Conditions and strategies for social integration of immigrants (case study of immigrants in Mashhad)

علوم اجتماعی دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد

Volume 22, Issue 1 - Serial Number 51, April 2025

Document Type: Research

DOI: 10.22067/social.2022.79254.1245

Authors

Maryam Sohrabi¹; Hossein Akbari^{* 2}; Gholamreza Sedigh ouraee³; Rasoul Sadeghi⁴

¹University of Mazanadaran

²Department of Social Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

³Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

⁴Department of Demography, University of Tehran

Abstract

Today, different societies are facing a considerable population of immigrants and new arrivals, and this expansion of immigration has increased the importance of social integration of immigrants. The purpose of this research is to identify the conditions and strategies for social integration of immigrants. The present research was conducted using a qualitative method. The data of this study was collected through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis method was used to analyze the data. With the help of purposeful sampling and theoretical saturation criterion, 28 immigrants were interviewed in Mashhad city and finally, the collected data were coded and analyzed in the form of two main themes and 11 sub-themes. The results show that the conditions of favorable social integration include background conditions (with themes of desired religious atmosphere, access to recreational facilities, suitable educational facilities and desirable moral values of Mashhad), causal conditions (with themes of lack of discriminatory views, Facilitating living conditions in Mashhad, anonymity, feeling of independence and access to participation in Mashhad society) and interfering conditions (with themes of undesirable moral values, ethnic-religious prejudices and gender discriminations). Things like networking, optimal social adaptation, growth-oriented psychological skills, and oriented support are among the strategies of immigrants for optimal social integration in the city of Mashhad.

Keywords

desirable social integration; push-and-pull; social capital; immigrants of Mashhad

References