and the Dynamics of Topic Change.” American Sociological Review 66: 852-73.
• Hechter, Michael and Dina Okamoto. 2001. “Political Consequences of Minority Group Formation.” Annual Review of Political Science 4: 189-215.
• Okamoto, Dina and Paula England. 1999. “Is There a Supply-Side to Occupational Sex Segregation?” Sociological Perspectives 42: 557-82.