Symposium: Crossing borders – feeling connected? An exploration of drivers influencing the development of a sense of belonging in the receiving society

Migrants face the complex task of establishing bonds with the receiving society. The development of a sense of belonging is linked to subjective wellbeing. The present panel investigates factors influencing the development of a sense of belonging. It brings together researchers from four different countries, applying different methodological approaches examining the development of belonging among different migrant groups. Jean Décieux explores the role of cultural distance in the host country adjustment process. Suggesting a multidimensional conceptualization of cultural distance, he presents findings based on recently migrated German nationals (N = 2856) drawn from the German Emigration and Remigration Panel Study (GERPS). The role of cultural distance in negotiating belonging among young migrant women growing up in Germany is the subject of Elke Murdock’s qualitative study. Results point to the important role of parents in the process. How parents’ commitment or lack of commitment affects their children’s construction of their sense of belonging is the focus of Anna Gruszczynska’s qualitative study among immigrant youth in the UK. She shows the fluctuating nature of the pursuit of belonging in time and space. Gry Paulgaard focuses on immigrants arriving in the rural space of Northern Norway. The project explores everyday life practices of refugees taking the materiality of a place as a starting point, acknowledging the interdependency between the social and material contexts for practice. Finally, Isabelle Albert investigates practices by older migrants living in multicultural Luxembourg, their engagement or otherwise in social practices and how this impacts on their sense of belonging.