Refugees’ occupational future time perspective: Implications for their integration in receiving countries

While refugees’ occupational integration is of interest for many receiving countries, refugees face multiple barriers in this process. The current research addresses psychological processes within refugees in response to their situation. Specifically, we proposed that experienced migration forcednes...

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Main Authors: Lena Niemann, Guido Hertel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-01-01
Series:Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666622723000527
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author Lena Niemann
Guido Hertel
author_facet Lena Niemann
Guido Hertel
author_sort Lena Niemann
collection DOAJ
description While refugees’ occupational integration is of interest for many receiving countries, refugees face multiple barriers in this process. The current research addresses psychological processes within refugees in response to their situation. Specifically, we proposed that experienced migration forcedness, as a key characteristic of refugee vs. non-refugee migration, restricts migrants’ perception of their occupational future time perspective (OFTP) in the receiving country. In turn, a limited OFTP should impair migrants’ occupational integration efforts. Moreover, we assumed that residence time in the receiving country moderates the relation between forcedness and OFTP, such that the relation is stronger in the beginning and weaker with increasing residence time. Preregistered hypotheses were tested in a cross-sectional study with online and paper-pencil surveys answered by N = 258 migrants in Germany. Contrary to expectations, results indicated no overall relation between migration forcedness and OFTP. However, the results confirmed the expected moderation by residence time. Moreover, results confirmed the expected relation between migrants’ OFTP and their occupational integration efforts, i.e., development of career-relevant skills and coworker relationships, work engagement, organizational commitment, and avoidance of underemployment. Finally, moderated mediation analyses confirmed migrants’ OFTP as a moderated mediator between migration forcedness and migrants’ occupational integration efforts. These results demonstrate that OFTP is a central process that affects the integration of refugees into receiving countries.
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spelling doaj.art-12ee3bb9ac494d05ab84d577dd9796222023-12-14T05:23:55ZengElsevierCurrent Research in Ecological and Social Psychology2666-62272023-01-015100139Refugees’ occupational future time perspective: Implications for their integration in receiving countriesLena Niemann0Guido Hertel1Corresponding authors at: Department of Psychology, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.; University of Münster, GermanyCorresponding authors at: Department of Psychology, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.; University of Münster, GermanyWhile refugees’ occupational integration is of interest for many receiving countries, refugees face multiple barriers in this process. The current research addresses psychological processes within refugees in response to their situation. Specifically, we proposed that experienced migration forcedness, as a key characteristic of refugee vs. non-refugee migration, restricts migrants’ perception of their occupational future time perspective (OFTP) in the receiving country. In turn, a limited OFTP should impair migrants’ occupational integration efforts. Moreover, we assumed that residence time in the receiving country moderates the relation between forcedness and OFTP, such that the relation is stronger in the beginning and weaker with increasing residence time. Preregistered hypotheses were tested in a cross-sectional study with online and paper-pencil surveys answered by N = 258 migrants in Germany. Contrary to expectations, results indicated no overall relation between migration forcedness and OFTP. However, the results confirmed the expected moderation by residence time. Moreover, results confirmed the expected relation between migrants’ OFTP and their occupational integration efforts, i.e., development of career-relevant skills and coworker relationships, work engagement, organizational commitment, and avoidance of underemployment. Finally, moderated mediation analyses confirmed migrants’ OFTP as a moderated mediator between migration forcedness and migrants’ occupational integration efforts. These results demonstrate that OFTP is a central process that affects the integration of refugees into receiving countries.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666622723000527Forced migrationRefugeesImmigrantsOccupational integrationOccupational future time perspectiveSocioemotional selectivity theory
spellingShingle Lena Niemann
Guido Hertel
Refugees’ occupational future time perspective: Implications for their integration in receiving countries
Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology
Forced migration
Refugees
Immigrants
Occupational integration
Occupational future time perspective
Socioemotional selectivity theory
title Refugees’ occupational future time perspective: Implications for their integration in receiving countries
title_full Refugees’ occupational future time perspective: Implications for their integration in receiving countries
title_fullStr Refugees’ occupational future time perspective: Implications for their integration in receiving countries
title_full_unstemmed Refugees’ occupational future time perspective: Implications for their integration in receiving countries
title_short Refugees’ occupational future time perspective: Implications for their integration in receiving countries
title_sort refugees occupational future time perspective implications for their integration in receiving countries
topic Forced migration
Refugees
Immigrants
Occupational integration
Occupational future time perspective
Socioemotional selectivity theory
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666622723000527
work_keys_str_mv AT lenaniemann refugeesoccupationalfuturetimeperspectiveimplicationsfortheirintegrationinreceivingcountries
AT guidohertel refugeesoccupationalfuturetimeperspectiveimplicationsfortheirintegrationinreceivingcountries