48 research outputs found

    Selves on the Move

    Get PDF

    Psychology and human mobility: Introduction to the special issue and ways forward

    Get PDF
    In this introduction to the special issue on psychology and human mobility, we begin by outlining the particularities of the European sociopolitical context to which the studies included in this special issue refer. We discuss internal European mobility, overseas migration to the European Union, the refugee ‘crisis’, and its sociopolitical implications for the European Union. Subsequently, we discuss the ways that the different studies relate to and extend existing literature to new directions, focusing on three different facets of immigration addressed by the studies: (a) the ideological resources used in discourse to achieve certain political ends in relation to immigration, (b) the ways that a dialogical engagement with the social other is established or blocked, and (c) the perspectives of mobile people themselves in experiencing different forms of immigration. As a conclusion, we argue that the studies contribute to the field of human mobility by offering a methodologically plural, processual, and critical analysis of immigration and by showing four different directions as ways to advance the field further. These are: (a) the importance of understanding processes rather than states in the study of immigration, (b) the value of studying discursive practices but also moving beyond discourse to achieve methodological pluralism, (c) the need to engage with multiple perspectives involved in immigration and to understand how they relate to each other, and (d) the need to problematize the taken-for-granted categories that researchers use in studying immigration (e.g., locals/migrants, us/them)

    “A Lesser of Two Evils”:Arguments Around Same-Sex Parenting Rights in University Students’ Discourse in the Republic of Cyprus

    Get PDF
    Introduction: While there is extensive quantitative research on factors related to support/opposition of attitudes towards same-sex parenting (SSP), relevant qualitative research is limited, despite the need to identify subtle and ambivalent forms of prejudice. In this study we examined ways that young people, university students at the Republic of Cyprus formulated favourable arguments that constructed only at first appearance supportive representations of SSP. Methods: Data were collected in 2021–2022, through 11 focus group discussions with undergraduate and graduate students (26 females and 16 males, 18–27 years old), of different fields of study. Following the principles of discursive/rhetorical analysis, we identified three argumentative lines, all of which included contrasts and comparisons. Results: The first argumentative line juxtaposed SSP to being raised in an orphanage, the second to irresponsible/disadvantaged (single) parenting and the third compared the upbringing of children in same-sex to that in heterosexual families. All arguments demonstrate a seemingly supportive stance towards SSP rights. Nevertheless, drawing on heteronormative norms, they construct SSP as “a lesser of two evils” and undermine seemingly positive attributes of same-sex families, through reference to children’s exposure to adverse societal reactions. Policy Implications: We discuss the implications of the findings for SSP social recognition and for sexual citizenship. We also discuss the implications of this approach for attitude research on the topic, underscoring the ideological implications of ‘attitudinal discourse’.</p

    Representations of Europe at Times of Massive Migration Movements:A Qualitative Analysis of Greek-Cypriot Newspapers During the 2015 Refugee Crisis

    Get PDF
    This paper presents a thematic analysis of a media criticism against the European Union (EU) during the so-called 2015 refugee crisis in one member-state, the Republic of Cyprus. Three inter-related negative representations of Europe were identified in the Greek-Cypriot newspapers studied at the time: inhuman Europe, fragmented Europe and Europe as perpetrator. All three represented Europe as unable or unwilling to deal with a crisis that Europe itself partly caused or reproduced. This media criticism focused on questioning Europe across pessimistic lines without offering or considering alternatives, thus served to reproduce the EU status quo. The paper discusses the implications of these findings in understanding the role of the media in the con-current skepticism towards EU in other member-states

    Symbolic universes between present and future of Europe:First results of the map of European societies' cultural milieu

    Get PDF
    This paper reports the framework, method and main findings of an analysis of cultural milieus in 4 European countries (Estonia, Greece, Italy, and UK). The analysis is based on a questionnaire applied to a sample built through a two-step procedure of post-hoc random selection from a broader dataset based on an online survey. Responses to the questionnaire were subjected to multidimensional analysis–a combination of Multiple Correspondence Analysis and Cluster Analysis. We identified 5 symbolic universes, that correspond to basic, embodied, affect-laden, generalized worldviews. People in this study see the world as either a) an ordered universe; b) a matter of interpersonal bond; c) a caring society; d) consisting of a niche of belongingness; e) a hostile place (others’ world). These symbolic universes were also interpreted as semiotic capital: they reflect the capacity of a place to foster social and civic development. Moreover, the distribution of the symbolic universes, and therefore social and civic engagement, is demonstrated to be variable across the 4 countries in the analysis. Finally, we develop a retrospective reconstruction of the distribution of symbolic universes as well as the interplay between their current state and past, present and future socio-institutional scenarios

    How does psychiatric diagnosis affect young people's self-concept and social identity? A systematic review and synthesis of the qualitative literature

    Get PDF
    Receiving a psychiatric diagnosis in childhood or adolescence can have numerous social, emotional and practical repercussions. Among the most important of these are the implications for a young person's self-concept and social identity. To ensure diagnoses are communicated and managed in a way that optimally benefits mental health trajectories, understanding young people's first-hand experience of living with a diagnosis is paramount. This systematic review collates, evaluates and synthesises the qualitative research that has explored how psychiatric diagnosis interacts with young people's self-concept and social identity. A search of 10 electronic databases identified 3892 citations, 38 of which met inclusion criteria. The 38 studies were generally evaluated as moderate-to-high quality research. Thematic synthesis of their findings highlighted the multifaceted ways diagnosis affects young people's self-concept and social identity. Diagnosis can sometimes threaten and devalue young people's self-concept, but can also facilitate self-understanding, self-legitimation and self-enhancement. A diagnosis can lead to social alienation, invalidation and stigmatisation, yet can also promote social identification and acceptance. Further research is needed to clarify which self and identity outcomes can be expected in a given set of circumstances, and to establish how self and identity effects interact with diagnoses’ other clinical, practical, social and emotional consequences.European Commission Horizon 202

    Using National History to Construct the Boundaries of Citizenship: An Analysis of Greek Citizens’ Discourse About Immigrants’ Rights

    No full text
    In this article we advance a qualitative approach to study the interconnection between representations of history and representations of citizenship. We argue that representations of the national past are important resources on which different constructions of citizenship are based. Our empirical context is the heated debate that emerged as a result of the announcement of new citizenship legislation in Greece. We used the online comments posted in the forum of the Ministry of Internal Affairs following the announcement of the legislation to study how national history was represented by Greek citizens and how these representations functioned to form different arguments regarding migrants’ citizenship rights. Our analysis identified 4 themes in representations of national history: continuity of the nation, idealization of the past, moral obligation toward the past, and homogeneity or heterogeneity of the nation. We show that these ideas largely sustain an exclusive, essentialist, ethnic conception of the nation as a distinct, homogeneous, and continuous entity of people sharing a common genetic heritage. More inclusive arguments were based on seemingly pluralistic ideas that implicitly entailed banal nationalist assumptions or assimilatory ideas toward migrant inclusion. We conclude that commentators’ historical representations inhibit critical understanding of the past and consequently of a more open and plural understanding of the future. Future research should focus on examining how formal and informal education may promote such representations and on the political implications of these for intergroup relations in multicultural contexts
    corecore