To access my concept map for Socio-Psychological Issues the Immigrants in Australia encounter please click on the link:
http://www.mindmeister.com/maps/show_public/2871888
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
We Will Be Remembered For This
This is a trailer for a short film We Will be Remembered for This about a small group who visit Woomera to talk to the people who have been detained there as 'illegal immigrants' I have actually seen the film but it looks really interesting, if anyone has seen it and has any feedback feel free to comment!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
What Kinds of Socio-Psychological Issues are Encountered by Immigrants in Australia?
Australia is known for being a multi-cultural country. Immigrants have been arriving in Australia since the British colonised the country in 1788 (Orb, 2002; Khakbaz, Gopalkrishnan & Babacan, 2004). Since 1945, around 6.5 million migrants have arrived in Australia and today, nearly one quarter of Australia’s people were born overseas (Khakbaz, Gopalkrishnan & Babacan). Yet despite this reputation of being a multi-cultural country, immigrants continue to face a number of socio-psychological factors when coming to and settling in Australia. These factors can be internal and directly related to the move to a new country and establishing a life in a new culture, as well as external and related to the people and culture of the new country, such as prejudice and racism. Whilst immigration has contributed in beneficial ways to Australia’s economy, social make up and population, immigrants continue to battle these difficult issues in their attempt to create a new life for themselves and their families.
Who are Immigrants in Australia?
Australia’s population in 2003 was made up of approximately 74% Anglo-Celtic, 19% European and 4.5% Asian individuals (Immigration Museum, 2003). Immigrants come to Australia from all over the world in a variety of ways including through the migration program which includes a skill migration stream, a family migration stream, special eligibility migrants and through the humanitarian program which is for refugees and people in special humanitarian need and as asylum seekers (Immigration Museum). It is important to differentiate between refugees, asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. A refugee is someone who has gained refugee status under United Nations criteria, whereas an asylum seeker is someone who is seeking protection within a country of refuge but has not yet been granted refugee status, asylum seekers are not illegal immigrants although they are referred to as ‘unauthorised arrivals’ by the Australian Federal Government (Immigration Museum). Illegal immigrants are those who are staying within Australia without valid immigration documents, who have overstayed their visas. The majority of illegal immigrants in Australia are individuals from the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States (Immigration Museum).
The Migration Process – Assimilation and Acculturation
Sayeght and Lasry (1993) report three stages of the migration process. The first is the decision to move from the primary area based on needs or wants and the second is the physical move itself. The third stage is the absorption of the immigrant into the cultural and social frameworks of the new society. The psychosocial changes of the third stage include learning new roles, adaptation of primary group values and participation in the main spheres of the new social system outside of the primary group. Assimilation and acculturation are both part of the third stage of migration. Assimilation is conformity with a country in which one lives. Through assimilation one becomes part of the new society and culture. There are four ways an immigrant can react to living in a new society (Jamil, Nassar-McMillan, & Lamber 2007; Sayeght and Lasry). The first is assimilation – the full adoption of the immigrant into the new society. The second is integration – the immigrant adopts new attitudes and behaviours that are compatible with their primary culture. The third is marginalization where the immigrant does not feel as though they identify with either culture. The final is ethnocentrism where the immigrant rejects everything from the new society and culture and overvalues everything associated with the primary culture. Acculturation is similar to assimilation but rather a bi-directional process. In acculturation there is an exchange between two cultural groups and an adaptation of value systems on both sides. Jamil, Nassar-McMillan and Lamber (2007) identify four stages of loss, transition and adaptation in acculturation. The first is joy and relief, the second is post decisional regret, the third is stress with attending to psychological symptoms and fourth acceptance, adjustment and reorganization. Some of the psychological symptoms can include post traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety (Jamil, Nassar-McMillan, & Lamber, 2007).
Prejudice, Stereotypes and Racism
Prejudice is a negative feeling towards a person because of their membership to a certain group (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). Racism in turn is prejudiced attitudes and actions towards a particular race (Baumeister & Bushman). Immigrants in Australia can face both prejudice and racism which are contributed to through stereotypes – beliefs that associate groups of people with certain traits (Baumeister & Bushman; Lui, 2004). Palmer (1996) reports that there was a strong link between the unemployment rate in Canada and opposition to immigration by Canadian citizens, which raises the possibility that people’s fears in relation to employment and economic stability may contribute to their attitudes towards immigration. He also reported that a number of Canadians felt that refugee claims tend to be fraudulent which places refugees into negative stereotypes and could, therefore lead to prejudice. Nikelly (1997) also discusses a xenophobic sentiment or perceived threat of immigrants to increases levels on unemployment, poverty, crime, welfare dependency and school drop out rates. When people perceive negative stereotypes to be true, whether it be through an individual or a group, prejudice often follows (Lui).
Isolation
The task of immigrating to another country and establishing a new life is a stressful process on its own. When combined with prejudice and racism which immigrants may face in their new country, it is possible to understand why many people struggle with the resettlement. Many immigrants prefer to maintain their culture and traditions by surrounding themselves with compatriots who will probably have a better understanding of the immigrant’s background and current situation (Nikelly, 1997). Unfortunately this can isolate immigrants more from their new community as well as possibly perpetuating stereotypes of different ethnic groups when they are viewed as living separately to mainstream citizens (Nikelly, 1997, Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006).
The Self and Cognitive Dissonance
The self is an essential part of all human beings (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008) and is made up of three main parts. Self-knowledge involves information and beliefs about oneself, self-awareness, self-esteem and self-deception (Baumeister & Bushman). The Interpersonal or public self helps connect individuals socially and involves self-presentation, group membership, relationship partner, social roles and reputations (Baumeister & Bushman). Finally, the agent self is responsible for decision-making and self-control (Baumeister & Bushman). Part of the self is developed through ethnic identity – an individual uses knowledge about, participation with and attachment to their ethnic group to develop the self through a sense of belonging and commitment to the ethnic group as well as shared values and attitudes (Lieber, Chin, Nihira & Mink, 2001). Immigration can challenge an individual’s ethnic identity as there is often a disparity between the original culture and that of the adopted country (Lieber, Chin, Nihira & Mink). Individuals may be confronted with conflicting values, customs and behaviours between their two countries which could lead to confusion in developing ethnic identity and self. This conflict could also contribute to higher levels of physical and mental health issues faced by immigrants (Nikelly, 1997). Cognitive dissonance theory proposes that inconsistencies between behaviours and attitudes lead to psychological discomfort, which in turn leads to individuals rationalizing or adapting their behaviours or attitudes to create psychological harmony (Baumeister & Bushman). The conflict between original country values and attitudes and those of the new country could create cognitive dissonance for immigrants in Australia when, for example, they hold a particular attitude from their original country but feel pressured to behave in a contrary way due to attitudes or traditions in Australia.
Other Social Factors
Employment, socio-economic status and language barriers can all contribute to problems faced by immigrants in Australia, and effect their mental well-being (Jamil, Nassar-McMillan, & Lamber, 2007; Khakbaz, Gopalkrishnan, & Babacan, 2004; Orb, 2002). Successful settlement of immigrants can involve establishing economic viability, social networks, housing and means of communicating with others (Khakbaz, Gopalkrishnan, & Babacan). An inability to communicate proficiently in English in Australia often means an individual will be unable to access necessary services including physical and mental health care (Khakbaz, Gopalkrishnan, & Babacan). Immigrants may have possessed higher qualifications and better jobs in their original country that they are unable to pursue in Australia due to language barriers which affects their socio-economic status even more, following the costly move to Australia. All of these factors may contribute to depression, anxiety and low self-esteem (Jamil, Nassar-McMillan, & Lamber; Nikelly, 1997).
Immigrants coming to Australia face a number of challenges, not only practicalities such as physically moving, financials costs and language barriers, but also socio-psychological factors. These factors stem from a variety of areas including prejudice and racism, isolation, conflict of ethnic identity, the self and cognitive dissonance and isolation. At the same time practical issues such as employment, language and socio-economic concerns can contribute to mental health problems for immigrants. On top of this, immigrants also have to deal with the psychological and emotional adjustment through assimilation and acculturation on arrival to their new country. As immigrants make up such a large percentage of Australia’s population and can contribute greatly to the nation, it is essential that government policies, organizational actions and individual attitudes and behaviours towards immigrants become a well-educated, positive format to create the best possible situation for all Australians.
Who are Immigrants in Australia?
Australia’s population in 2003 was made up of approximately 74% Anglo-Celtic, 19% European and 4.5% Asian individuals (Immigration Museum, 2003). Immigrants come to Australia from all over the world in a variety of ways including through the migration program which includes a skill migration stream, a family migration stream, special eligibility migrants and through the humanitarian program which is for refugees and people in special humanitarian need and as asylum seekers (Immigration Museum). It is important to differentiate between refugees, asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. A refugee is someone who has gained refugee status under United Nations criteria, whereas an asylum seeker is someone who is seeking protection within a country of refuge but has not yet been granted refugee status, asylum seekers are not illegal immigrants although they are referred to as ‘unauthorised arrivals’ by the Australian Federal Government (Immigration Museum). Illegal immigrants are those who are staying within Australia without valid immigration documents, who have overstayed their visas. The majority of illegal immigrants in Australia are individuals from the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States (Immigration Museum).
The Migration Process – Assimilation and Acculturation
Sayeght and Lasry (1993) report three stages of the migration process. The first is the decision to move from the primary area based on needs or wants and the second is the physical move itself. The third stage is the absorption of the immigrant into the cultural and social frameworks of the new society. The psychosocial changes of the third stage include learning new roles, adaptation of primary group values and participation in the main spheres of the new social system outside of the primary group. Assimilation and acculturation are both part of the third stage of migration. Assimilation is conformity with a country in which one lives. Through assimilation one becomes part of the new society and culture. There are four ways an immigrant can react to living in a new society (Jamil, Nassar-McMillan, & Lamber 2007; Sayeght and Lasry). The first is assimilation – the full adoption of the immigrant into the new society. The second is integration – the immigrant adopts new attitudes and behaviours that are compatible with their primary culture. The third is marginalization where the immigrant does not feel as though they identify with either culture. The final is ethnocentrism where the immigrant rejects everything from the new society and culture and overvalues everything associated with the primary culture. Acculturation is similar to assimilation but rather a bi-directional process. In acculturation there is an exchange between two cultural groups and an adaptation of value systems on both sides. Jamil, Nassar-McMillan and Lamber (2007) identify four stages of loss, transition and adaptation in acculturation. The first is joy and relief, the second is post decisional regret, the third is stress with attending to psychological symptoms and fourth acceptance, adjustment and reorganization. Some of the psychological symptoms can include post traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety (Jamil, Nassar-McMillan, & Lamber, 2007).
Prejudice, Stereotypes and Racism
Prejudice is a negative feeling towards a person because of their membership to a certain group (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). Racism in turn is prejudiced attitudes and actions towards a particular race (Baumeister & Bushman). Immigrants in Australia can face both prejudice and racism which are contributed to through stereotypes – beliefs that associate groups of people with certain traits (Baumeister & Bushman; Lui, 2004). Palmer (1996) reports that there was a strong link between the unemployment rate in Canada and opposition to immigration by Canadian citizens, which raises the possibility that people’s fears in relation to employment and economic stability may contribute to their attitudes towards immigration. He also reported that a number of Canadians felt that refugee claims tend to be fraudulent which places refugees into negative stereotypes and could, therefore lead to prejudice. Nikelly (1997) also discusses a xenophobic sentiment or perceived threat of immigrants to increases levels on unemployment, poverty, crime, welfare dependency and school drop out rates. When people perceive negative stereotypes to be true, whether it be through an individual or a group, prejudice often follows (Lui).
Isolation
The task of immigrating to another country and establishing a new life is a stressful process on its own. When combined with prejudice and racism which immigrants may face in their new country, it is possible to understand why many people struggle with the resettlement. Many immigrants prefer to maintain their culture and traditions by surrounding themselves with compatriots who will probably have a better understanding of the immigrant’s background and current situation (Nikelly, 1997). Unfortunately this can isolate immigrants more from their new community as well as possibly perpetuating stereotypes of different ethnic groups when they are viewed as living separately to mainstream citizens (Nikelly, 1997, Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006).
The Self and Cognitive Dissonance
The self is an essential part of all human beings (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008) and is made up of three main parts. Self-knowledge involves information and beliefs about oneself, self-awareness, self-esteem and self-deception (Baumeister & Bushman). The Interpersonal or public self helps connect individuals socially and involves self-presentation, group membership, relationship partner, social roles and reputations (Baumeister & Bushman). Finally, the agent self is responsible for decision-making and self-control (Baumeister & Bushman). Part of the self is developed through ethnic identity – an individual uses knowledge about, participation with and attachment to their ethnic group to develop the self through a sense of belonging and commitment to the ethnic group as well as shared values and attitudes (Lieber, Chin, Nihira & Mink, 2001). Immigration can challenge an individual’s ethnic identity as there is often a disparity between the original culture and that of the adopted country (Lieber, Chin, Nihira & Mink). Individuals may be confronted with conflicting values, customs and behaviours between their two countries which could lead to confusion in developing ethnic identity and self. This conflict could also contribute to higher levels of physical and mental health issues faced by immigrants (Nikelly, 1997). Cognitive dissonance theory proposes that inconsistencies between behaviours and attitudes lead to psychological discomfort, which in turn leads to individuals rationalizing or adapting their behaviours or attitudes to create psychological harmony (Baumeister & Bushman). The conflict between original country values and attitudes and those of the new country could create cognitive dissonance for immigrants in Australia when, for example, they hold a particular attitude from their original country but feel pressured to behave in a contrary way due to attitudes or traditions in Australia.
Other Social Factors
Employment, socio-economic status and language barriers can all contribute to problems faced by immigrants in Australia, and effect their mental well-being (Jamil, Nassar-McMillan, & Lamber, 2007; Khakbaz, Gopalkrishnan, & Babacan, 2004; Orb, 2002). Successful settlement of immigrants can involve establishing economic viability, social networks, housing and means of communicating with others (Khakbaz, Gopalkrishnan, & Babacan). An inability to communicate proficiently in English in Australia often means an individual will be unable to access necessary services including physical and mental health care (Khakbaz, Gopalkrishnan, & Babacan). Immigrants may have possessed higher qualifications and better jobs in their original country that they are unable to pursue in Australia due to language barriers which affects their socio-economic status even more, following the costly move to Australia. All of these factors may contribute to depression, anxiety and low self-esteem (Jamil, Nassar-McMillan, & Lamber; Nikelly, 1997).
Immigrants coming to Australia face a number of challenges, not only practicalities such as physically moving, financials costs and language barriers, but also socio-psychological factors. These factors stem from a variety of areas including prejudice and racism, isolation, conflict of ethnic identity, the self and cognitive dissonance and isolation. At the same time practical issues such as employment, language and socio-economic concerns can contribute to mental health problems for immigrants. On top of this, immigrants also have to deal with the psychological and emotional adjustment through assimilation and acculturation on arrival to their new country. As immigrants make up such a large percentage of Australia’s population and can contribute greatly to the nation, it is essential that government policies, organizational actions and individual attitudes and behaviours towards immigrants become a well-educated, positive format to create the best possible situation for all Australians.
REFERENCES
Baumeister, R. F. & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Social Psychology and Human Nature. Belmont, CA: Thompson Wadsworth
Immigration Museum. (2003). Frequently Asked Questions about Refugees. Retrieved 15 October, 2007, from http://immigration.museum.vic.gov.au/pdf/IMM001.pdf
Jamil, H., Nassar-McMillan, S. C., Lamber, R. G. (2007). Immigration and attendant psychological sequelae: A comparison of three waves of Iraqi immigrants. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 77 (2), 199 – 205
Khakbaz, M., Gopalkrishnan, N., & Babacan, H. (2004). Sustaining the regions: Issues of international migration, settlement and ethnic diversity. Paper presented at the 12th Biennial Conference of Population and Society: Issues, Research, Policy, Canberra, Australia. Retrieved October 15, 2007 from http://www.apa.org.au/upload/2004-4C_Khakbaz.pdf
Lieber, E., Chin, D., Nihira, K., & Mink, I. R. (2001). Holding on and letting go: Identity and acculturation among Chinese immigrants. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 7 (3), 247 – 261
Liu, S. (2004). An examination of the social categorization of Chinese ethnic groups and its influence on intergroup relations in Australia. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, New Orleans Sheraton, New Orleans. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p112466_index.html
Nikelly, A. G. (1997). Cultural Babel: The challenge of immigrants to the helping professions. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health, 3 (4), 221 – 233
Orb, A. (2002). Health care needs of elderly migrants from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds: A review of the literature. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from: http://cra.curtin.edu.au/publicationsInformation/Health%20Care%20needs%20of%20elderly%20migrants%20literature%20review%20ORB.pdf
Palmer, D. L. (1996). Determinants of Canadian attitudes toward immigration: More than just racism? Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 28 (3), 180 – 192
Pettigrew, T. F. & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90 (5), 751 – 783
Sayegh, L. & Lasry, J. (1993). Immigrants’ adaptation in Canada: Assimilation, acculturation, and orthogonal cultural identification. Canadian Psychology, 34 (1), 98 – 109
Appendix A - Concept Map
http://119076.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-2-appendix-concept-map.htmlAppendix B – Self Evaluation
1. Theory
I feel as though I have a thorough understanding of the theoretical aspects regarding socio-psychological factors affecting Immigrants in Australia. I did find it slightly difficult to restrain myself to socio-psychological factors instead of including issues that immigrants face in Australia but aren’t necessarily directly linked to psychological factors. I’m sure I could have linked all issues back in to psychological factors eventually, but I would’ve needed a much larger word count.
2. Research
I found it quite difficult to find articles related specifically to immigrants in Australia. There are many international articles such as those regarding immigrants in the UK and USA, but not so many in Australia. I also found it difficult to find articles related to the socio-psychological factors. Many of the articles that I found were related to government policy, employment and education and economic factors. I do feel as though I have managed to find a good number of useful articles though.
Readability Analysis: Word Count 1, 410; passive sentences 10%; Flesch Reading Ease 16.9 – I’m not sure why the reading ease is so low although I do wonder whether it is due in part to the use of psychological phrases such as cognitive dissonance etc. Flesch –Kincaid grade level 12.0. Gunning-Fog index 26 – although it does say that ideally scores should be between 11 and 15 it does say that anything over 22 is considered post-graduate level, which I am quite happy about!
I also noticed that when I used the Microsoft Word readability analysis it gave me a different word count to when I simply did a word count of my essay – it makes me wonder how accurate it is.
I also noticed that when I used the Microsoft Word readability analysis it gave me a different word count to when I simply did a word count of my essay – it makes me wonder how accurate it is.
I feel as my APA referencing style is good, based on constructive criticism from previous assignments. However, with my referencing I have used a couple of sources that aren’t typical journals so I am not completely certain my APA referencing style is perfect.
I’ve used the concept map to display the issues that I believe immigrants in Australia face. The concept map has been good to use because it allows you to break down the causes into sub-variables and it just seems to make it a lot clearer.
I used headings in my blog to make it easier to read and also to help me stay focused on the topic of the paragraph.
I found it harder to participate in online engagement this semester as I had a much heavier work load as well as external commitments, work and sport etc.
Once again I ran out of time to be able to post a draft earlier on and receive feedback, although I did feel as though I received more comments from other students in relation to my posts.
I didn’t manage to plan dates to post discussions/comments as I mentioned in my previous blog evaluation. I did make the effort to read more of other students’ blogs this time and I made a few comments, although some topics I didn’t feel as though I had adequate background knowledge to contribute further to their discussions.
My blogs were:
http://119076.blogspot.com/2007/10/we-will-be-remembered-for-this.html - Trailer for an Australian film about ‘illegal immigrants’
http://119076.blogspot.com/2007/10/we-will-be-remembered-for-this.html - Trailer for an Australian film about ‘illegal immigrants’
http://119076.blogspot.com/2007/10/aussie-citizenship-test.html - A mock Australian Citizenship Test
Polls: http://119076.blogspot.com/
Where do you think the highest number of illegal immigrants in Australia is from?
Do you think immigrants in Australia should have to have a high level of English before gaining citizengship?
The following links are for other student’s blogs that I made contributions to:
http://ellensocialblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/getting-started.html - comment
http://ellensocialblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/getting-started.html - comment
http://ruthssocialpsychblog.blogspot.com/. - comment & 2 poll votes
http://sammyt1.blogspot.com/ - poll vote
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