Transnational Activities and Identifications -A population-based study on three immigrant groups in Finland

Abstract

Our understanding of the lived experience of transnationalism is limited by the scarcity of high-quality quantitative evidence. Representative evidence on the emotional and identification aspects of transnationalism is especially missing. To address this gap, we investigated the transnational involvement of three migrant groups-Somali, Kurdish and Russian-in Finland. Using high-quality random sample survey data, the study examined transnational activitiesremittance sending, following media, keeping in touch with and visits to the country of origin-as well as transnational identification with significant others living abroad. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) demonstrated that transnational involvement can be empirically divided into transnational activities and identifications, as suggested by prior theoretical works. Regression analysis showed that transnational activities and identifications varied strongly between the three groups. Russians were the most active in transnational activities while Somalis showed the highest levels of identification with their country of origin. Activities increased with the longer stay, while identification decreased. Family ties played a role in transnational identification. Our results point towards the complexity in the relationship between transnational involvement and economic integration in the host society.

Capturing urban diversity through languages: Long‐term changes in multilingual residential neighbourhoods in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area

“…Somali speakers who come from a distant country have a more limited transnational lifestyle, which is mediated more virtually and through remittances rather than through physical travel (Kemppainen et al, 2020). Studies show that Somalis experience more residential segregation, are less integrated into society and remain more confined to their own community (Kemppainen et al, 2022). Yet, the diversity of the neighbourhoods these two language groups reside and how the neighbourhoods have changed over time have not been examined in previous work.…”

Digital Information Technology Use and Transnational Healthcare: A Population-Based Study on Older Russian-Speaking Migrants in Finland

“…In this study, we study transnational healthcare (THC) from the perspective of older migrants drawing on a survey of Russian-speaking migrants aged 50 and above who were born in the Former Soviet Union and who currently live in Finland. We define THC as a wide array of practices in which healthcare service users and providers, as well as pharmaceuticals, health-related information, and knowledge, move across borders [ 3 , 4 ]. Transnational healthcare can be seen as part of a broader phenomenon of people’s increasingly mobile lifestyles and the globalization of healthcare [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Individuals with a migratory background can offer valuable insight to improve the treatment and prevention of gambling harms

“…In comparison to other migrant groups in Finland, Russian speakers are less visible and culturally quite close to the Finnish population. They have also been better integrated into society than many other groups with a migrant background (Kemppainen et al, 2020(Kemppainen et al, , 2022. Russian speakers have a higher level of education than migrant groups in Finland on average and are usually able to find employment (Kemppainen et al, 2022).…”

“…They have also been better integrated into society than many other groups with a migrant background (Kemppainen et al, 2020(Kemppainen et al, , 2022. Russian speakers have a higher level of education than migrant groups in Finland on average and are usually able to find employment (Kemppainen et al, 2022). Russian speakers are therefore not representative of all migrant populations in Finland.…”