Psychologists pinpoint psychological factors of refugee integration

Due to border closures in the wake of the corona crisis, the arrival of refugees in Europe has temporarily dipped. However, worldwide numbers of refugees have surged, again, within a year, driven by violence, war, persecution, economic hardship, or climate change. In the foreseeable future, many refugees will not be able to return to their homes. The integration of refugees in receiving countries is the most promising and decent response to this situation. Yet, how such integration can be achieved remains an open issue and ongoing challenge. What are the potential barriers to integration among refugees and residents in receiving countries? How can the different needs, feelings, and concerns of these groups be balanced and conflicts be resolved? Psychologists at the University of Münster have developed a model of the psychological factors that are critical for successful integration of refugees. The model, running under the acronym PARI (Psychological Antecedents of Refugee Integration), takes into account the perspectives of both refugees and members of the receiving society.