Surrendering to social emptiness: Chronic social exclusion longitudinally predicts resignation in asylum seekers

Abstract

The current knowledge of the long-term consequences of social exclusion mostly relies on theoretical assumptions. (Williams, 2009, Adv. Exp. Soc. Psychol., 41, 275) hypothesized that chronic ostracism drives individuals into a stage of resignation (depression, alienation, unworthiness, helplessness). We focused on asylum seekers (N = 112) as a social group at risk of experiencing prolonged instances of exclusion. Applying a threewave longitudinal design with a three-month interval between each wave, we sought to advance the knowledge of the temporal development of chronic social exclusion. Crosslagged panel analyses showed that social exclusion influenced the development of feelings of resignation in the long term, from baseline to six months and between three and six months. In the same time frame, the perception of social exclusion became stable and chronic. These findings provide empirical evidence that chronic exclusion predicts resignation and shed light on the temporal development of the detrimental impact that pervasive exclusion can have on people belonging to marginalized social groups. Imagine that, on a hot day in August, while riding your bike along your usual route by the seaside, you see a man lying on a mattress under a bridge and wrapped in a dirty blanket. After a few days, you still see him there, so you decide to approach him and ask how he feels. You understand that he can only speak Urdu, and you realize that he is a migrant who ended up somehow in that remote countryside area. When you come back in December for the Winter break, you see that he is still there; he has already spent four months in that remote area, isolated, unable to talk with anybody, and continuously exposed to the indifference of the locals who rarely even pass by. This story, which was witnessed by one of the authors (MM), speaks about a real-life persistent condition of social exclusion, broadly defined as the 'experience of being kept apart from others physically (e.g., social isolation) or emotionally (e.g., being ignored or told that someone is not wanted)' (Riva & Eck, 2016, p. ix). Social exclusion has severe consequences for individuals' health. Several studies showed that social exclusion increases negative emotions, lowers self-esteem (Gerber & Wheeler, 2009), impairs psychological well-being (Lieberman, 2013), is associated with infectious diseases, and cardiovascular and sleep problems (Aldridge et al., 2018; Cacioppo et al., 2002), and increases the risk of suicide and mortality (Rubin, 2017; Schinka et al., 2012). The broad definition of social exclusion encompasses a variety of adverse events in which people experience detachment and devaluation from others.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Majority Population, Ethno-Racial Minorities, and Immigrants

“…The rift of social relations with close relatives and support networks in their home country, cultural conflicts, and perceived incompatibilities, combined with challenges to establish new relations in the receiving society, may result in isolation and acculturative stress among ethno-racial and immigrant minorities (e.g., Yako & Biswas, 2014). By threatening social connectedness, self-worth, and identity continuity, marginalization translates into psychological strains (e.g., Marinucci & Riva, 2020).…”

Forced Social Isolation and Mental Health: A Study on 1,006 Italians Under COVID-19 Lockdown

“…Other theoretical models associated social withdrawal behaviors with prolonged rejection (Smart Richman and Leary, 2009). However, such exclusion-related implications for mental health have been found predominantly either in persistently marginalized social groups-such as immigrants (Marinucci and Riva, 2020a)or in individuals with ostracism experiences that could last for years (Zadro, 2004). Moreover, the literature on loneliness has highlighted a significant relationship with mental health (Cacioppo and Patrick, 2008).…”

“…Based on Williams' theory 2009, mental health issues were evaluated by measuring the four long-term negative consequences of social isolation, namely depression, unworthiness, alienation, and helplessness. Following the procedure of previous research (Riva et al, 2017;Marinucci and Riva, 2020a), we selected a subset of five items from psychometrically valid scales measuring the four constructs to keep the measure as short as possible. Item selection was primarily based on items loading (i.e., the highest, the better) and avoiding overlaps with items measuring other constructs.…”

How do Saudi Children and Their Mothers Evaluate Religion-Based Exclusion?

“…From a practical perspective, we need to find ways to prevent exclusion given that chronic exclusion can lead to the deleterious effect of resignation (Marinucci & Riva, 2021a, 2021b. Our naturally occurring experiment provides preliminary evidence that different types of interventions (e.g., intergroup contact, anti-discrimination laws) at different system levels (e.g., school, governmental) may converge in decreasing acceptance of peer exclusion.…”