Understanding the triggers and communicative processes that constitute resilience in the context of migration to the United States

ABSTRACT

There are approximately 244 million migrants worldwide and 40 million migrants living in the US. These migrants face a myriad of stressors that they need to overcome. Framed by the communication theory of resilience, this study explores the resilience triggers and processes migrants discuss during their migration experience. Findings from 43 narrative interviews reveal three resilience triggers, four resilience processes, and two relationships between resilience triggers and processes. Similar to the ways that migrants experienced resilience triggers less, more, or ambivalently, the resilience processes were tensional and complex. Practical applications for organizations, migrants, teachers, and researchers are described. Theoretical implications related to migrants’ existing privilege and triggers, resilience processes as tensional, and co-occurrences between triggers and processes are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Resilience
• migration
• communication theory of resilience

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 During the time of this data collection, President Donald Trump sought to “adopt an immigration system that serves the national interest” and “restore the rule of law and secure [the U.S.] border” with commitments to “constructing a border wall and ensuring the swift removal of unlawful entrants” and support for “ending chain migration, eliminating the Visa Lottery, and moving the country to a merit-based entry system” (The White House, 2020, para. 1).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kristina M. Scharp

Kristina M. Scharp (PhD, University of Iowa, 2014) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington and a director of the Family Communication and Relationships Lab. Her research focuses on difficult family transitions and the ways people cope with distress.

Devon E. Geary

Devon E. Geary (MA, University of Washington, 2018) is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington. Her research interest meets at the intersection of interpersonal communication and communication and difference.

Brooke H. Wolfe

Brooke H. Wolfe (MA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2020) is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington. Her research interest meets at the intersection of interpersonal, family, and health communication.

Tiffany R. Wang

Tiffany R. Wang (PhD, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2012) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Montevallo. Her research focuses on understanding how first-generation students utilize family and mentor relationships to enact resilience processes.

Margaret A. Fesenmaier

Margaret A. Fesenmaier (PhD, University of Washington, 2019) is a UX design researcher at U.S. Bank in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her research interest meets at the intersection of family communication and communication and technology.