Addressing social isolation and legal vulnerability: An integrated framework of displaced migrants' social psychological adaptation

The growing number of displacement and resettlement of asylum seekers throughout European countries calls into question how to facilitate their integration in the receiving societies. In this respect, social psychological investigations are very limited, and lag behind the wide societal resonance of the issue at stake. To fill this gap, the present project investigates how the transition period, before and after completion of the asylum procedure, shapes and orients the ability of displaced migrants to face the many challenges they encounter during the resettlement. We argue that limited opportunities of contacts due to forced isolation within asylum accommodation centers, as well as lack of legal recognition of refugee status act as contextual stressors depriving fundamental needs and motivations, that in turn jeopardize the social psychological adaptation of displaced migrants. Altogether, this research program gives prominence to an integrated framework of displaced migrants’ social psychological adaptation. By focusing on forced isolation and legal vulnerability as contextual stressors after arrival, we shift focus from individual dispositions to the role of social environment, thereby advancing current understandings of acculturation and social inclusion. The collaboration with institutional actors guarantees high relevance and impact of results in terms of policy recommendations.