Syrian refugee families in the Netherlands

The central question in this study is how Syrian refugee families manage to build a life in the Netherlands, and how personal, family and environmental factors interact in this.

The research investigates differential effects of displacement on different generations, and their impact on parent-child relations and the integration of individual family members in Dutch society.

This research is ongoing. After completion you will find a summary of the results here.

Article:

Ruis, A. (2019). Building a new life and (re)making a family. Young Syrian refugee women in the Netherlands navigating between family and career Journal of Family Research / Zeitschrift für Familienforschung, 31(3), 287-302. doi: 10.3224/zff.v31i3.03.

01 September 2016 - 01 September 2022

In this research, twelve families in four municipalities (one village, one large town and two small towns) are followed over a five-year period. Ethnographic research is an intensive form of research that focuses on a relatively small number of respondents on whom a high quantity of data is collected. It aims to gain insight into insiders' perspectives of people in the research group as well as into longer term developments. Various qualitative research methods are used, including participatory observation, open interviews, life story interviews, ethnographic field notes, literature and other source research. In conversations with children, techniques such as photography and forms of play are used.