The structural-personal interaction: Occupational deprivation and asylum seekers in Australia

Abstract

Asylum seekers experience occupational deprivation in the context of restrictive social structures while awaiting refugee visa-status determination. How do social structures of citizenship status and policy shape asylum seekers’ experiences? Asylum seekers’ experiences in Australia are examined using constructivist grounded theory. Field notes from 10 months of weekly participant observation, 11 formal interviews, 34 survey responses and four policy documents are combined to identify a substantive theory - the Structural-Personal Interaction (SPI). The SPI explains how occupational deprivation arises from an interaction between social structures and personal characteristics. Social structures of citizenship status and policy interact with asylum seekers’ personal characteristics, resulting in experiences of “having nothing to do”, a fundamental component of occupational deprivation. From the SPI, new insights regarding occupational deprivation emerge. Occupational deprivation can stem from an interaction between social structures and personal characteristics. While the SPI is a substantive theory and further research across a range of settings would be beneficial for its generalization, occupational deprivation's structural roots and connections to human vulnerabilities and resilience are discernable when considered in light of the SPI. Strategies to address occupational deprivation might target changes to social structures as well as build on individual strengths and human diversity.