Social networks and successful settlement of refugee youth: recent research findings Professor Jacques Poot National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis University of Waikato

Photo: Ethno-Demographic Diversity (EDD) Societal Impact and Opportunities (SIO) Institutional Implications and Responsiveness (IIR)

Successful (re)settlement: what do we know? A lot is known in a broader macro setting; some of this can be helpful for understanding refugee youth resettlement migration impact assessment  immigrant integration  immigrant youth integration

Examples of large research programmes that inform on immigrant integration European research: Aotearoa New Zealand research: Very comprehensive New Zealand study on refugee settlement: Searle, W. et al. (2012) New Land, New Life: Long-Term Settlement of Refugees in New Zealand. MBIE.

Some common themes in recent international literature on refugee resettlement Inadequate information and communication systems leads to wrong choices Huge diversity among refugees and refugee youth is often ignored Challenges of resettlement in provincial towns Mind-sets must change from a discourse on deficits and problems to one of opportunities and aspirations

Importance of social networks Social networks provide the infrastructure for social capital Social capital is formed by social networks which are created, maintained and used by the network participants in order to distribute norms, values, information and resources The relationship between social capital and online social networks is complex

Social capital stocks and flows Like other capital, social capital is a stock that can be invested in or that can depreciate (flow) Social capital is only measured indirectly from survey data. E.g. in NZ, Roskruge/Grimes/Poot defined: – Social Capital Stock: Feeling safe, not isolated, sufficient contact, trust in others etc. – Social Capital Flow/Investment: Participation in community activities, volunteering, etc. Social is usually considered to be community/city/region specific; cross-border linkages are referred to as relationship capital (McCann/Poot/Sanderson 2010)

A social network of one individual Source:

Bonding, bridging and linking Bonding is social capital building among individuals within a relatively closed network Bridging is social capital building among individuals that cuts across several networks Linking is social capital that results from people willing to link across different social layers or hierarchies; also interpreted as the individual negotiating with public institutions Links/edges/ties can be strong or weak

Refugee youth and social capital Migration and resettlement have a dramatic impact on a young refugee’s networks and therefore on social capital Social capital investment in the destination depends on the young refugee’s family situation (including socio-economic characteristics, culture, and years since arrival) and locational factors Bonding is often see as the means “to get by”, bridging “to get ahead”, while linking can facilitate integration but is not yet well understood All forms of social capital can be beneficial 10

Social capital and refugee resettlement Source: Ager A and Strang A (2008) Journal of Refugee Studies

Recent case studies on refugee youth and social capital from Australia and Canada Two fundamentally different approaches: (1) In depth ethnographic case studies (“Qual”) – Localised; relative small cost, small number of participants, qualitative, considerable depth of information – Australia: e.g. Santoro et al. (2013, 2016) – Canada: e.g. Edge et al. (2014) (2) Cross-sectional and longitudinal representative samples (“Quan”) – Nationwide, high cost, large number of participants, quantitative, narrower range of information – Australia, e.g. Correa-Velez et al. (2010, 2015) – Canada: e.g. Beiser et al. (2015)

“Qual” case study 1: Sudanese young people in rural Australia Study features: – Triggered by Australian governments’ policy of half of all resettlement to be in regional and rural areas – In-depth interviews (twice over six months) with eight Sudanese young people (4 females & 4 males), aged 13-17, in rural Australia; and with families and support workers Sources: Major J et al. (2013) in Australian and International Journal of Rural Education Santoro N & Wilkinson J (2016) in Ethnography and Education

“Qual” case study 1: Sudanese young people in rural Australia Study findings: – Importance of bonding social capital during resettlement periods for support, confidence and self-esteem – Success factors include: family, friends, church, sport, location and community – Parents and schools are instrumental in enabling the young people to build bridging social capital – However, rural schools are not adequately prepared and resourced – Agencies and volunteers enable linking social capital – Move from “deficit models of intervention” to developing strategies for empowerment of refugee communities

“Qual” case study 2: refugee youth in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Study features: – One third of all foreign born arrivals in Hamilton are refugees – Participant observation, focus groups and in-depth interviews at a downtown drop-in centre over two years from 2010 – Twenty-six youth (12 females & 14 males) aged from 12 countries of origin – Focus on physical and mental health: impact of resettlement and acculturation Source: Edge, S. (2014) in Social Science and Medicine

“Qual” case study 2: refugee youth in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Study findings: – “Good health” required A sense of belonging and positive identity Emotional wellbeing and ability to cope Supportive environments and relationships – All forms of social capital can facilitate better health outcomes – However, public expenditures focus on health services delivery and ‘the facilitating and informal settings” that may generate social capital are often under-funded or dismissed as non-essential

“Quan” case study 1: Longitudinal study of refugee youth in Melbourne, Australia Study features: – “Good Starts” study focus on subjective health and wellbeing – Longitudinal study of a cohort of 120 refugee youth (55 females & 65 males), aged 11-19, from 11 different countries, representing about 1/10 of the arrivals – Recruitment from English Language Schools (ELS); hence not random sample – Five waves of data collected between 2004 and 2013 Source: Correa-Velez I et al. (2010, 2015) Social Science & Medicine

“Quan” case study 1: Longitudinal study of refugee youth in Melbourne, Australia Study findings (5 interview waves over 8 years) – Statistically significant predictors of health status Previous schooling (+); Self-esteem (+); Moved house previous year (-); Supportive environment (+); Experienced discrimination (-) – Statistically significant predictors of happiness Stronger ethnic identity (+); Experienced discrimination (-) – Comparing interviews in early years with those after eight years, the negative impact of social exclusion remains – This points to an important role for diversity and social capital policies

“Quan” case study 2: Survey of immigrant and refugee youth in Canadian cities Study features: – Focus on the impact of cultural distance (CD) on mental health (emotional problems) – CD falls in two clusters: Large CD (“traditionalism”) versus small CD (“secularism”) – Data drawn from the first wave (2006) of the longitudinal New Canadian Child and Youth Study (NCCYS) – Sample of 2074 immigrant and refugee girls and boys, aged from 16 ethnicities in 6 cities Source: Beiser et al. (2015) International Journal of Intercultural Relations

“Quan” case study 2: Survey of immigrant and refugee youth in Canadian cities Study findings: – Large cultural distance does negatively impact on mental health (increases emotional problems) – This effect increases with length of residence in Canada – However, this impact of large CD can be offset by “well-functioning families with mentally healthy parents practicing good parenting skills” (p.42) – Bonding and bridging both matter: “Youth who adopted an integration approach combining own culture with Canadian values and attitudes had better health than youth pursuing assimilation, separation or marginalization” (p.42)

Where to from here with research on refugee youth? There are surprisingly few recent international studies that are methodologically strong and have clear external validity to the New Zealand case Future research should ideally be: – Multi-method and multi-disciplinary – Combine in-depth qualitative case studies with quantitative analysis of representative samples – Provide a longitudinal analysis (e.g. using IDI) – Evaluate specific policies and initiatives – Address ethical and methodological challenges of working with refugee-background young people (Block et al. 2012, Journal of Refugee Studies)

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