Refugee resettlement, economic self-sufficiency, well-being and integration: A mixed method analysis

• In Event: Resettlement, Integration, and Labor Market Adaptation

Abstract

The United States has resettled 3.7 million refugees between 1975 and 2024 (Chishti et al., 2024), but their contexts of reception – that is, the policies, labor market, and racial/ethnic community in the location of their settlement (Portes & Zhou, 1993) – have changed over time. Yet, we know relatively little about how rapid and significant changes to U.S. refugee resettlement policies intersect with other aspects of post-migration ecologies to shape these outcomes, especially in states with comparatively small immigrant and refugee populations (Arar & Orücü, 2022). 

Drawing from the Annual Survey of Refugees (ASR) and an on-going research-practice partnership with the Missouri Office of Refugee Administration (MO-ORA), this mixed-methods study will examine: (1) the broad trends of economic self-sufficiency and well-being for refugees resettled from 2010-2022; (2) the specific trends of more recently-arrived Afghans and Ukrainians, in comparison to more established refugees from Iraq and Syria, refugee groups with different pre-and post-migration ecologies, i.e., levels of education, English language skills, and work experiences; and (3) the perspectives of Afghan and Ukrainian refugees currently residing in Missouri. While Missouri is a low-incident immigrant state with only about 5% total foreign-born residents (Migration Policy Institute, 2023), it is considered a new destination with a growing immigrant population.  

Descriptive statistics show heterogeneity across groups. Iraqi and Ukrainian refugees have relatively higher levels of university-level education, whereas Afghan and Syrian refugees show lower levels of higher education. Salvadoreans, on the other hand, are younger and more likely to be single and to have a female head of the house. Further, Salvadoreans have high labor force participation than other groups, and Syrians have the lowest. Similarly, less than 5% of Salvadoreans heads of households received cash assistance while over 50% of Syrian heads of households did in 2022. 

We examined the determinants of self-sufficiency, well-being and integration using a socio-ecological model (Linjean et al., 2025) where individual, household, community and systemic-level factors were included. We created indexes for these variables following Bayley et al. (2024). We found that education, English proficiency at time of arrival, and length of residence were positively associated with economic self-sufficiency, well-being, and integration. In contrast, being female was negatively associated across all indices compared with males. Household size was also negatively associated with economic self-sufficiency and well-being but positively associated with integration. In addition, country-specific analyses indicate that determinants vary across refugee-origin groups. For example, education and English proficiency are strongly associated with economic self-sufficiency among Afghan and Iraqi refugees, whereas education is more strongly associated with integration among Syrian refugees. Despite these differences, English proficiency consistently emerges as a positive determinant across countries, while female refugees exhibit lower levels of economic self-sufficiency and integration. 

To better understand the mechanisms through which the determinants of economic self-sufficiency, well-being and integration operate, we conducted seven focus groups in four different cities in Missouri. Data collection is complete, and the research team is analyzing data. Understanding key outcomes for resettled refugees is paramount to guarantee harmonious social interaction among citizens.

Author

• Irma Arteaga, University of Missouri-Columbia
  Presenting Author