The social adaptation of refugees and their satisfaction with resettlement are influenced by a multitude of factors such as age on arrival, employment/financial status and opportunities, housing conditions, English language ability, receptivity of the host community, family support, and social support from the ethnic group (Tran and Nguyen, 1994; Bertheleu, 1995; Toronto Housing Department Policy and Research Section, 1992; Helwa and Birch, 1993; Yee, 1992). Janet E. Benson (1990) reports that Vietnamese and Laotian refugee households, consisting of extended families and nonnuclear families, have had a positive effect on refugee integration and resettlement. Interestingly, Benson further notes that refugee households were shaped by cultural values and by the social, economic and political conditions of the receiving community. Research evidence indicates that the success of refugee integration in the new environment is based on interaction of a multitude of variables in the community context (for more information on the significance of the context of refugee resettlement, see Breslow, Haines and Philipsen, 1997).
Refugee resettlement is a challenging process. However, its success in Canada, as well as in other countries, is contingent on the existence of facilitative institutional arrangements and government support (Mahmoudi, 1992). Both the refugees and the receiving country need to be active in this process.
In a major study of Vietnamese refugees in Western Canada, Montgomery (1991) shows that "education (academic and/or vocational) and length of residence are positively related to adjustment; whereas size of municipality of current residence is inversely related to adjustment, as are age (older refugees have more problems), extent of trauma in leaving Vietnam and single versus married status." Policy recommendations resulting from this study place "emphasis on education, patience with new immigrants, directing refugees to nonmetropolitan areas and focusing more on older refugees."
Gender seems to have a significant effect on refugees’ social adjustment in the new environment. For example, McSpadden and Moussa (1993) report that Ethiopian/Eritrean male refugees in Canada and the United States experienced a decline both in their traditional status and in opportunities after resettlement. These male refugees found it difficult to come to terms with the changes. In contrast, women refugees from this same group perceived more opportunities and possibilities for themselves in the new environment, as compared with the traditional country-of-origin environment (McSpadden and Moussa, 1993). However, the reality of the labour market may not always correspond to perceptions. For example, in the work setting, working class refugee women from Vietnam living in a Maritime province often experienced segregation and exploitation (Phan, 1995). Phan’s work suggests that gender, class, and race negatively influence the adaptation of working class refugee women.
Research evidence indicates that family coherence and support is critically important for successful integration in the new environment (Tran, Wright and Mindel, 1987; Haines, Rutherford and Tjomas, 1981). Contrariwise, adjustment problems and conflict within the family may occur when family norms in the host community are at odds with family norms in the home country and when economic factors in the host community undermine traditional gender relations (i.e., division of labour within the family) (Woon, 1986). Somewhat related to Woon’s conclusion and probably applicable to the Canadian context, is the finding from a study of Indochinese refugees in San Diego County, California, which shows that the more the refugees understand US ways, the fewer adjustment problems they experience (Jones and Strand, 1986).
In a comparative study of Southeast Asian refugees in Canada, Australia and the US, it has been found that resettlement policy is more successful when it is ethnically and culturally sensitive, when tensions with the host community are contained, and when barriers to full participation in the host country are removed (Chabot, 1990). These principles, along with others, are also illustrated by the utilization of a community development approach to meeting the needs of Indochinese refugees who settled in the Kitchener-Waterloo area in Ontario (Elgie and Montgomery, 1985).
In line with much of the current Canadian research, a study originating from the US shows that the integration of Polish and Czech refugees in Boise, Idaho, is assisted by "English language skill, full-time employment, advanced education, occupational skills, youthfulness, and ethnic enclave"; and impeded by "older age, female sex, unemployment, cultural differences, and unrealistic expectations" (Baker, 1988). Under favourable conditions, refugees are likely to experience upward social mobility (Stahlman, 1995).
Research evidence on the role of religious affiliation in social and community integration is rather limited. A Canadian study of 43 Laotian Hmong refugee women in Ontario, who converted to Christianity, shows that the Hmong Christian Church (Mennonite) was a significant resource in empowering them and in helping them to cope "more effectively with the constraints of gender and minority status" (Winland, 1992; 1994). It is probably safe to extend the results of this study by arguing that organizing for change, in the context of nonreligious voluntary associations, is also an empowering process.