Attitudes Towards Refugees in an Australian Sample Research Paper

Introduction: The Key Concepts of the Refugees Research Area

The study explores the controversies of immigrants’ settlement in Australia. The research questions evolved as a consequence of numerous claims, according to which the minorities face much pressure and accommodation problems in the country. The research area targets a correlation between gender social integration tendencies and just world beliefs.

Literature Critique: Discussing the Outcomes of Previous Studies

The research paper compares the findings of an investigation that was based on Pearson correlation as well as summarizes the core outcomes of the previous studies that were aimed at different groups of refugees’ integration. The “Reactions to refugees: Do stronger believers in a just world compensate, dehumanize, and perceive refugees as more responsible for their status?” article was used to back up the belief, according to which weaker just believers tend to provide stronger support for refugees than the conformists do (DeVaul-Fetters & Esses, 2014). The primary motives for refugees suppression are discussed through the review of “Belief in a just world: Research progress over the past decade” (Furnham, 2002).

A three-dimensional scale of attitude measurement was discussed on the basis of “Attitudes toward illegal aliens: The reliability and validity of a Likert-type scale” (Ommundsen & Larsen, 1997). The findings of survey-based immigration studies were verified on the basis of “Attitudes toward illegal immigration: A cross-national methodological comparison” study (Ommundsen, Mörch, Hak, Larsen, & Van Der Veer, 2002). The article “Attitudes towards refugees: The dark side of prejudice in Australia” was reviewed so that to disclose the emotional grounds for ethnic prejudices (Schweitzer, Perkoulidis, Krome, Ludlow, & Ryan, 2005). Moreover, the research study analysis some nation-specific biases that precondition typical just world beliefs in Australia.

Identification of the primary research questions and aim

The major issues that are reviewed in the research study refer to the sources of refugees’ poor integration into American society. Specifically, the objective of the survey is to identify the links between traditional natives’ fears and the consequences of immigrants’ settlement. The central idea encompasses social, demographic, and economic factors that stipulate conventional attitudes towards refugees.

Linking Past Hypothesis to the Current Investigation

Due to the findings of previous studies that were based on both direct observations and quantitative estimations, refugees in Australia face some considerable citizenship troubles as well as national identity biases. According to the study that investigated the peculiarities of Sudanese immigrants’ integration, Australian health-care services do not deliver equal support to the natives and refugees, which can be explained by acculturation stresses (Milner & Khawaja, 2010). The investigation of the resettled refugees’ living standards proves that even the immigrants, which spend more than fifteen years in Australia, have problems with being officially naturalized by the state (Barnes, 2001).

Numerous qualitative studies explore the specifications of recent refugees’ integration. It is emphasized that new immigrants suffer from the constant race and ethnic discrimination, labour exploitation, and occupational manipulations (Peisker & Tilbury, 2006). According to the primary hypotheses that served as a focus for this investigation, there are some gender discrepancies between the perceptions of refugees. Moreover, it is assumed that people, which follow just world beliefs, adopt negative attitudes towards newcomers. Thus, this work links the practical experiences that were analyzed in the previous works, to the theoretical explanations of immigration prejudices.

Discussion: Summarizing the Findings of the Study

Comparing the Results to Previous Research Studies

The complex investigation that was based on the usage of Bivariate and Pearson correlations verified the hypothesis of gender beliefs distribution and indicated that men and women are likely to treat immigrants in the same way. The second theory was justified since the study showed that there was a direct connection between the BJW persuasions and refugees’ treatment. The similar gender-based investigations of acculturation tendencies were conducted in Australia before. However, past investigations targeted particular groups of native Australians. For instance, one of such studies focused on the citizens aged 12-19, who were asked to submit the questionnaires that described the tendencies of refugees’ social support (Kovacev & Shute, 2004).

The popular quantitative investigation that follows the Likert-type scale, despite its efficient methodological basis, focused exclusively on the cohort of students, who are quite vulnerable to social disintegration (Ommundsen & Larsen, 1997). In contrast to these studies, the discussed investigation analyzed the collected data through electronic quantifications and revealed general attitudes towards refugees among the diverse natives. Thus, it is result-oriented and restricts the scopes of causal-consecutive relations between different groups of citizens.

The Key Methodological Faults of the Investigation and Their Implications

The solid methodological foundation that lies in the centre of the investigation focuses on the mathematical precision and targets two hypotheses. However, the research does not account for the logical justification of the findings. Consequently, the quantitative study does not provide the reasoning for Australian hostility. Nevertheless, the question can assist in finding a consistent solution to the problem. For instance, due to Colic-Peisker (2006), the white-skinned refugees in Australia undergo a favourable social inclusion since natives tend to adopt a friendly approach to people, which are similar to them in appearance (p.615). Some experts argue that the so-called “relative deprivation theory” explains the low-level integration and negative experiences (Fozdar & Torezani, 2008). Therefore, the lack of scientific reasoning accounts for the methodological faultiness of the reviewed study.

Future Suggestions

Due to the recent reports, Australian refugees fall into the at-risk group of citizens, who suffer from psychosocial dysfunctions (Momartin, Silove, Manicavasagar, & Steel). Therefore, it may be suggested to research the issue of mental stability among immigrants and refugees in Australia. Similar works can become a foundation for the development of effective social integration programs. Besides, the investigation of human rights violations and trauma inventory can become the central factors that should be taken into consideration by the local governments of the country.

Limitations

The sample size is large since it represents the whole continent. The analysis is extensive and is based on quantitative methods. The time constraints are preconditioned by the work of calculative devices.

Conclusion

The research study focuses on the crisis of refugees’ social integration in the Australian communities. The method of investigation is the usage of electronic questionnaires as the indicators of personal attitudes of the Australian citizens towards non-natives. The study verifies two hypotheses that were initially suggested by the authors. First, it justifies the idea of direct dependence between just world beliefs and immigrants’ treatment. Thus, it is acknowledged that conservative people are likely to adopt prejudiced attitudes to newcomers while non-conformists, especially the youth, tend to embrace a loyal approach to refugees. Second, it rebuts the idea of gender-based discrepancies between the social treatment of immigrants among Australian citizens.

References

Barnes, D. (2001). Resettled refugees’ attachment to their original and subsequent homelands: Long-term Vietnamese refugees in Australia. Journal of Refugee Studies, 14(4), 394-411. Colic-Peisker, V. (2006). ‘At least you’re the right color’: Identity and social inclusion of Bosnian Refugees in Australia. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 31(4), 615-638.

DeVaul-Fetters, A., & Esses, V. (2014). Reactions to refugees: Do stronger believers in a just world compensate, dehumanize, and perceive refugees as more responsible for their status? University of Western Ontario, 31(1), 31-42.

Fozdar, F., & Torezani, S. (2008). Discrimination and well-being: Perception of refugees in Western Australia. International Migration Review, 42(1), 30-63.

Furnham, A. (2002). Belief in a just world: Research progress over the past decade. Personality and Individual Differences, 34(1), 795-817.

Kovacev, L., & Shute, R. (2004). Acculturation and social support in relation to psychosocial adjustment of adolescent refugees resettled in Australia. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28(3), 259-267.

Milner, K., & Khawaja, N. (2010). Sudanese refugees in Australia: The impact of acculturation stress. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 4(1), 19-29.

Momartin, S., Silove, D., Manicavasagar, V., & Steel, Z. (2004). Comorbidity of PTSD and depression: Associations with trauma exposure, symptom severity and functional impairment in Bosnian refugees resettled in Australia. Journal of Affective Disorders, 80(2), 231-238.

Ommundsen, R., & Larsen, K. (1997). Attitudes toward illegal aliens: The reliability and validity of a Likert-type scale. The Journal of Psychology, 137(5), 665-667.

Ommundsen, R., Mörch, S., Hak, T., Larsen, K., & Van Der Veer, K. (2002). Attitudes toward illegal immigration: A cross-national methodological comparison. The Journal of Psychology, 136(1), 103-110.

Peisker, V., & Tilbury, F. (2006). Employment niches for recent refugees: Segmented labor market in twenty-first century Australia. Journal of Refugee Studies, 19(2), 203-229.

Schweitzer, R., Perkoulidis, S., Krome, S., Ludlow, C., & Ryan, M. (2005). Attitudes towards refugees: The dark side of prejudice in Australia. Australian Journal of Psychology, 57(3), 170-179.