Resourceful Actors, Not Weak Victims: Reframing Refugees’ Stigmatized Identity Enhances Long-Term Academic Engagement

Abstract

Refugees suffer from a stigmatized identity portraying them as weak, unskilled victims. We developed a brief (~10-min) intervention that reframed refugees’ identity as being, by its very nature, a source of strength and skills. Reading and writing exercises, provided by a university, highlighted how refugees’ experiences helped them acquire skills such as perseverance and the ability to cope with adversity, which could help them succeed in a new country. In Experiment 1 ( N = 93), the intervention boosted refugees’ (a) confidence in their ability to succeed at an imagined university and (b) challenge seeking: Participants were 70% more likely to take on an academic exercise labeled as difficult. In Experiment 2, the intervention, delivered to refugees entering an online university ( N = 533), increased engagement in the online-learning environment by 23% over the subsequent year. There was also evidence of greater course completion. It is possible to reframe stigmatized individuals’ identity as inherently strong and resourceful, helping them put their strengths to use.

Adaptive performance in refugees after trauma: how relevant are post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth?

“…Nonetheless, some people provide arguments against facilitating the labour integration of refugees. The concerns include the lack of qualifications (Bauer et al, 2021) and increased job insecurity among citizens (Marbach et al, 2018). However, with respect to qualifications, the present study shows that refugees and the general population report similar levels of social adaptive performance.…”

“…Nonetheless, some people provide arguments against facilitating the labour integration of refugees. The concerns include the lack of qualifications (Bauer et al. , 2021) and increased job insecurity among citizens (Marbach et al.…”

Pride-and-Prejudice Perspectives of Marginalization Can Advance Science and Society

“…Indeed, research in which marginalization has been conceptualized as tied to pride and prejudice has documented advantageous consequences associated with reducing disparities. For example, academic disparities (e.g., in achievement) tied to race-ethnicity, social-class background, and refugee status have been reduced, eliminated, and in some instances reversed by theory-based efforts that recognize pride and prejudice associated with marginalization (Brannon & Lin, 2021; see also Bauer et al, 2021; Hernandez et al, 2021; Stephens et al, 2019). Such intervention research has actively investigated potential means of reducing stigma and other negative sources of difference and disadvantage while also investigating potential means of leveraging strengths and other sources of resilience and pride tied to marginalization.…”

“Am I not human?”: Reasserting humanness in response to group-based dehumanization

“…Second, the threat people experience in response to dehumanization may be to both their sense of control in the world and their sense of deep and genuine social connection to others, both basic human needs in many psychological theories (e.g., Dweck, 2017). Past research shows that when people are treated in ways that honor the agency and strength of their identities, they feel more efficacious and show greater academic persistence and success (e.g., among refugees: Bauer et al, 2021; low-income students: Hernandez et al, 2021; aid recipients: Thomas et al, 2020). In the context of group-based dehumanization, does reasserting one’s humanness in service to one’s group restore this sense of control and connection and thus confer benefits?…”

“…Such representations can cause harm. When people are portrayed as passive victims, they may seem helpless and less competent (Reeves et al, 2022), limiting their own confidence, agency, and growth (Bauer et al, 2021; Hernandez et al, 2021; Thomas et al, 2020).…”