Separation From Primary Family Is Associated With the Well-Being and Integration of Kurdish and Somali Origin Adult Migrants in Finland

Abstract

International studies have demonstrated an association between family separation and the mental health of refugees. European research on the topic is, however, scarce. This study examines whether separation from primary family, meaning one’s childhood family, is associated with the well-being and integration of Kurdish and Somali origin adult migrants in Finland.

We used cross-sectional data from the Finnish Migrant Health and Wellbeing Study (Maamu, 2010–2012). The participants comprised persons of Somali (n=313) and Kurdish (n=502) origin aged 18 to 64 years from six Finnish municipalities. A structured interview and a questionnaire on current mental health symptoms were used. Three indicators of wellbeing (severe symptoms of depression and anxiety (HSCL-25), sleeping difficulties, and perceived quality of life) and integration (loneliness, language proficiency in Finnish or Swedish, and employment status) were used. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between separation from primary family and well-being and integration.

Separation from primary family was associated with all the studied indicators of well-being and integration. Among Somali origin migrants, separation from primary family was significantly associated with mild sleeping difficulties, loneliness and language proficiency. Among Kurdish origin migrants, separation from primary family was associated with all the studied indicators. In both groups, the associations were clearer for separation from siblings than for separation from parents.

This study demonstrates that separation from primary family is significantly associated with the wellbeing and integration of Somali and Kurdish origin migrants in Finland. Enabling family reunification for extended family members may have positive effects on the well-being and integration of migrants in Finland and may in part ease the acute pressure faced by the asylum system.

Full text (julkari.fi)

Authors

Shadia Rask, Anna-Marie Paavonen, Eero Lilja, Päivikki Koponen, Jaana Suvisaari, Tapio Halla, Seppo Koskinen, Anu Castaneda

Additional Information

• Peer-Reviewed: yes.
• Open Access: yes.
• Cite as: Rask, S., Paavonen, A., Lilja, E., Koponen, P., Suvisaari, J., Halla, T., Koskinen, S., & Castaneda, A. (2016). Primääriperheestä erossaolo on yhteydessä somalialais- ja kurditaustaisten maahanmuuttaja-aikuisten hyvinvointiin ja kotoutumiseen Suomessa. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka, 81(3), 273–287. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2016060813390