Our Project

What is Karakter?

Karakter was a developmental research study focused on examining how everyday emotional experiences are related to positive personal growth in Syrian-origin young adults who have recently resettled in the Netherlands.

Why is this project important?

Around the world, the number of people who seek or have refugee status is increasing. There are at least 200,000 people in the Netherlands with refugee status, many of whom are young adults of Syrian origin. Young adults who seek or have refugee status are likely to come from places where they have been exposed to major life-changing hardship, affecting their mental health and well-being.

The difficult times that young adults who seek or have refugee status often face can bring about many challenges. However, they may also lead these young adults to experience personal growth, in the form of character development. Until now, there is very little research about how this happens.

There are social and financial complications of integrating people who have resettled in the Netherlands into their new communities, making it important to better our understanding of adaptation and growth in people who have been exposed to trauma and chronic stress.

The results of this study can provide knowledge on how to further the prosperity of young adults who have resettled in the Netherlands as they continue to grow and build communities.

Study funding, methodology, and timeline:

Funding
We were funded by The John Templeton Foundation to conduct 4 data collection sessions over 13 months.

Methodology
We recruited 168 young adults who identified as Syrian origin, were between the ages of 18 and 35, and who had been in the Netherlands for at least 6 months, but for less than 5 years when they first participated. Data collection began in February 2019 and ended in July 2020.

We used different methodologies to conduct our study. This was needed to gain a comprehensive understanding of emotions and personal growth in young adults of Syrian origin resettling in the Netherlands.

We used surveys to ask about people’s experiences, personality, and well-being. We also asked people to describe their background, including their experience with leaving Syria and moving to the Netherlands
We also used smartphone applications to measure people’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in their daily lives

Timeline of research activity
Our participants had the opportunity to complete 1 session every 4 months over 13 months. The first 3 sessions were conducted face-to-face with a researcher, and the 4th session was completed online.

Additionally, for the first 3 sessions and immediately following the survey, participants completed a week-long series of brief questionnaires about their everyday experiences on a smartphone. Participants could also provide optional brief acoustic recordings of participants' environments on a smartphone over the course of 2 days.

Participants:

Participants were provided with:

Assistance while completing the questionnaire portion of the study
A smartphone to use during the study if they were interested in providing brief acoustic recordings of their environment. Participants were shown how to use the application, including how to request privacy
A demonstration and instructions on how to use a smartphone to complete the week-long series of brief surveys

What did participants receive in return for their time and effort?
Participants chose how they were compensated for their time and effort. They chose among the following options:

A monetary reward that was transferred to their bank account
Or a voucher from the VVV, Albert Heijn, or bol.com
- After every session completed, the reward increased up to a maximum of €50
Finally, depending on their participation, they were entered in a lottery to win an electronic tablet

Additionally, participants had the option to participate in the following activities:

Research updates and other news in an e-newsletter and blog.
An interactive seminar series held online on topics related to psychology. Originally, these were planned to be held in person, but were moved online due to COVID-19. Participants received a certificate of participation. Seminar topics included:
1. Expressive writing (with researcher Mariam Fishere, Goethe University)
2. Trauma, growth, and cultural identity (with researchers Laurien Meijer and Haza Rahim, Utrecht University)
3. Collective leadership (with researchers Eva Alisic, University of Melbourne and Binyam Sisay Mendisu, UNESCO-International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa and Addis Ababa University)
Contributing their personal story and/or creative work for an electronic book collection focused on the experiences of Syrian origin young adults in the Netherlands, to be distributed across the Netherlands, and internationally.
An end-of-project event that included a discussion of this study’s results by members of the research team and a roundtable discussion focused on the experiences of young people like them. Like our seminar series, this event was planned to be held in person, but was moved online. Participation in these additional activities was entirely optional and did not affect participant compensation in any way.

What if participants did not want to participate anymore during data collection?
If during the study participants were unable to or did not wish to continue participating in Karakter, they had the right to stop at any time, without any consequences.

How is participant data being used?
Participant data has been anonymized. Results from our studies are being published on the blog and in scientific outlets, but personally identifying information is not being shared. This means that information that might allow people to trace participants' answers back to them are not being published (e.g., names and addresses).

During data collection, the researchers had access to personal data to keep in touch with participants throughout the study, and supervising institutions had access to their personal data to ensure that the study was being conducted properly. We did not share personal data with third parties. Now that data collection has concluded, personal data has been destroyed.