SOEP Research: Migration and Integration

Post-Migration Stress Mediates Associations Between Potentially Traumatic Peri-Migration Experiences and Mental Health Among Middle Eastern Refugees in Germany

Background On their way to host countries, refugees are often exposed to severe adversity, including cumulative experiences of fraud, extortion, robbery, detention, and shipwrecks, as well as prolonged, life-threatening small boat crossings. However, little research has examined the long-term impact of such peri-migration stressors on subsequent stress and mental health after arrival. This study explored ...

Asylum Seekers and Host Country Mental Health: Evidence from Germany and Switzerland

Due to recent conflicts and humanitarian issues, millions of people have sought asylum in countries in Europe. The influx of asylum seekers has sparked debates about the impacts of such migratory flows on resident populations. We study how the recent migration of these forcibly displaced people into Europe affects the mental health of the receiving country residents in Switzerland and Germany. We exploit ...

Living Conditions and Participation of Ukrainian Refugees in Germany:: Findings from the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees ; Research Report 51

Health System Resilience in the Context of Forced Migration: A Qualitative Framework Analysis of Germany’s Crisis Responses in 2015 and 2020

BackgroundHealth system resilience, the ability of a health system to maintain its functions under stress, has received increasing attention in recent years. Shortcomings in health system resilience are often most visible in the most vulnerable settings, including the care for asylum seekers and refugees. We therefore examined how the German health system responded to challenges and uncertainties during ...

Primary Healthcare Models for Refugees Involving Nurses: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis

Introduction Primary healthcare (PHC) is key to addressing the health and social needs of refugees. Nurses are often part of multidisciplinary teams in PHC, but little is known about their roles and responsibilities in refugee healthcare. We aimed to synthesise the existing knowledge about models of care (MoC) for refugees in primary care settings which involve nursing professionals.Methods Systematic ...

The Impact of Private Hosting on the Integration of Ukrainian Refugees in Germany

Amid the Ukrainian displacement crisis, private hosting of refugees in Europe has surged, yet its impact on integration remains understudied. This research examines the short- to medium-term effects of private hosting on Ukrainian refugee integration in Germany. Using data from one of the largest non-profit platforms that matches private hosts with refugees, we compare the multidimensional integration ...

The Power of Stereotypes and how they influence labour market outcomes (with Susanne Veit and Johanna Hildebrandt)

In this paper, we draw on two key models of stereotyping, the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) and the Agency-Beliefs-Communion (ABC) to study whether stereotypes associated to ethnic minorities predict discrimination in hiring in the German labor market. In study 1, we examined the content of the stereotypes that Germans ascribe to 38 ethnic minorities, drawing on a large-scale online survey (N=2,3...

Occupational recognition of refugees: Effects on labor market outcomes, remittances, and life satisfaction (with Selina Gangl and Matthias Collischon)

Many high-income economies strive to integrate recently immigrated refugees and asylum-seekers into their labor markets. We contribute to the discussion of relevant policy tools and use rich survey data that are matched to precise administrative records on refugee immigrants to Germany. We study the impact of occupational recognition decisions on refugee outcomes. Applying a difference-in...

Why Do Migrants Stay Unexpectedly? Misperceptions and Implications for Integration

Empirical evidence suggests that the majority of immigrants who initially planned a temporary stay end up staying permanently in the host country. Since beliefs about the duration of stay are a strong determinant of integration, many long-term migrants may end up less than optimally integrated. We theoretically model migrants with potential misperceptions about their future utility and wage prospects ...

DECIPHE – Demographic Change and the Intergenerational Persistence in Homeownership in Europe

DECIPHE is the first project to comprehensively study whether and how profound demographic changes in Europe impact the intergenerational persistence of homeownership, considering variations across countries, regions, and birth cohorts. It adopts a life course framework on housing tenure, in which individuals’ homeownership is shaped by their household members’ preferences and resources and...