Employment and life satisfaction among refugees and asylum seekers in Italy: evidence from the ItRAS Survey
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71014/sieds.v80i1.551Keywords:
refugees, integration, mediation analysis, ITRAS, employmentAbstract
Employment plays a crucial role in promoting integration by providing autonomy and stability – factors especially critical for forcibly displaced individuals. It is also positively linked to overall life satisfaction. This study, drawing on data from the first Italian Refugees and Asylum seekers Survey, explores their life satisfaction, examining its relationship with employment outcomes and their structural barriers and socio-economic supports through a mediation model. The analysis reveals that employment outcomes are significantly and positively associated with life satisfaction. In contrast, poor health, low Italian language proficiency, and a lack of local social support networks are negatively associated with well-being, while the presence of a family network in Italy and receiving subsidies are positively related. Moreover, employment outcomes mediate the effects of most barriers and facilitators on life satisfaction. These results provide a contextualization of the Italian territory of refugees and asylum seekers’ life satisfaction.
References
AGER A., STRANG A. 2008. Understanding integration: a conceptual framework, Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 166–191.
AMBROSETTI E., DIETRICH H., KOSYAKOVA Y., PATZINA A. 2021. The Impact of Pre- and Postarrival Mechanisms on Self-rated Health and Life Satisfaction Among Refugees in Germany, Frontiers in Sociology, Vol. 6., pp. 1-17.
AMBROSETTI, E., PAPARUSSO, A. 2021. What are the main factors associated with immigrants’ subjective well‐being in Italy? Evidence from self‐reported life satisfaction, International Migration, Vol. 59, No. 4, pp. 221–237.
BAIO G., BLANGIARDO G., BLANGIARDO M. 2011. Centre sampling technique in foreign migration surveys: a methodological note, Journal of Official Statistics, Vol. 59, No. 3, pp. 451–465.
BRÜCKER H., ROTHER N., SCHUPP, J. 2017. IAB-BAMF-SOEP Befragung von Geflüchteten 2016. Studiendesign, Feldergebnisse sowie Analysen zu schulischer wie beruflicher Qualifikation, Sprachkenntnissen sowie kognitiven Potenzialen.
COLIC-PEISKER V. 2009. Visibility, settlement success and life satisfaction in three refugee communities in Australia, Ethnicities, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 175-199.
DIENER E., EMMONS R.A., LARSEN R.J., GRIFFIN S. 1985. The Satisfaction With Life Scale, Journal of Personal Assessment, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 71-75.
FOZDAR F., TOREZANI S. 2008. Discrimination and well-being: Perceptions of refugees in Western Australia, International Migration Review, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 30–63.
HAINDORFER R., LIEDL B., KITTEL B. 2024. The Integration Resources of Refugees and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from the City of Vienna, Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 239-263.
HAGSTROM P., PEREIRA J., WU S. 2019. The happiness of refugees in the United States: Evidence from Utica, NY, Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 1–20.
JEBB A.T., MORRISON M., TAY L., DIENER E. 2020. Subjective Well-Being Around the World: Trends and Predictors Across the Life Span, Psychological Science, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 293-305.
KHAWAJA N., HEBBANI A. 2019. Factors impacting life satisfaction of refugees in Australia: A mixed method study, The Australian Community Psychologist, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 30-50.
LEE E.S., SZKUDLAREK B., NGUYEN D.C., NARDON L. 2020. Unveiling the canvas ceiling: a multidisciplinary literature review of refugee employment and workforce integration, International Journal of Management Review, Vol. 22, pp. 193-216.
OECD. 2016. Working Together: Skills and Labour Market Integration of Immigrants and their Children in Sweden, Working Together for Integration, OECD Publishing
ONS (OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS, UK). 2025. Personal well-being user guidance. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommu nity/wellbeing/methodologies/personalwellbeingsurveyuserguide
ORTENSI, L.E. 2015. The integration of forced migrants into the Italian labor market, Journal of Immigration and Refugee Studies, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 179-199.
PAVOT W., DIENER E. 2008. The Satisfaction with Life Scale and the emerging construct of life satisfaction, The Journal of Positive Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 137-152.
POLLENNE D. 2024. Understandings of Happiness and Life Satisfaction Among Refugees in the UK, Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 51-71.
UNHCR (UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES). 2025. Refugee data summaries. https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/data-summaries. Accessed on 4th July 2025.
ZETTER R., RUAUDEL H. 2016. Refugees’ right to work and access to labor markets-an assessment. World Bank Global Program on Forced Displacement (GPFD)
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Anna Maria Parroco, Micaela Arcaio, Daria Mendola
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
