Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper investigates the link between self-efficacy and positive affect among resettled refugees (N = 180). We hypothesised that self-efficacy would play a key role in improving refugee wellbeing. Research used mixed methods. Alongitudinal survey with three time points confirmed that higher levels of general self-efficacy were consistently associated with better positive affect at later time points. The reverse effects, from positive affect to later self-efficacy, were not significant. In addition, qualitative interviews with a subsample provide suggestions as to how self-efficacy of refugees might be improved: that is, by improving access to employment and language classes, by clarifying how British social and cultural systems work, including the practical information necessary to navigate daily life, and by providing more opportunities to increase social networks, all suggesting the necessity of a proactive role of the receiving society.
Highlights
Refugee resettlement is the transfer of refugees from a country in which they have sought protection to a third country which has agreed to accept them
The Research Assistants (RAs) had good connections among refugee communities and with organisations working with refugees in their city, who knew about this research project and put the RAs in touch with more refugees who had been resettled to the same location
The number of refugees who completed all three phases of quantitative data collection was 180 (64.3% of initial sample; 84 female, 96 male; the mean age was 37.2 years, with a range of 18-80). This final sample was rather heterogeneous, varying in country of origin (Ethiopia, 61; Iraq, 74; Democratic Republic of Congo, 28; Somalia, 17), location of resettlement in the UK (Greater Manchester, 108; Brighton and Hove, 32; Norwich, 23; Sheffield, 17), family situation, educational background (22% arrived with no education or only elementary, 40% secondary, 11% college, 22% university degree), and employment
Summary
Refugee resettlement is the transfer of refugees from a country in which they have sought protection to a third country which has agreed to accept them. Yang (2014) found that Hmong refugee adults living in the United States had less symptoms of anxiety and depression when they had higher self-efficacy All of these studies had cross-sectional designs, meaning that they all measured self-efficacy and (aspects of) wellbeing at a single point in time, which prevents any causal inferences. The limited previous research indicates that self-efficacy might enhance wellbeing of refugees, but the evidence is as yet fragmentary and open to alternative causal interpretation This highlights the need for a longitudinal study that can investigate the temporal direction of the relationship, with a sample that is more representative of refugees across the world. The current study aims to fill this gap by investigating longitudinally the link between self-efficacy and positive affect in the largest longitudinal research ever carried out among resettled refugees in the UK. We hypothesised that self-efficacy would be positively associated with positive affect over time
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