Abstract
Among the influences on the ability of immigrant groups to integrate and adapt in a new society, empirical studies have highlighted the role of attitudes of the host population toward the immigrant group. Based on previous social psychological theories, such as integrated threat theory (Stephan & Stephan, An integrated threat theory of prejudice. In: Oskamp S. (ed) Reducing prejudice and discrimination. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ, pp. 23–45, 2000), which have emphasized levels of perceived threat, the current chapter elaborates a threat-benefit model (TBM) of appraisal of immigrant groups. The theory proposes that local populations appraise immigrant groups as representing a number of different threats (economic, physical, social cohesion, and a threat to modernity) but also a number of potential benefits (economic, social cohesion, cultural diversity, and humanitarian) to the receiving society. Appraisal of levels of the different threats and benefits varies according to characteristics of the immigrant group, the receiving society, and the individual doing the appraisal. In addition, TBM suggests that the individuals’ appraisal will depend upon the value preferences that they hold. Based on findings from two studies (Tartakovsky & Walsh, Int J Intercult Relat 53: 39–53, 2016a, J Cross-Cult Psychol, 47: 72–96, 2016b), we examine how levels of appraisal can impact the behavioral and emotional responses of the receiving population through an examination of attitudes to policy and experiences of burnout among social workers, a population at the forefront of care provision for immigrant groups. We suggest that the ability of a host population to cope with the stressors involved in the influx of an immigrant group and to continue in a positive growth trajectory (e.g., to provide care and to promote immigrant rights and welfare) can represent a form of societal resilience.
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The two studies in the chapter were funded by a grant from the Israel Science Foundation, grant number 244/15.
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Walsh, S.D., Tartakovsky, E. (2020). Receiving Population Appraisal as Potential Risk or Resilience for Immigrant Adaptation: The Threat-Benefit Model. In: Güngör, D., Strohmeier, D. (eds) Contextualizing Immigrant and Refugee Resilience. Advances in Immigrant Family Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42303-2_5
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