‘We do things together':exploring a household perspective on early integration processes of recent refugees

People are not isolated, but embedded in ongoing social networks of which the household is a crucial one. Yet, integration trajectories and outcomes are often measured and evaluated on the individual level. To nuance previous research’ preoccupation with a somewhat disconnected individual, we explore a household perspective to better understand early integration trajectories. We depart from the idea that refugees regard their direct families extremely important in early settlement times and employ the notion of embeddedness and the Family Investment Model to guide this investigation. Based on qualitative work among recent Syrian refugees to the Netherlands, we showcase four particular stories that reveal that individual integration trajectories are (also) the product of the households in which these are embedded as individuals exchange integration goals among each other and view integration as a joint venture of all household members. A household perspective succeeds to uncover important mechanisms in integration processes, most notably the fact that the expectations and ambitions that refugees set for themselves and their families is an important driver of individual integration trajectories. We conclude that the integration of individuals needs to be considered more often in the context of households in order to better understand and support them.</p

National and transnational belonging among Turkish and Moroccan older migrants in the Netherlands: protective against loneliness?

This research investigates how a sense of belonging functions as protective mechanism against loneliness. Inspired by the work of Berry (1980) on acculturation strategies (i.e. integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization), we distinguish migrants who feel a relatively strong or weak sense of belonging to larger society and those who feel a strong or weak belonging to the “own group.” We expect that more national belonging contributes to less loneliness. We add a transnational perspective by arguing that feelings of belonging to the own group can take place in the country of settlement, but can also be transnational, i.e. a feeling of belonging to the country of origin. Transnational belonging can protect against loneliness, as it acknowledges the importance of place attachment. Using data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam on older migrants aged 55–66, we employ latent class analysis and find five national belonging clusters, interpretable in terms of Berry’s acculturation strategies. Further analyses reveal mixed evidence: some aspects of transnational belonging vary with belonging to the own group, but other aspects point to a third dimension of belonging. Regression analysis shows that those marginalized are loneliest and that a transnational sense of belonging contributes to more loneliness. We conclude that Berry’s (1980) typology is useful for interpreting older migrants’ national belonging and that a transnational sense of belonging is apparent among older migrants, but needs to be explored further

Comparing generations of migrants’ transnational behaviour: the role of the transnational convoy and integration

This paper compares generations (G1, G1.5, G2, G3) of male Turkish migrants to Europe in their transnational behaviours: contact frequency, visits, remittances, property ownership and voting. We aim to explain differences by generational differences in transnational convoy size and integration into residence countries. Data from 798 members of migrant families were obtained from 2000 Families. Generations differ in visiting, remitting, property ownership and voting, but not in contact frequency. Using regression analysis, the transnational convoy cannot explain transnational behaviours. Structural and socio-cultural integration impact various transnational behaviours within generations. Generally, waning of transnational ties across generations cannot be attributed to differences in transnational ties or integration. We add to knowledge on generational differences in transnational behaviour until the third generation and on determinants of transnational behaviour, but conclude that the field of transnational studies is in need of further refinement of operationalization and theory to understand generational differences in transnational behaviour

‘We love it here and there’ : Turkish Alevi older migrants’ belonging to places

This paper investigates belonging among Turkish Alevi older migrants during their stays in the origin country. The few studies that cover belonging among older migrants primarily examined belonging within the confines of host countries. As substantial amounts of time are spent in origin countries, migrants’ life worlds are thus only partially studied. Furthermore, the importance of context for belonging is thereby insufficiently acknowledged. Antonsich’s (2010) framework inspires this investigation, distinguishing place-belongingness and politics of belonging. Based on observations and 21 interviews with older Alevi migrants in Turkey, we show that the autobiographic story is particularly useful to study older migrants’ belonging, that minority identity shapes belonging, and that the location of the interview matters for the types of narratives collected. This study thereby adds to literature on belonging among older migrant populations, to understanding of the complementary nature of place-belongingness and politics of belonging, and to scholarly acknowledgement of the importance of context for belonging

Comparing generations of migrants’ transnational behaviour:the role of the transnational convoy and integration

This paper compares generations (G1, G1.5, G2, G3) of male Turkish migrants to Europe in their transnational behaviours: contact frequency, visits, remittances, property ownership and voting. We aim to explain differences by generational differences in transnational convoy size and integration into residence countries. Data from 798 members of migrant families were obtained from 2000 Families. Generations differ in visiting, remitting, property ownership and voting, but not in contact frequency. Using regression analysis, the transnational convoy cannot explain transnational behaviours. Structural and socio-cultural integration impact various transnational behaviours within generations. Generally, waning of transnational ties across generations cannot be attributed to differences in transnational ties or integration. We add to knowledge on generational differences in transnational behaviour until the third generation and on determinants of transnational behaviour, but conclude that the field of transnational studies is in need of further refinement of operationalization and theory to understand generational differences in transnational behaviour

Transnational aging among older Turkish and Moroccan migrants in the Netherlands: Determinants of transnational behavior and transnational belonging

This study investigates how resources and constraints (location of family, gender, income, cultural distance to society of settlement, and health) impact the experience of two interrelated dimensions of transnational aging: transnational behavior and transnational belonging. We specify transnational behavior by visitation of the country of origin and transnational belonging by emotional attachment to the country of origin and consideration of return migration. Data come from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam with interviews held between 2013 and 2014 with 264 Turkish migrants and 205 Moroccan migrants, aged 55–66. Regression analyses reveal that transnational belonging and behavior are explained by different factors. Family-in-laws’ location and gender only play a role in explaining transnational belonging, while cultural distance and self-rated health affect both dimensions, and subjective income only impacts transnational behavior. Results from the stratified analysis show that for Turkish migrants, family location, cultural distance, and health are important in considering return migration, whereas for Moroccan migrants, only cultural distance plays a role. We conclude that the distinction between transnational belonging and behavior is useful in understanding transnational aging and that our resources and constraints approach extends our view on older migrants