Longitudinal Study of Refugees from Ukraine in Germany (SUARE II): Data Infrastructure, Health, and Discrimination in the Family Context

• Applicants: Louise Biddle, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr. Adriana Rocío Cardozo Silva; Dr. Elena Sommer-Nicolaides; Professorin Dr.-Ing. Sabine Zinn
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 518967487

The present project focuses on family structures, intergenerational dynamics, and child development on the living conditions of refugees from Ukraine. Central topics include experiences of discrimination, health burdens, and educational trajectories of children and adolescents, especially in the context of family separation, uncertainty, and institutional barriers. Building on the panel infrastructure developed in the first phase of the project “Longitudinal Study of Refugees from Ukraine in Germany (SUARE I)”, SUARE II will implement the first longitudinal, multimodal panel survey of refugee children, adolescents, and families in Germany. This subproject takes on the key role of expanding, advancing, and analyzing the necessary data infrastructure. It develops age-appropriate and culturally sensitive survey instruments, tests innovative designs such as adaptive mixed-mode surveys and AI-assisted translation tools, and thus ensures high data quality for both subprojects. Empirically, the project examines how family-related stressors—such as parental mental illness or separation—as well as school-based discrimination affect the psychosocial well-being and access to healthcare among young refugees. Particular attention is given to differences between parental and child perspectives, gender-specific dynamics, and barriers in accessing support systems. SUARE II thus establishes an internationally unique empirical foundation for studying long-term integration processes under conditions of forced migration and makes a significant contribution to the advancement of survey methodology and evidence-based migration, education, and health policy through its combined methodological and substantive innovation.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Sweden
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr. Herbert Brücker; Professorin Yuliya Kosyakova, Ph.D.
• Cooperation Partner: Professorin Sol P. Juarez, Ph.D.