Socio-Professional Trajectories of Refugees in France: The Nature of Loss and Psychological Capital

Abstract

This qualitative study aims to understand the socio-professional integration process of refugees from Afghanistan, Syria, Palestine, Russia, Rwanda, and Iran in France. Our findings suggest that refugees follow different socio-professional trajectories and adopt different acculturation strategies, depending on the nature of loss from which they suffer most and the amount of psychological capital they accumulate and deploy. We identified three socio-professional trajectories- ‘whatever it takes’, ‘entrepreneur’, and ‘stationary’. The nature of loss differs in each trajectory, between loss of citizenship privilege, loss of status, and loss of belongingness. Refugees adopt different acculturation strategies within these trajectories, respectively assimilation, integration, and marginalization/separation. Finally, psychological capital substantially helps refugees counterbalance their loss, adopt an acculturation strategy, and follow a socio-professional trajectory.