Lost in transition : what refugee post‐migration experiences tell us about processes of social identity change
Abstract
This paper presents findings based on over 40 hrs of rich, phenomenological narrative interview data in which five Syrian refugees describe their experiences of transitioning to a new life in Brazil. Using the Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC) as a framework for examining the relationship between a period of vulnerability, multiple social identities and wellbeing, interviews were combined with a “talking stones” technique. Key themes of identity “recovery” and “discovery” were consistent with the identity “gain” and “continuity” components of SIMIC. A theme of “adaptation” suggested that a process of continual identity construction and reconstruction is central to both outcomes. Further, themes relating to identity “constraint” suggests how some contexts can actively freeze identities, thus undermining agency and compromising wellbeing. The refugee stories analysed in this paper demonstrate how the SIMIC is a robust model for capturing many of the identity complexities within post‐migration life. Please refer to the supplementary material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.
Citation
Ballentyne , S , Drury , J , Barrett , E & Marsden , S 2021 , ' Lost in transition : what refugee post‐migration experiences tell us about processes of social identity change ' , Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology , vol. Early View . https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2532
Publication
Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1052-9284Type
Journal article
Rights
Coyright © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.