21st International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

This thesis explores how Latin American immigrants and refugees define their quality of life concerning their migration status and how their immigration status impacts their wellbeing in New Zealand. Besides, this research also aims to investigate the perceptions of Latin American refugees and immigrants on their status within a wider New Zealand society. There is very little research on how migration status impacts the quality of life of Latin American immigrants and refugees in New Zealand. So, one benefit derived from this research has been to develop a better understanding of the quality of life of Latin American refugees, and the factors influencing it. This research used a mixed method approach with both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Although a quantitative strategy using an online survey was adopted, this is primarily a qualitative study which uses ethnography and autoethnography as research methodologies. In this research, I employed three data collection methods: semi-structured interviews, digital observation (including document analysis posted on Facebook by the participants in their own pages) through Facebook, and an anonymous online survey. This study included 20 Latin American participants (11 immigrants and nine refugees) in the interviews, and 100 New Zealanders participated in the survey. Thematic analysis and quantitative analysis were used as a data analysis method. The findings of this research indicated that the participants define the quality of life as living in happiness, peace, being surrounded by loved ones and having sufficient financial resources to have a dignified, comfortable and pleasant life.