Visibility, loss of status and life satisfaction in three groups of recent refugee settlers

This paper explores the life satisfaction of refugees resettled in Western Australia during the 1990s-2000s, in connection with their racial and cultural visibility in the host milieu and an endemic loss of occupational and social status. Refugees from ex-Yugoslavia, Africa and the Middle East are explored comparatively and cross-culturally. This paper extends the concept of domains of life satisfaction by adding immigrant-specific domains such as acculturation, adaptation, extra-ethnic social networks and discrimination. The main body of data was collected through a survey of 150 refugees and the interpretation of statistical outputs was complemented by interview data collected through followup, in-depth interviews. The refugee respondents were less satisfied with their lives than the general population. The strongest predictors of life satisfaction were job satisfaction, financial satisfaction and social support, but their power varied between groups and was determined by cultural profiles and differences in their Australian experience. ExYugoslavs were somewhat more satisfied than the two other groups (but not to the point of statistical significance), which is at least partly attributable to their `whiteness¿. The `street discrimination¿ did not impact on the overall life satisfaction of refugees, while discrimination in the job market did.