Muslim Refugees in Serbia – Narrating Gender Role Identity Change
Keywords:
refugee,
migration,
culture,
gender role identity,
narrative inquiry
Abstract
Forced migration is a highly stressful event that can cause changes in identity work. The aim of this research was to determine in what way the migration and prolonged stay in Serbia, a country that differs from both the refugees’ heritage cultures and wished host cultures on many cultural dimensions, influenced the young Muslim refugees’ gender role identities. Semi-structured interviews with seven female and eight male refugees coming from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, staying for several months in Serbia were conducted. Narrative inquiry, focused on recurring themes and changes in the past- and present-time narratives about gender role identities, yielded three types of narratives. The most frequent narrative, Expressing what was suppressed, points to identical past- and present-time narratives, but significant changes in the way gender role identities are expressed and pursued, self-confidence and interpersonal relationships. In narrative Reinventing oneself a major shift in gender role identity was noticed. Narrative Remaining the same, reflects changes in neither gender role identities nor their expression. Most participants applied integration strategies during the migration and moved towards individualism, femininity and rational values, whereas a few, exclusively male refugees, retained traditional patriarchal values.
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References
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Marcia, E. James. 1966. “Development and validation of ego-identity status.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 3 (5): 551–558. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0023281.
Miramontez, R. Daniel, Benet-Martínez, Veronica, and Nguyen, D. Angela-Minhtu. 2008. “Bicultural identity and self/group personality perceptions.” Self and Identity 7 (4): 430–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860701833119.
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Ndengeyingoma, Assumpta, De Montigny, Francine, and Miron, Jean-Marie. 2014. “Development of personal identity among refugee adolescents: Facilitating elements and obstacles.” Journal of Child Health Care 18 (4): 369–377. doi: 10.1177/1367493513496670.
Owens, J. Timothy. 2006. “Self and Identity.” In Handbook of social psychology edited by DeLamater, John, 205–232. Springer US.
Radoman, Marija. 2012. “Attitudes and value orientations of high school students in Serbia.” Socioloski pregled 46 (2): 247–268.
Renzaho, M. N. Andre, Dhingra, Nidhi, and Georgeou, Nichole. 2017. “Youth as contested sites of culture: The intergenerational acculturation gap amongst new migrant communities – Parental and young adult perspectives.” PLOS ONE: 1–19. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0170700.
Sanders, Jackie, and Munford, Robyn. 2008. “Losing self to the future? Young women’s strategic responses to adulthood transitions.” Journal of Youth Studies 11 (3): 331–346. doi: 10.1080/13676260801946480.
Schwartz, J. Seth, Montgomery, Marylin, and Briones, Ervin. 2006. “The role of identity in acculturation among immigrant people: Theoretical propositions, empirical questions, and applied recommendations.” Human Development 49 (1): 1–30. doi: 10.1159/000090300.
Schwartz, J. Seth, and Zamboanga, Byron. 2008. “Testing Berry's Model of Acculturation: A Confirmatory Latent Class Approach.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 14 (4): 275–285. doi: 10.1037/a0012818.
Stets, Jan, and Burke, Peter. 2000. “Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory.” Social Psychology Quarterly 63: 224–237.
Stryker, Sheldon. 1968. Identity Salience and Role Performance. Journal of Marriage and the Family 4: 558–564. doi: 10.2307/349494.
Stryker, Sheldon. 1980. Symbolic Interactionism: A Social Structural Version. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin Cummings.
Tartakovsky, Eugene. 2007. “A longitudinal study of acculturative stress and homesickness: high-school adolescents immigrating from Russia and Ukraine to Israel without parents.” Social Psychiatry Epidemiology 42 (6): 485–494.
Tedeschi, G. Richard, and Calhoun, G. Lawrence. 1996. “The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma.” Journal of Traumatic Stress 9 (3): 455–472. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490090305.
Therborn, Göran. 2004. Between sex and power – Family in the world, 1900–2000. London: Routledge.
Turner, Victor. 1967. The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Vishnevsky, Tanya, Cann, Arnie, Calhoun, G. Lawrence, Tedeschi, G. Richard, and Demakis, J. George. 2010. “Gender differences in self-reported posttraumatic growth: A meta-analysis.: Psychology of Women Quarterly 34 (1): 110–120. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2009.01546.x
Vujadinović, Dragica. 2009. Civil Society in Contemporary Context. Belgrade: Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade Center for Publishing and Informing.
Willmer, David. 1996. “Women as participants in the Pakistan movement: Modernization and the promise of a moral state.” Modern Asian Studies 30 (3): 573–590.
Berry, W. John. 1997. “Immigration, Acculturation, and Adaptation.” Applied Psychology 46 (1): 5–61. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.1997.tb01087.x.
Berry, W. John, Phinney, S. Jean, Sam, L. David, and Vedder, Paul. 2006. “Immigrant Youth: Acculturation, Identity, and Adaptation.” Applied Psychology: An International review 55 (3): 303–332.
Burke, J. Peter. 1980. “The Self: Measurement Implications from a Symbolic Interactionist Perspective.” Social Psychology Quarterly 43: 18–29.
Camino, A. Linda. 1994. “Refugee adolescents and the changing identities.” In Reconstructing Lives, Recapturing Meaning: Refugee Identity, Gender and Culture Change, edited by Camino, A. Linda, and Krulfeld, M. Ruth, 29–45. Australia: Gordon and Breach Publisher.
Carastathis, Anna. 2014. “The Concept of Intersectionality in Feminist Theory.” Philosophy Compass 9 (5): 304–314. https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12129.
Connelly, F. Michael, and Clandinin, D. Jean. 1990. “Stories of experience and narrative inquiry.” Educational Researcher 19 (5): 2–14. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X019005002.
Cook, Nell. 2001. “The Discursive Constitution of Pakistani Women: The Articulation of Gender, Nation, and Islam.” Atlantis 25 (2): 31–41.
Cross, E. Susan, Bacon, L. Pamela, and Morris, L. Michael. 2000. “The relational-interdependent self-construal and relationships.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 78 (4): 791–808. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.78.4.791
Ehala, Martin. 2012. “Cultural Values Predicting Acculturation Orientations: Operationalizing a Quantitative Measure.” Journal of Language, Identity & Education 11 (3): 185–199. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2012.686388
Fassaert, Thijs, De Wit, A. S. Matty, Tuinebreijer, C. Wilco, Knipscheer, W. Jeroen, Verhoeff, P. Arnoud, Beekman, T. F. Aartjan, and Dekker, Jack. 2011. “Acculturation and psychological distress among non-Western Muslim migrants-a population-based survey.” International Journal of Social Psychiatry 57 (2): 132–143. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0020764009103647.
Ferguson, M. Gail, Iturbide, I. Maria, and Gordon, P. Beverly. 2014. “Tridimensional (3D) Acculturation: Ethnic Identity and Psychological Functioning of Tricultural Jamaican Immigrants.” International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation 3 (4): 238–251.
Ferguson, M. Gail, Bornstein, H. Marc, and Pottinger, M. Audrey. 2012. “Tridimensional acculturation and adaptation among Jamaican adolescent-mother dyads in the United States.” Child Development 83: 1486–1493. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01787.x
Groen, P. N. Simon, Richters, Annemiak, Laban, J. Cornelis, and Devillé, L. J. M. Walter. 2018. “Cultural Identity Among Afghan and Iraqi Traumatized Refugees: Towards a Conceptual Framework for Mental Health Care Professionals.” Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry 42 (1): 69–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11013-016-9514-7.
Grünenfelder, Julia. 2013. “Negotiating gender relations: Muslim women and formal employment in Pakistan’s rural development sector.” Gender, Work & Organization 20 (6): 599–615. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2012.00609.x.
Hasan, Rafia. 1981. “The Role of Women as Agents of Change and Development in Pakistan”. Human Rights Quarterly 3 (3): 68–75.
Hofstede, Geert, and Hofstede, Gert Jan. 2005. Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind (Rev. 2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Hofstede, Geert. 1991. Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill.
Inglehart Ronald. 2007. “The Worldviews of Islamic Publics in Global Perspective.” In Values and Perceptions of the Islamic and Middle Eastern Publics, edited by Moaddel Mansoor, 25–46. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230603332_2.
Kidder, Deborah. 2002. “The influence of gender on the performance of organizational citizenship behaviors.” Journal of Management 28 (5): 629–648. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/014920630202800504
Lemke, L. Jay. 2008. “Identity, Development and Desire: Critical Questions.” In Identity Trouble, edited by Caldas-Coulthard, R. Carmen, and Iedema Rick, 17–42. London: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230593329_2.
Lodi-Smith, Jennifer, Spain, Seth, Cologgi, Kimberly, and Roberts, W. Brent. 2017. “Development of Identity Clarity and Content in Adulthood.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 112 (5), 755–768. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000091.
Marcia, E. James. 1966. “Development and validation of ego-identity status.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 3 (5): 551–558. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0023281.
Miramontez, R. Daniel, Benet-Martínez, Veronica, and Nguyen, D. Angela-Minhtu. 2008. “Bicultural identity and self/group personality perceptions.” Self and Identity 7 (4): 430–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860701833119.
Moghadam, M. Valentine. 1992. “Patriarchy and the politics of gender in modernizing societies: Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.” International Sociology 7 (1): 35–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/026858092007001002.
Ndengeyingoma, Assumpta, De Montigny, Francine, and Miron, Jean-Marie. 2014. “Development of personal identity among refugee adolescents: Facilitating elements and obstacles.” Journal of Child Health Care 18 (4): 369–377. doi: 10.1177/1367493513496670.
Owens, J. Timothy. 2006. “Self and Identity.” In Handbook of social psychology edited by DeLamater, John, 205–232. Springer US.
Radoman, Marija. 2012. “Attitudes and value orientations of high school students in Serbia.” Socioloski pregled 46 (2): 247–268.
Renzaho, M. N. Andre, Dhingra, Nidhi, and Georgeou, Nichole. 2017. “Youth as contested sites of culture: The intergenerational acculturation gap amongst new migrant communities – Parental and young adult perspectives.” PLOS ONE: 1–19. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0170700.
Sanders, Jackie, and Munford, Robyn. 2008. “Losing self to the future? Young women’s strategic responses to adulthood transitions.” Journal of Youth Studies 11 (3): 331–346. doi: 10.1080/13676260801946480.
Schwartz, J. Seth, Montgomery, Marylin, and Briones, Ervin. 2006. “The role of identity in acculturation among immigrant people: Theoretical propositions, empirical questions, and applied recommendations.” Human Development 49 (1): 1–30. doi: 10.1159/000090300.
Schwartz, J. Seth, and Zamboanga, Byron. 2008. “Testing Berry's Model of Acculturation: A Confirmatory Latent Class Approach.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 14 (4): 275–285. doi: 10.1037/a0012818.
Stets, Jan, and Burke, Peter. 2000. “Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory.” Social Psychology Quarterly 63: 224–237.
Stryker, Sheldon. 1968. Identity Salience and Role Performance. Journal of Marriage and the Family 4: 558–564. doi: 10.2307/349494.
Stryker, Sheldon. 1980. Symbolic Interactionism: A Social Structural Version. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin Cummings.
Tartakovsky, Eugene. 2007. “A longitudinal study of acculturative stress and homesickness: high-school adolescents immigrating from Russia and Ukraine to Israel without parents.” Social Psychiatry Epidemiology 42 (6): 485–494.
Tedeschi, G. Richard, and Calhoun, G. Lawrence. 1996. “The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma.” Journal of Traumatic Stress 9 (3): 455–472. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490090305.
Therborn, Göran. 2004. Between sex and power – Family in the world, 1900–2000. London: Routledge.
Turner, Victor. 1967. The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Vishnevsky, Tanya, Cann, Arnie, Calhoun, G. Lawrence, Tedeschi, G. Richard, and Demakis, J. George. 2010. “Gender differences in self-reported posttraumatic growth: A meta-analysis.: Psychology of Women Quarterly 34 (1): 110–120. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2009.01546.x
Vujadinović, Dragica. 2009. Civil Society in Contemporary Context. Belgrade: Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade Center for Publishing and Informing.
Willmer, David. 1996. “Women as participants in the Pakistan movement: Modernization and the promise of a moral state.” Modern Asian Studies 30 (3): 573–590.
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