This study is aimed at identifying significant processes which contribute to the psychosocial issues of Eastern European migrants in England, with a focus on the effects of these issues to the lived migrant experience and identity. A literature review revealed the attention drawn to the effect of natives and institutions on migrant’s psychosocial issues concerning identity, integration, and social mobility. The outcomes of Kruskal-Wallis tests on Likert-scale questionnaire responses identify many influencers of integration, identification, and social mobility from an Eastern European migrant perspective. A grounded-theory approach to interviews with Eastern Europeans living in England are used to reinforce hypotheses. Accent intolerance, age of migration, societal norms, discrimination in the labour market, healthcare inequalities, and socio-economic-political freedoms are discussed as significant influencers of integration and identity issues among Eastern Europeans in England. The discussion draws on an increased vulnerability of young Eastern European migrants, brought about through incessant exposure to reinforcing processes of disidentification and is highlighted as a key area for future research. Additionally, inter-migrant conflict is found to have a significant role in identity issues of Eastern European migrants, a contemporary concept which is severely under-represented in academia.
PLEASE NOTE: You must be a member of the University of Lincoln to be able to view this dissertation. Please log in here.