Post-Conflict Reconstruction: How Social Identity Change Informs our Understanding of the Ukrainian Experience of Forced Migration

This research explores the experiences of 13 Ukrainian women forced to flee their homes in 2022 and seek asylum in the UK. Using a social identity change approach, the research examines how the various groups established to support Ukrainians, namely the UK ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme and local Ukrainian support groups, shape Ukrainian experience and offer pathways to support psycho-social wellbeing. In-depth interviews were carried out with each participant in either English, Ukrainian or Russian, and a ‘talking stones’ approach was used to help facilitate the accounts given. A thematic analysis of the data yielded three themes that reflected the nature of these pathways and provided insights about the ‘severing and tethering’ of identities post-migration. The themes of ‘Helplessness’, ‘Solidarity’ and ‘Self-determination’, suggest that the Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC) provides a robust framework for understanding post-migration experiences. Further, emergent social identities arising from the Ukrainian community operating in tandem with the formal organisation of social support groups create a powerful double helix-style social scaffold which confers social cure outcomes. We conclude that social identity plays a significant role in both the nature of post-migration stress and that psycho-social wellbeing should be considered as a collective accomplishment. The limitations of this research are discussed, along with suggestions for future research with refugee communities.