Immigrants In Finland Research Articles

Integrating Governmentality: Administrative Expectations for Immigrant Associations in Finland

From the first half of the 1990s, and especially after the accession to European Union in 1995, immigrant authorities and administration have emphasized the significance of immigrant associations in integration of immigrants in Finland. The purpose of the associations from the administrative perspective is to socialize and activate immigrant communities and individuals according to basic political rationalities, such as security of the society, happiness of the population and individuals, and cultural pluralism. On the one hand immigrant associations are technology through which integrative government of individuals and communities is implemented. On the other hand, associations themselves are governed through multiple techniques, mainly funding and registration. The author approaches this associational government of integration of immigrants with the “toolkit” applied from Foucauldian governmentality studies.

Are Finnish Police Racists? A Critical Analysis of Police Cadets' Attitudes towards African Immigrants in Finland

Although studies on police attitudes in Finland are quite scarce, the attempt to understand police cadets' attitudes has received even less empirical attention. It is generally assumed that police and ethnic minorities' relations brim with mutual suspicions. The empirical research literature supports this assumption that this relationship is filled with mutual misconceptions. Using a questionnaire, we tried to test these hypotheses through the responses of police cadets who had spent the mandatory 2.5 years of police cadet training in the Finnish Police School. This was in addition to a voluntary in-depth interview on a one-to-one basis. The questionnaire was introduced to two sets of graduating police cadet students in their classrooms. The questionnaire used contained a set of questions, which were used to extract information from the respondents in order to gain a broader understanding of police cadet attitudes towards their contacts with African immigrants in Finland. Using SPSS statistical analysis, the results suggest that there has been little contact between police cadets and African immigrants in Finland and, as a result, mutual suspicion is rife. In addition, the relationship between the police cadets and African immigrants is quite different across age, gender, education, and language skills of police cadets. In other words these variables operated in unexpected ways, which run directly counter to well-accepted assumptions regarding the police and African immigrants in Finland. These police cadets' views could offer us an important insight into the larger police force

Out of Unemployment? A Comparative Analysis of the Risks and Opportunities Longer-term Unemployed Immigrant Youth Face when Entering the Labour Market

Because of high unemployment rates among youth in Europe, comparative research has focused on identification of those risks and opportunities associated with the integration process from unemployment to work. The integration process of immigrant youth, however, received much less attention, despite their initially higher risk of unemployment than that for non-immigrant youth. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the exit from longer-term unemployment, with a focus on the integration into work of young immigrants in Finland, Sweden, France and Germany, countries that represent different welfare models and have different integration policies towards immigrants. The research is based on a European survey on youth unemployment with representative samples of longer-term unemployed young people in each of the studied countries. The results demonstrate that longer-term immigrant youth, compared with their non-immigrant counterparts, are less likely to find employment in Finland, face greater risks of mental health problems in Sweden and face increased risks of financial deprivation in France. In agreement with previous literature, these findings demonstrate that, with regard to expectations, the social democratic welfare states in particular have failed to promote the integration of longer-term unemployed young immigrants.

Perceived discrimination and well‐being: a victim study of different immigrant groups

AbstractIn this study, we compared perceived discrimination and its influence on psychological stress symptoms, and general health status in a nation‐wide probability sample of immigrants in Finland (N = 3595, 42% males, 58% females). The study represents an expansion of a previous work (Liebkind, K., & Jasinskaja‐Lahti, I. (2000a). Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 10, 1–16) by drawing on a representative sample of the adult immigrant population (age group 18–65), and by assessing not only perceived ethnic discrimination but also experiences of racist crimes. The results obtained regarding group differences in perceived discrimination were consistent with previous studies, with results from attitude surveys indicating the hierarchy among the host population regarding preferred immigrant groups, and with our predictions based on the length of residence, cultural distance and visibility of the different immigrant groups studied. Perceived racism and discrimination, especially everyday racism, was highly predictive of the psychological well‐being and general health status of the immigrants. The differences between grouping are discussed in the light of additional factors potentially mediating and moderating the effects of perceived discrimination on well‐being and general health. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Perceived Discrimination, Social Support Networks, and Psychological Well-being Among Three Immigrant Groups

The authors addressed the specific role of and contradictory results previously obtained regarding ethnic versus host support networks in influencing directly and/or buffering the impact of perceived discrimination on the well-being of immigrants. A nationwide adult probability sample ( N= 2,360) included Finnish repatriates and Russian and Estonian immigrants in Finland from Russia, Estonia, and other countries of the former Soviet Union. Perceived discrimination had a significant impact on psychological well-being. The results demonstrated the importance of distinguishing between available and activated social support. In the total sample, strong evidence was obtained for the direct and the buffering effect of host support networks on well-being. In addition, social support provided by ethnic networks abroad was generally beneficial for the psychological well-being of the immigrants. Under some conditions, ethnic support networks were also beneficial for psychological well-being.

Perceived ethnic discrimination at work and well-being of immigrants in Finland: The moderating role of employment status and work-specific group-level control beliefs

The study examined the role of work-specific group-level control beliefs in explaining the negative impact of unemployment and perceived discrimination in working life on psychological well-being and self-rated general health among immigrants. A nation-wide probability sample consisted of 1783 immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Russia and Estonia living in Finland. Domain-specific (work environment) perceived discrimination and group-level control beliefs were assessed. The group-level control beliefs reflected beliefs about the immigrants’ general ability to control their employment opportunities. The results revealed that perceived discrimination predicts negatively, whereas work-specific group-level control beliefs predict positively psychological well-being and self-rated general health among the immigrants studied. The moderating role of group-level control beliefs appeared in a three-way interaction with employment status and perceived discrimination. At particular risk for psychological symptomatology and lowered health status as a result of perceived discrimination were those immigrants who were personally unemployed but still believed in the efficacy of immigrants’ own skills and effort in acquiring employment. It is concluded that it is necessary to separately assess controllability appraisal on the one hand and intra-group variation in disadvantage on the other in order to better understand the relationship between perceived discrimination and well-being. The long-term consequences of unemployment, group-level control beliefs and perceived discrimination for the well-being of immigrants are discussed.

Membership Contests: Encountering Immigrant Youth in Finland

This article discusses different aspects of social and societal membership, when minority groups of young immigrants living in Finland are under consideration. During its history, Finland has mainly been a country of emigration. In the 1990s the direction of moving turned to the contrary and the amount of immigrants in Finland increased relatively quickly. Especially, young people now meet this new condition in their everyday surroundings: at school, in youth clubs, and so on. The article is based on results of a research project of several researchers and discusses the ideas of immigrants’ membership in the frames of everyday interaction, life course, positions among welfare structures, and hegemonic societal discourses. The concept of membership is used to cover these different stages of life and to bind together different studies behind this article. Young immigrants who live in current Finland are pioneers, who are forced to meet the confusion of the receiving culture. At the moment, young immigrants see anti-immigrant sentiments as self-evident and something they have to learn to live with. Their areas of membership are often guarded and limited, and it seems that a lot of anti-racist work is still needed in Finland.

Attitudes Towards Foreign-born Settlers: Finland in a Comparative Perspective

The present paper focuses on the Finnish attitudinal climate towards foreign-born settlers, i.e. immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers in a comparative perspective. Two theoretical approaches are tested: 1) the socio-economic explanation in which prejudice is seen as an outcome of the original majority population fearing a decline of their socio-economic position, and 2) a culturally oriented explanation which refers to fears concerning the possible negative cultural effects of immigration. Using survey data from the ? rst round of the European Social Survey (ESS) on Finland and 18 other countries, we ? nd that at the most general level, Finns do hold comparatively negative attitudes towards increasing the number of immigrants in Finland. However, as we turn to more speci? c items on economic and especially cultural threat, we ? nd that Finns are as tolerant or even more tolerant than other Europeans. Multivariate analyses show that both socio-economic factors and values, ideologies and religiosity may generate prejudice. The two theoretical approaches should, thus, not be taken as alternatives but rather as complementary theories.

Cracking monopoly: immigrants and employment in Finland

This paper examines unemployment among immigrants in Finland, and their difficulties in accessing the labour market. The study is based on qualitative data from interviews with immigrant jobseekers, and the findings of an exploratory questionnaire that was addressed to representatives of labour unions, employers, and employers' associations. Findings show that immigrant jobseekers consistently encounter blockage at the outer periphery of the labour market at the stage of first enquiries. Immigrant unemployment can be understood as an outcome of 'monopoly'-like mechanisms of exclusion, which are at present being formally articulated in the categorical distinction between jobseekers with an acceptable level of language skill and all those assumed to be deficient in this respect. While social citizenship brings immigrants fully into the citizenry, as members with developed monopoly rights to welfare, their relations to the labour market are precarious. Recent insertion into the secondary labour market carries the risk of segmentation in the future.

Cracking monopoly: Immigrants and employment in Finland

This paper examines unemployment among immigrants in Finland, and their difficulties in accessing the labour market. The study is based on qualitative data from interviews with immigrant jobseekers, and the findings of an exploratory questionnaire that was addressed to representatives of labour unions, employers, and employers' associations. Findings show that immigrant jobseekers consistently encounter blockage at the outer periphery of the labour market at the stage of first enquiries. Immigrant unemployment can be understood as an outcome of 'monopoly'-like mechanisms of exclusion, which are at present being formally articulated in the categorical distinction between jobseekers with an acceptable level of language skill and all those assumed to be deficient in this respect. While social citizenship brings immigrants fully into the citizenry, as members with developed monopoly rights to welfare, their relations to the labour market are precarious. Recent insertion into the secondary labour market carries the risk of segmentation in the future.

The influence of experiences of discrimination on psychological stress: a comparison of seven immigrant groups

The aim of this study was to compare experiences of discrimination and their influence on trust in authorities and psychological distress among immigrants in Finland. A sample of 1146 immigrants, aged between 20 and 36 and representing seven immigrant groups (Russians, Ingrian/Finnish returnees, Estonians, Somalis, Arabs, Vietnamese and Turks), answered a mailed questionnaire based on traditional acculturation research as well as victim research. In accordance with our expectations, discrimination experiences in various realms of life were highly predictive of the psychological well-being of all immigrants, as well as of lack of trust in the Finnish authorities. However, contrary to our hypotheses regarding the effects of visibility and cultural proximity, group differences in psychological distress did not correspond to the group differences observed in perceived discrimination. These results are discussed in the light of the opposing predictions concerning self-damage effects of discrimination, made by social identity theory on the one hand and the theory on self-protecting functions of external attributions (Crocker and Major, 1989) on the other. It is concluded that the low level of stress observed in the most visible and most culturally distant group, despite high levels of perceived discrimination, is better explained by the latter than the former. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The influence of experiences of discrimination on psychological stress: a comparison of seven immigrant groups

The aim of this study was to compare experiences of discrimination and their influence on trust in authorities and psychological distress among immigrants in Finland. A sample of 1146 immigrants, aged between 20 and 36 and representing seven immigrant groups (Russians, Ingrian/Finnish returnees, Estonians, Somalis, Arabs, Vietnamese and Turks), answered a mailed questionnaire based on traditional acculturation research as well as victim research. In accordance with our expectations, discrimination experiences in various realms of life were highly predictive of the psychological well-being of all immigrants, as well as of lack of trust in the Finnish authorities. However, contrary to our hypotheses regarding the effects of visibility and cultural proximity, group differences in psychological distress did not correspond to the group differences observed in perceived discrimination. These results are discussed in the light of the opposing predictions concerning self-damage effects of discrimination, made by social identity theory on the one hand and the theory on self-protecting functions of external attributions (Crocker and Major, 1989) on the other. It is concluded that the low level of stress observed in the most visible and most culturally distant group, despite high levels of perceived discrimination, is better explained by the latter than the former. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Travail et organisations

La mise en relation de deux ou plusieurs faits, ou séries de faits, ne constitue pas en soi une explication. Celle-ci ne prend naissance que quand la relation est elle-même définie de sorte que les termes soient réduits à l'unité d'un processus. Cette unité n'est jamais que celle d'un mode d'action. Mais elle peut être de deux types. L'histoire constitue des ensembles concrets, situés dans le temps et dans l'espace, des totalités singulières d'autant plus « solides » qu'elles lient plus directement des conduites ouvertes, collectives et organisées. L'unité provient ici du fait, admirablement analysé par Weber, qu'aucune conduite n'est — sauf cas exceptionnels — liée exclusivement à son objet. C'est parce qu'il n'existe pas de conduites purement économiques, politiques ou religieuses qu'une description organised est possible, conduisant l'histoire bien au-delà de son niveau événementiel et de son illusion de départ de reconstituer le passé, wie es geschehen ist, selon le mot de Ranke.