An exploratory follow-up study on the relationship between asylum application outcomes, language competence, psychological well-being, and social integration in Chinese fleeing religious persecution.

Abstract

Aims: This study explores the long-term outcome of Chinese refugees arrived in Italy fleeing reported religious persecution.

Methods: Post-migration living difficulties (PMLD), psychological well-being and language proficiency about 9 years after the first arrival are the outcomes compared in two groups. One group includes persons that had not yet received a form of international protection, still living in Italy without visa (undocumented asylum seekers - UAS). The comparison group includes persons that had received a visa for international protection (refugees - R). The Chinese versions of the World Health Organisation - Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) and the List of Migration Experiences (LiMEs) were administered.

Results: Three UAS and three R were compared. R reported higher pre-migration traumas and PMLD in the two years after the arrival in Italy. At the evaluation about 9 years later, UAS reported lower scores at the psychological well-being and more PMLD. Moreover, they had not learned Italian, while R were fluent in the host language.

Conclusions: Considering that the main difference between the two groups was having or not received a visa recognizing the reliability of their asylum request, we hypothesize that this is a key variable explaining the long-term well-being and social adjustment of these persons.