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Barriers to leisure-time social participation and community integration among Syrian and Iraqi refugees

ABSTRACT One important, yet understudied aspect of refugees’ resettlement experience is social participation. How are new social relationships created and maintained during the transition to the United States? This exploratory study examines social participation among a sample of recently resettled refugees. Twenty face-to-face interviews were conducted with Iraqi and Syrian refugees in a Connecticut resettlement community. Primary social activities included attending small family gatherings and worship services. Several constraints emerged, including transition to American life, little leisure time (i.e., time scarcity), maintaining dual time schedules, and varying levels of social network connections as central barriers to more active social participation. Overall, findings indicate that having less unstructured, leisure time results in lower levels of social participation and fewer friendships. Within-group differences find that some participants report feeling more socially isolated, and generally less supported, compared to others (e.g., women and single men). This research suggests that a lack of leisure time and limited social networks may hinder or delay relationship formation and community building, and should be explored further.