Major Life Events and Refugees Acculturation: Exploring the Impact of Divorce and Employment as Major Life Events on Acculturation Trajectories of Syrian Refugees in Germany and Italy

• Applicant: Dr. Ahmad Al Ajlan
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 521995639

This study is the first that addresses the significant impact of divorce and employment, as major life events, on the acculturation experiences of Syrian refugee men and women who live in Western Germany and Northern Italy. Studies that focus on major life events, such as the death of a spouse, serious personal injury/illness, divorce, etc., and acculturation studies, are separate fields of research. So far there is no study that has explored the relationship between these two fields. The following two questions can summarize the main objectives of this study that the researcher aims to explore: 1. How and to what extent do divorced and employed Syrian refugees adopt the host country’s culture (Germany and Italy) at the three dimensions of acculturation; social identification, their attitudes towards their religion as Muslims, and their attitude towards the host society’s culture when considering factors of age, gender, and the societal context of the host country? 2. How and to what extent do divorced and employed Syrian refugees maintain their Syrian culture at the three levels of acculturation; social identification, their attitudes towards their religion as Muslims, and their attitude towards the host society’s culture when considering factors of age, gender, and the societal context of the host country? The research project is based on John Berry’s acculturation model and aims to extend it by drawing attention to the impact of major life events on acculturation. A phenomenological approach will be designed for this study. 48 in-depth interviews with open-ended questions will be conducted with divorced and employed Syrian refugees living in Western Germany (mainly NRW) and Northern Italy (mainly Bologna area and Rome) with variation in age and gender. In addition, ten interviews in each country will be conducted with non-divorced and unemployed Syrian refugees as reference groups.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants