Analysing life satisfaction of immigrants benefitting from the welcome and integration contract in Luxembourg

Abstract

Immigrants’ successful integration partly depends on their life satisfaction (LS). To help non-EUs (but also EUs) succeed, Luxembourg elaborated a 24-month Welcome and Integration Contract (WIC) offering three services: language classes, civic courses, orientation day. Two years after its implementation, are the beneficiaries satisfied with life and with WIC’s impacts on feeling integrated and social participation? Which factors predict non-EUs’ and EUs’ LS? A self-administered questionnaire translated into seven languages was sent to all 2470 WIC signatories. It assessed LS (1-item [1;10]), impacts of WIC on feeling integrated (11-item) and social participation (6-item), socio-demographic characteristics (sex, education, years of residence), number of used services [0;3]. Variables associated with LS were entered into a general linear model differentiating non-EUs and EUs. 233 non-EUs and 219 EUs participated. Aged 39.4±9 years, majority were women, in a couple, with university level, and settled for 5.7±4.5 years. They used 2.3±1 WIC services. Life satisfaction was 7.8±2.4 (non-EU) vs. 7.6±2.1 (EU;ns). The most satisfied with life non-EUs were women settled for the fewest years (B=-0.08*); finding their place at the professional level (B=0.49***), participating to political life (B=0.17**), and being the least able to obtain information in Luxembourgish (B=-0,25***). The most satisfied with life EUs were those satisfied with the WIC process of mutual commitment (B=0.38***), finding their place at the professional level (B=0.33***), participating to political life (0.17*), and using the most WIC services (B=0.34*;R2adjusted 0.504). Interventions aimed at improving well-being of immigrants would benefit from paying attention to cultural specificities of successful integration.