Safety Among Newly Resettled Refugees in the USA

Inclusive social norms and nationals' positive intergroup orientations toward refugees: The moderating role of initial prejudice and intergroup contact

Research on the interplay between inclusive norms and intergroup contact on improving intergroup orientations has yielded conflicting results, suggesting either that an experience of personal contact is necessary to have a positive effect of inclusive norms or that such personal experience is not always necessary. To clarify this issue, across four studies (N = 835), we investigated the influence of inclusive norms on positive intergroup orientations as a function of personal experiences of intergroup contact. Study 1 demonstrated that inclusive norms are more strongly correlated with experiences of personal contact with outgroups with whom opportunities of contact are more (i.e., immigrants) than less (i.e., refugees) frequent. Study 2 provided experimental evidence for this finding showing that inclusive norms increase prejudiced nationals' willingness to engage in future contact with immigrants but not with refugees, suggesting that conformity to inclusive norms depends on varying contact opportunities with the outgroups. Studies 3 and 4 confirmed that prejudiced nationals conformed to inclusive norms specifically when experienced positive contact with a refugee (experimentally induced with the imagined contact paradigm), compared with no contact (Study 3) or negative contact (Study 4). We discuss the implications of these findings for research on intergroup contact, social influence, and intergroup relations.

Cultivating Integration via Placemaking: an ArcGIS StoryMap and Inventory of Refugee-Centered Farming Organizations in the USA

This paper inventories the number, type, location, and characteristics of refugee resettlement agencies and refugee third sector organizations (RTSOs) in creating opportunities for placemaking and longer-term integration via refugee-centered farming programs in the USA. Using an ArcGIS StoryMap and accompanying database, we map how resettlement organizations engage in farming programs and provide insight into the various actors implementing refugee resettlement and integration policy in the USA, while also highlighting the role of place and placemaking in that process. Findings indicate that there are 40 total organizations involved in 30 states, with 100 farm sites scattered across 48 cities, primarily found in nontraditional sites of resettlement. Using Ager and Strang's (Journal of Refugee Studies, 21(2):166-191, 2008) integration model as a theoretical starting point, we use a two-cycle content analysis to illustrate that organizations have diverse goals focusing on employment, social connections, health, safety and security, and placemaking. Sponsored activities and community projects concentrate on workforce training and community-supported agriculture. This interactive visualization and analysis of existing programs nationwide allow the organizations involved, policymakers, scholars, and members of the public to explore the locations of programs with pertinent information about each organization. The research also illustrates that refugee-centered farming organizations should continue to emphasize their efforts on placemaking as a beneficial strategy for the longer-term integration of resettled refugees. Additionally, this research contributes to larger debates and theoretical understandings of longer-term integration by extending Ager and Strang's (Journal of Refugee Studies, 21(2):166-191, 2008) integration model and embedding place and placemaking as underpinning elements in the process.

"It Happened When I Was Connecting to the Community…": Multiple Pathways to Migrant (Non)Belonging in a New Destination Setting

Migrants' sense of belonging in their country and community of residence has direct effects on their health and wellbeing. A diverse set of case studies suggest that legal immigration status plays a primary role in shaping migrants' opportunities for and experiences of belonging. Few of these studies, though, have examined belonging for migrants with varied legal immigration statuses living in the same receiving context, limiting our understanding of if and how migrant status interacts with other factors to shape access to belonging for migrants settling in the same host community. To address this gap, we analyze 73 semi-structured interviews with migrants in Utah, USA, to investigate the process and experience of belonging for migrants across permanent, temporary, undocumented, and refugee statuses. While legal immigration status is an important factor shaping (non)belonging, it does not appear to function as a master status for migrant belonging. Rather, we find that legal immigration status works alongside a number of community-level factors-including cultural, social, linguistic, and racial/ethnic factors-to shape belonging for migrants of all immigration statuses. These non-legal, community-level factors emerged as critical features of (non)belonging for many migrants living in Utah. Our findings suggest that, although they cannot change federal immigration policies, local- and state-level governments and organizations can enhance migrants' access to belonging and wellbeing across many other dimensions.

Refugee Reception Re-examined: a Quantitative Study on the Impact of the Reception Period for Mental Health and Host Country Language Proficiency Among Syrian Refugees in the Netherlands

In many European countries, refugees spend their first period after arrival in the receiving country in reception centers. Though this reception period has been heavily criticized, especially in relation to mental health, few scholars examined its impact on refugee integration. Since host country language learning is the main focus for most recent arrivals, this study re-examines the impact of the (renewed) reception period on both refugee mental health and host country language proficiency. Using a unique dataset including 3209 Syrian permitholders in the Netherlands, we test a structural equation model to examine those relations directly and indirectly. Results partly replicate previous findings, showing the negative impact of the number of relocations on mental health as well as the negative impact of both length of stay and relocations on host country language proficiency. Nevertheless, we did not find support for a negative relationship between length of stay and mental health. Moreover, the image of the reception period is not as gloomy as before; activities asylum seekers can engage in during their stay is positively related to both mental health and host country language proficiency. The relationships between both relocations and activities and host country language proficiency can partially be explained by mental health. These results indicate that the reception period can be seen as both an obstacle and a facilitator. Since the context of reception is a post-migration stressor, these findings should inform receiving societies and inspire them to accommodate their refugee reception accordingly, ensuring a smooth(er) start for future refugees.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12134-021-00820-6.