Understandings of Happiness and Life Satisfaction Among Refugees in the UK

Abstract

Both qualitative and quantitative research draw increasingly on measures of life satisfaction and happiness to evaluate how refugees are faring in countries where asylum is obtained. However, existing evidence is limited, in that these two subjective well-being (SWB) measures are included in research as either interchangeable or distinct components of SWB. After conducting in-depth interviews with refugees based in the UK, this article presents three important contributions. First, life satisfaction is considered by refugees as a global assessment of key domains in their lives. Second, refugees define happiness not only as an emotion but also as a personal disposition towards experiencing emotions positively. Third, there is a complex relational conditionality between these two components of SWB. While individual socio-demographics and experiences, including those of seeking asylum, bring nuances to the findings, these have significant implications for measuring refugees’ SWB in the UK and in post-displacement contexts more broadly.