Migration as a Context-Dependent Dynamic in a World of Global Inequalities

Sladkova, Jana; Bond, Meg A.

doi:10.5093/in2011v20n3a9

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…In line with other contributions (e.g., [ 35 , 36 , 53 , 54 ]), this paper acknowledges the importance of adopting an ecological perspective from which to study migrants’ experiences as embedded in local contexts, and migration as a context-dependent dynamic influenced by power inequities [ 33 , 36 , 54 ]. Building on these premises, and in order to propose an original framework, Kelly’s four principles [ 43 ] are applied to the study of M-RD systems.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…As argued at the beginning of the 1980s by Sarason [ 32 ], psychology has traditionally been dominated by an emphasis on the individual organism, neglecting the cultural, historical, and contextual influences on human functioning. For a long time, this individual-level emphasis has also dominated research in the area of migration [ 33 ]. Therefore, scholars have primarily used individual-level factors to explain variations in the health and wellbeing of migrants, underestimating those processes operating at interpersonal, organizational, institutional, and policy levels [ 34 – 36 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Migration-related detention centers: the challenges of an ecological perspective with a focus on justice

Esposito¹,

Ornelas²,

Arcidiacono

2015

BMC Int Health Hum Rights

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BackgroundIn recent years, border control and migration-related detention have become increasingly widespread practices affecting the lives of undocumented migrants, their families, and communities at large. In spite of the concern within academia, few studies have directly witnessed the life and experiences of people confined to migration-related detention centers. In the medical and psychological fields, a considerable body of research has demonstrated the pathogenic nature of detention in terms of mental health, showing an association between length of detention and severity of distress. Nevertheless, it was limited to the assessment of individuals’ clinical consequences, mainly focusing on asylum seekers. There currently exists a need to adopt an ecological perspective from which to study detained migrants’ experiences as context-dependent, and influenced by power inequalities. This paper addresses this gap.DiscussionDrawing upon advances in community psychology, we illustrate an ecological framework for the study of migration-related detention contexts, and their effects on the lives of detained migrants and all people exposed to them. Making use of existing literature, Kelly’s four principles (interdependence, cycling of resources, adaptation, succession) are analyzed at multiple ecological levels (personal, interpersonal, organizational, communal), highlighting implications for future research in this field. A focus on justice, as a key-dimension of analysis, is also discussed. Wellbeing is acknowledged as a multilevel, dynamic, and value-dependent phenomenon.SummaryIn presenting this alternative framework, the potential for studying migration-related detention through an ecological lens is highlighted, pointing the way for future fields of study. We argue that ecological multilevel analyses, conceptualized in terms of interdependent systems and with a focus on justice, can enhance the comprehension of the dynamics at play in migration-related detention centers, providing an effective tool to address the multi-level challenges of doing research within them. Furthermore, they can contribute to the development of policies and practices concerned with health, equality, and human rights of all people exposed to migration-related detention. Consistent with these assumptions, empirical studies adopting such a framework are strongly encouraged. These studies should use mixed and multi-method culturally situated designs, based on the development of collaborative and empowering relationships with participants. Ethnographic approaches are recommended.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration-related detention centers: the challenges of an ecological perspective with a focus on justice

Esposito¹,

Ornelas²,

Arcidiacono

2015

BMC Int Health Hum Rights

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“…In particular, Sládková and Bond () illustrated the key contributions that a community psychology approach can provide when applied to the study of migration, namely: (a) taking into account the role of a range of embedded contexts that shape migrants’ experiences, encompassing social, organizational, cultural, national, international, and political contexts; (b) contrasting the tendency to portray migrants as mere victims of broader social forces, by focusing on their agency and their capacity to resist oppression; and (c) acknowledging diversity in migrant communities and among migration experiences. Despite the original contributions that community psychology can offer to the study of migration‐related detention, to date, research in this field is limited, mainly due to the difficulties in gaining research access to detention sites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology of Sites of Confinement: Everyday Life in a Detention Center for Illegalized Non‐citizens

Esposito

Ornelas

Briozzo

et al. 2019

American J of Comm Psychol

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Highlights• In spite of concerns about migration-related detention, research inside these sites of confinement is scarce.• We present an ethnographic exploration into the detention of illegalized non-citizens in Italy.• Transcending individual-centered analysis, we adopt an ecological framework with a focus on justice.• We contribute to create knowledge on the psychosocial and cultural world behind the walls of detention.• We discuss the oppressive qualities of detention and avenues for research and action for community psychologists.Abstract Drawing on almost 3 years of fieldwork, comprising qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations, this study provides an exploration into the detention of illegalized non-citizens in Italy. Taking the largest detention center as a case study, the fabric of everyday life and the lived experiences of people, both detainees and professional actors, are the focus of examination. An ecological community psychology framework, with a focus on justice, guided the data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Findings highlight the oppressive qualities of detention, and its ripple effects on people's life spaces. Scarcity of resources, activities, and information created a very distressing environment for detainees, also enhancing feelings of powerlessness and frustration in professionals willing to assist them. Uncertainty and instability, rather than coercion or discipline, emerged as modes of governing and dominating. Bound in a different space and time, detainees were turned into unwanted and expendable others, their confinement becoming a means to extract profit from them. Yet, people languishing in these sites displayed an extraordinary ability to cope with, resist, and challenge the persisting conditions of injustice they endured. We conclude by highlighting the potential of the proposed framework, and discussing broader implications of our findings and avenues for research and action.

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“…Finally, one woman experienced political persecution, having escaped from a war scenario. Acknowledging diversity within migrant experiences, as Sládková and Bond (2011) suggested, and adopting an intersectional framework of analysis and a structural view of mobility, we looked at these women's migration as a complex and nonlinear process of subjectivation taking place in a field of conflicting forces and desires, inscribed overall in a 'matrix of domination' (Collins, 2000) 12 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, we analyse the experiences of migration and border crossing, the pathways to illegalisation and detention and the expectations for the future of ten women confined inside a detention facility of the Portuguese Border Control Agency. In doing so, we acknowledge Sládková and Bond's (2011) call for looking at diversity within migrant communities and for adopting an intersectional framework of analysis able to grasp the interacting role of gender and sex -along with other social markers (e.g., class, 'race', ethnicity, nationality) -in shaping migrants' experiences as embedded in contexts from the local to the global. Furthermore, our analysis relies on a paradigm that goes beyond "simply understanding mobility as the movement of individuals or groups among fixed points in Cartesian space" [Conlon, (2011), p.354] to an approach that looks at migration as a structurally influenced experience that largely stems from systemic inequalities, deeply embedded in historical geopolitical relations between countries (Global North vs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women's experiences of border crossing: gender, mobility and border control

Matos

Esposito

2019

IJMBS

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In recent years, new migration patterns emerged in Europe and border control operations became more complex and broader, resulting in an increasing number of non-nationals detained for migration-related reasons. This paper aims to explore how gender, migration and border control intersect in the lives of women detained for not having authorisation to remain in Portugal. Several visits were made to a detention facility, where ten women detainees were interviewed. Our findings reveal how gender plays a crucial role in women's mobility pathways, and how the lack of a secure migrant status can be used as a control mechanism within the context of gendered relationships. Overall, due attention is paid to the way crossing borders impacts the lives of these women, reinforcing their vulnerabilities, and to the ways in which women deal with and resist the precariousness and violence they are exposed to, seeking a meaning and continuity for their lives.

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Migration as a Context-Dependent Dynamic in a World of Global Inequalities

Abstract: Ésta es un versión traducida al español del original en inglés Migration as a Context-Dependent Dynamic in a World of Global Inequalities.

Cited by 7 publications

References 18 publications

Migration-related detention centers: the challenges of an ecological perspective with a focus on justice

Migration-related detention centers: the challenges of an ecological perspective with a focus on justice

Ecology of Sites of Confinement: Everyday Life in a Detention Center for Illegalized Non‐citizens

Women's experiences of border crossing: gender, mobility and border control

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