Migration, Medical Care Preferences and the Lay Referral System: A Network Theory of Role Assimilation

Abstract

This paper documents a recurring but often overlooked pattern in adult socialization and proposes the mechanism that produces this regularity in role assimilation. Three broad stages (Expectancy, Disillusionment and Reconciliation) produce a curvilinear pattern over time in the adoption of ideal-typical role attitudes, beliefs and values. The migration of individuals to and from urban areas and their medical care preferences provide a unique case for the illustration of two crucial, organizational elements of the socialization process: context and networks. Data from Taiwan (1970, N= 618) indicate that for both in-migrants and out-migrants, preferences for western as opposed to indigenous medical care parallel proposed changes in initiate networks. The pattern is neither smooth nor unidimensional nor the same between contexts. Additional analyses that incorporate Granovetter's (1973) strength of weak ties idea are consistent with the network explanation. The concluding discussion focuses on factors that might influence the duration of and fluctuation between socialization stages.