The Role of basic psychological needs satisfaction for the psychological well-being and social-cultural integration of refugees in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, Uganda

Abstract

There is a gap in the psychology literature about the relevance of basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS) among refugees in sub-Saharan African contexts. This study examined the role of basic psychological needs satisfaction for the psychological well-being and social-cultural integration of refgees and Ugandans. The objectives of this study were: 1. To explore the factors that influence the psychological well-being or frustration of both refugees and Ugandans; 2. To examine the relationship among basic psychological needs satisfaction (autonomy, relatedness and competence) plus adjustment and psychological well-being of refugees and Ugandan nationals (host community); 3. To determine whether social-cultural integration is related to psychological well-being among refugees. In this case, three studies were conducted for each of the objectives above. For Study One (Objective One), data were collected through nine focus group discussions with 54 participants. The interview questions asked about issues that frustrated or encouraged their psychological well-being. For Study Two (Objective Two), structured questionnaires that assessed basic psychological needs satisfaction, adjustment and psychological well-being were used. Data was collected from 500 participants (250 refugees, 250 Ugandans). Study Three (Objective Three) aimed to explore whether social-cultural integration was related to psychological well-being among refugees. Participants were refugees aged 18 years and above. The study had 250 respondents, gender being equally distributed. Data were collected with structured questionnaires. For the first study, thematic analysis was used to understand the factors that influenced the psychological well-being or frustration of both refugees and Ugandan nationals (the host community). For the second study, structural equation modelling was used to test whether basic psychological needs satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and adjustment were related to psychological well-being among refugees in the Rhino Camp refugee settlement and Ugandans (hosting community). In the third study, linear regression analyses were used to explain whether social-cultural integration was related to psychological well-being only among refugees. These kinds of analyses gave a clear rationale for the application of exploratory sequential design and, moreover, a mixed methods approach for this dissertation. The study findings from the three different studies are as follows: From Study One, after conducting a thematic analysis, ten themes emerged that contribute to the psychological well-being or frustration of refugees and the host community, and these were: food availability, family separation and death, good security in the refugee camp, provision of health services, access to free education, the role of mental health and psychosocial support, unfavourable farmland, availability of employment and income-generating activities, collaboration and peer support, and delayed resettlement within or outside Uganda. In Study Two, the findings indicated that basic psychological needs satisfaction was an important factor for the psychological well-being of both refugees and Ugandans in the hosting community. Study Three regression analysis results indicated that social-cultural integration was significantly related to psychological well-being among refugees. Interestingly, autonomy, relatedness, and adjustment were found to matter for the psychological well-being of both groups, whereas competence did not matter for any group. Study limitations: All studies focused only on adults aged 18 years and above. Future studies should include children in the assessments in order to understand whether basic psychological need satisfaction among children contributes to their psychological well-being. In the third study, the host community (Ugandans) was not involved. If they were included, it could help to understand how the host community copes with the new culture and various practices of refugees. Furthermore, the study findings were limited to respondents in the refugee camp and those neighbouring the refugee settlement; therefore, we do not claim that these findings represent Ugandans who are many miles away from the camp. In future considerations, people who have no link or proximity to the refugee settlement should be studied. The study, however, contributes to the literature on understanding how social-cultural integration influences psychological well-being among refugees in Africa. The study also adds to the literature that supports how basic psychological needs satisfaction is relevant to promoting the psychological well-being of refugees and Ugandans. This could be extended to other parts of the country and even across Africa. Several recommendations emerge to guide community-based psychological interventions, which may improve the psychological well-being of refugees and host community members. Future studies could aim at focusing on the possibilities of improving the basic psychological needs satisfaction of refugees and the host community for better psychological well-being. As this study found that adjustment contributed to psychological well-being, a recommendation is made to facilitate more possibilities of positive adjustment among individuals that may suffer from frustration or any form of disruptions due to man-made or natural disasters. Refugees, for example, should be engaged in decision-making and empowered in aspects of self-reliance as this would promote autonomy and competence, respectively. Activities promoting peaceful co-existence to foster relatedness have been found to be contributing factors to psychological well-being among Ugandans and refugees.