Subjective Well-Being as a Measure of Economic Welfare and Its Impact on the Integration and Socialization of Migrants

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 18 Sayı: 5, 2741 - 2761, 19.09.2025

Şerafettin Keleş

https://doi.org/10.35674/kent.1663071

Öz

Subjective Well-Being (SWB) as a measure of economic well-being has a significant impact on the integration and socialization of immigrants. The aim and subject of this study is to determine in what direction and to what extent the subjective well-being of immigrants affects their social hopes, social capital, social harmony and economic expectations. The quantitative data set of the study was obtained from the survey conducted in 2022 with Meskhetian Turks settled in Erzincan, located in the east of Turkey. Quantitative analyzes of the study were conducted using Structural Equation Modeling. The horizontal data set was obtained from surveys conducted with 269 Meskhetian Turks. The findings of the study showed that Meskhetian Turks have high and positive subjective well-being. Likewise, the findings revealed that the high and positive subjective well-being of immigrants also highly and positively affects their social hopes, social capital, social harmony and economic expectations. Considering the causes, consequences and costs of migration, which is a global problem, it has been concluded that ways to solve the problem at its source should be investigated.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Erzincan , Migration , Subjective Well-Being , Social Cohesion , Social Capital , Social Hope , Economic Expectation

Ekonomik Refahın Bir Ölçüsü Olarak Öznel Refah ve Göçmenlerin Entegrasyonu ve Sosyalleşmesi Üzerindeki Etkisi

Öz

Bir ekonomik refah ölçütü olarak Öznel İyi Oluş (ÖİO), göçmenlerin entegrasyonu ve sosyalleşmeleri üzerinde oldukça etkili olmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı ve konusu, göçmenlerin ÖİO’sunun onların; sosyal umutları, sosyal sermayeleri, sosyal uyumları ve ekonomik beklentilerini ne yönde ve ne düzeyde etkilediğinin tespit edilmesidir. Çalışmanın nicel veri seti, Türkiye’nin doğusunda yer alan Erzincan’a yerleştirilen Ahıska Türkleri ile 2022 yılında yapılan anket çalışmasından elde edilmiştir. Çalışmanın nicel analizleri Yapısal Eşitlik Modellemesi kullanılarak yapılmıştır. Yatay veri seti, 269 Ahıska Türkü ile yapılan anketlerden elde edilmiştir. Çalışmanın bulguları, Ahıska Türkleri’nin yüksek derecede ve pozitif yönde ÖİO’ya sahip olduklarını göstermiştir. Yine bulgular, göçmenlerin yüksek derecede ve pozitif yönde ÖİO’larının onların sosyal umutlarını, sosyal sermayelerini, sosyal uyumlarını ve ekonomik beklentilerini de yüksek derecede ve pozitif yönde etkilediğini ortaya koymuştur. Küresel bir sorun olan göçün nedenleri, sonuçları ve maliyeti göz önüne alınarak sorunu kaynağında çözme yollarının araştırılması gerektiği sonucuna varılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Erzincan , Göç , Öznel İyi Oluş , Sosyal Uyum , Sosyal Sermaye , Sosyal Umut , Ekonomik Beklenti

Kaynakça

• Amit, K. (2010). Determinants of life satisfaction among immigrants from Western countries and from the FSU in Israel. Social Indicators Research, 96, 515-534.
• Amit, K., & Riss, I. (2014). The subjective well-being of immigrants: Pre-and post-migration. Social Indicators Research, 119, 247-264.
• Anonymous, (2024). Erzincan Governorship, "Group of Ahıska Turks Came to Erzincan". http://erzincan.gov.tr/4-grup-ahiska-turkleri-erzincana-geldi
• Arpino, B., & De Valk, H. (2018). Comparing life satisfaction of immigrants and natives across Europe: The role of social contacts. Social indicators research, 137, 1163-1184. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-017-1629-x
• Bailey, T., Eng, W., Frisch, M., & Snyder, C. (2007). Hope and optimism as related to life satisfaction. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(3), 168-175. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760701409546
• Bartram, D. (2011). Economic migration and happiness: Comparing immigrants’ and natives’ happiness gains from income. Social Indicators Research, 103, 57-76.
• Bell, S., Alves, S., Silveirinha de Oliveira, E., & Zuin, A. (2010). Migration and land use change in Europe: A review. Living Reviews in landscape research, 4(2). https://www.springer.com/it/livingreviews
• Bordens, K., & Abbott, B. (2014). Ebook: Research Design and Methods: A Process Approach. McGraw Hill.
• Bottoni, G., & Addeo, F. (2024). The Effect of Social Cohesion on Subjective Individual Quality of Life in European Countries. Social Indicators Research, 1-23. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-023-03284-6
• Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. J. G. (Ed.) in, Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (s. 241-258). New York and London: Greenwood Press.
• Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. (2013). Symbolic capital and social classes. Journal of classical sociology, 13(2), 292-302.
• Brown, G. (2013). The revolt of aspirations: Contesting neoliberal social hope. ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 12(3), 419-430.
• Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concerns. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
• Castles, S. (2003). Towards a sociology of forced migration and social transformation. Sociology, 37(1), 13-34. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038503037001384
• Çiçek, A., & Erkan, O. (1996). Research and sampling methods in agricultural economics. Gaziosmanpaşa University, Faculty of Agriculture Publications No: 12. Lecture Notes Series, (6).
• Cole, J., & Durham, D. (2008). Figuring the future: Globalization and the temporalities of children and youth. School for Advanced Research on the.
• Coleman, J. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American journal of sociology, 94, 95-120. doi:https://www.jstor.org/stable/2780243
• Cooley, C. (1909). Social Organization: A Study of the Larger Mind. New York: Charles Scribner’s. https://books.google.com.tr/books?hl=tr&lr=&id=bhj3dl0OnN8C&oi=fnd&pg=PR15&dq=Cooley,+C.+(1909).+Social+Organization:+A+Study+of+the+Larger+Mind.+New+York+:+Charles+Scribner%E2%80%99s.&ots=pBRlX21l5E&sig=7BNhBOaDBSVpDw92l00e2QBB_VA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q
• Delhey, J., & Dragolov, G. (2016). Happier together. Social cohesion and subjective well‐being in Europe. Journal of Psychology, 51(3), 163-176. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12149
• Diener, E. (1994). Assessing subjective well-being: Progress and opportunities. Social indicators research, 3, s. 103-157.
• Diener, E., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2002). Will money increase subjective well-being? Social indicators research, 57, 119-169. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1014411319119
• Diener, E., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2011). Happiness: Unlocking the mysteries of psychological wealth. John Wiley & Sons.
• Diener, E., & Chan, M. (2011). Happy people live longer: Subjective well‐being contributes to health and longevity. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being, 3(1), 1-43. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2010.01045.x
• Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1997a). Measuring quality of life: Economic, social, and subjective indicators. Social indicators research, 40, 189-216.
• Diener, E., Larsen, J., Levine, S., & Emmons, R. (1985). Intensity and frequency: Dimensions underlying positive and negative affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48(5), 1253–1265. doi:https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.48.5.1253
• Diener, E., Suh, E., & Oishi, S. (1997). Recent findings on subjective well-being. Indian journal of clinical psychology, 24, s. 25-41.
• Durkheim, E. (1897). 1930 Le suicide: étude de sociologie, new edition. Paris: Alcan: 1952 Suicide, tr. J. Spaulding and G. Simpson.
• Faist, T. (2009). Migraţia transnaţională ca imobilitate relativă într-o lume globalizată. SOCIOLOGIE. ANTROPOLOGIE (s. 129). in Romania.
• Festinger, L., Schachter, S., & Back, K. (1950). Social Pressures in Informal Groups. The American Catholic Sociological Review, 11(4), 268. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1951-02994-000
• Fine, B. (2000). Social capital versus social theory: Political economy and social science at the turn of the millennium. London: Routledge.
• Fordyce, M. (1977). Development of a program to increase personal happiness. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 24(6), 511-521. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.24.6.511
• Freud, S. (1921). Massenpsychologie und Ich-analyse. Internationaler Psychoanalytischer Verlag.
• Friedkin, N. (2004). Social cohesion. Annu. Rev. Sociol, 30, 409-425. https://www.jstor.org/stable/29737700
• Granovetter, M. (1983). The strength of weak ties: A network theory revisited. Sociological theory, 201-233. doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/202051
• Granovetter, M. (2018). Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. The sociology of economic life (s. 22-45). İn Routledge.
• Hage, G. (2003). Searching for hope in a shrinking society. Sidney: Pluto Press.
• Halfacree, K. (2004). A utopian imagination in migration's terra incognita? Acknowledging the non‐economic worlds of migration decision‐making. Population, Space and Place, 10(3), 239-253.
• Harris, J., & Todaro, M. (1970). Migration, unemployment and development: a two-sector analysis. The American economic review, 60(1), 126-142.
• Harvey, D. (1989). 1989: The condition of postmodernity. Oxford: Blackwell.
• Held, B., Rodenhäuser, D., Diefenbacher, H., & Zieschank, R. (2018). The national and regional welfare index (NWI/RWI): redefining progress in Germany. Ecological Economics, 145, 391-400.
• Hoesch, K. (2018). Migration und Integration. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-658-09736-3
• Hope Cheong, P. (2006). Communication context, social cohesion and social capital building among Hispanic immigrant families. Community, work and family, 9(3), 367-387.
• İçduygu, A., & Aksel, D. B. (2012). Türkiye’de düzensiz göç. Uluslararası Göç Örgütü Türkiye. http://www.madde14.org/images/1/15/IOMTurkiyeDuzensizGoc.pdf
• Jung, P. (2021). Hope, Disillusion and Coincidence in Migratory Decisions by Senegalese Migrants in Brazil. Social Inclusion, 9(1), 268-277.
• Keleş, Ş., & Kaya, B. (2023). Social Hope and Its Determinants in Immigrants or Disadvantaged Groups: A Field Study on Meskhetian Turks. Mevzu–Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 9, 351-381. doi:https://doi.org/10.56720/mevzu.1233155
• Keskin, A., & Keleş, Ş. (2018). Formation of the social capital by its dimensions in rural areas of Erzurum province in Turkey. JAPS, Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 28(6), 1854-1867. https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.5555/20193004847
• Kleist, N. (2016). Introduction: Studying hope and uncertainty in African migration. In Hope and uncertainty in contemporary African migration (s. 1-20). in Routledge.
• Kline, R. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford publications.
• Krishna, A. (2000). Creating and harnessing social capital. P. D. (Ed) in, Social Capital A Multifaceted Perspective (s. 71-93). https://ia801608.us.archive.org/22/items/bub_gb_6PZ8bvQQmxEC/bub_gb_6PZ8bvQQmxEC.pdf
• Mar, P. (2005). Unsettling potentialities: Topographies of hope in transnational migration. ournal of intercultural studies, 26(4), 361-378.
• Massey, D., & Akresh, I. (2006). Immigrant intentions and mobility in a global economy: The attitudes and behavior of recently arrived US immigrants. ocial science quarterly, 87(5), 954-971.
• Melzer, S. (2011). Does Migration Make You Happy? The Influence of Migration on Subjective Well-Being. Journal of Social Research & Policy, 2(2).
• Mohan, G., & Mohan, J. (2002). Placing social capital. Progress in human geography, 26(2), 191-210. doi:https://doi.org/10.1191/0309132502ph364ra
• Mulcahy, K., & Kollamparambil, U. (2016). The impact of rural-urban migration on subjective well-being in South Africa. he Journal of Development Studies, 52(9), 1357-1371.
• Narayan, D., & Cassidy, M. (2001). A dimensional approach to measuring social capital: development and validation of a social capital inventory. Current sociology, 49(2), 59-102. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392101049002006
• Narotzky, S., & Besnier, N. (2014). Crisis, value, and hope: rethinking the economy: an introduction to supplement 9. Current anthropology, 55(9), 4-16.
• Ostrom, E. (1996). Crossing the great divide: coproduction, synergy, and development. World development, 24(6), 073-1087. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-750X(96)00023-X
• Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (2008). The satisfaction with life scale and the emerging construct of life satisfaction. The journal of positive psychology, 3(2), 137-152. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760701756946
• Pine, F. (2014). Migration as hope: space, time, and imagining the future. Current Anthropology, 55(9), 95-104.
• Pleeging, E., Burger, M., & van Exel, J. (2021). The relations between hope and subjective well-being: A literature overview and empirical analysis. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 16(3), 1019-1041. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-019-09802-4
• Popa, D. (2018). Life Satisfaction of East European migrants in three clustered European destinations. Online Journal Modelling the New Europe, 26, 191-216. doi:DOI:10.24193/OJMNE.2018.26.12
• Posel, D., & Casale, D. (2011). Relative standing and subjective well-being in South Africa: The role of perceptions, expectations and income mobility. Social indicators research, 104, 195-223.
• Putnam, R. (1994). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton university Press.
• Putnam, R. (1995). Tuning in, tuning out: The strange disappearance of social capital in America. PS: Political science & politics, 28(4), 664-683. doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/420517
• Raykov, T., & Marcoulides, G. (2006). On multilevel model reliability estimation from the perspective of structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling, 13(1), 130-141.
• Safi, M. (2010). Immigrants’ life satisfaction in Europe: Between assimilation and discrimination. European sociological review, 26(2), 159-176.
• Seligman, E. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Simon and Schuster.
• Seligman, M. (2011). Flourish: The new positive psychology and the search for well-being. New York: Free Press.
• Seligman, M. (2019). Positive psychology: A personal history. Annual review of clinical psychology, 15, 1-23. doi:https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050718-095653
• Stiglitz, J., Sen, A., & Fitoussi, J. (2009). The measurement of economic performance and social progress revisited: reflections and overview. Reflections and overview. Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. in
• Stillman, S., Gibson, J., McKenzie, D., & Rohorua, H. (2015). Miserable migrants? Natural experiment evidence on international migration and objective and subjective well-being. World Development, 65, 79-93.
• Tabachnick, B., Fidell, L., & Ullman, J. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5 b., s. 481-498). in Bostan: MA: pearson.
• Tegegne, M., & Glanville, J. (2019). The immigrant-native gap in subjective well-being in Western European countries: Assessing the role of social capital. International Migration Review, 53(2), 458-485. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0197918318769309
• Veenhoven, R. (2000). The four qualities of life. Journal of happiness studies, 1, 1-39. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/a:1010072010360
• Watson, D., Clark, L., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. Journal of personality and social psychology, 54(6), 1063-1070. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063
• Weston, R., & Gore Jr, P. (2006). A brief guide to structural equation modeling. The counseling psychologist, 34(5), 719-751. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000006286345
• Woolcock, M. (1998). Social capital and economic development: Toward a theoretical synthesis and policy framewor. Theory and society, 27(2), 151-208. https://www.jstor.org/stable/657866
• Yavan, S. (2022). Analysis of Applicability of Brain-Drain Tax Suggested by Bhagwati. Sosyoekonomi, 30(51), 511-536. https://doi.org/10.17233/sosyoekonomi.2022.01.25
• Zhao, Y. (1999). Leaving the countryside: rural-to-urban migration decisions in China. American Economic Review, 89(2), 281-286.