BJSW Advance Access originally published online on November 17, 2005
British Journal of Social Work 2006 36(7):1151-1169; doi:10.1093/bjsw/bch396
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Social Support Interventions in Migrant Populations
Dr Sonia Hernández-Plaza is Lecturer in Community and Social Psychology at the University of Almería (Spain). Her research interests and recent publications are focused on needs assessment, social support and well-being in migrant populations. She has given a number of postdoctoral courses and seminars on these topics in Spain and England (University of Bristol, University of Brunel), and has been visiting scholar at the European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations (Utrecht, The Netherlands).
Dr Enrique Alonso-Morillejo is Professor in Social Psychology at the University of Almería (Spain). His research interests and recent publications are focused on social support and well-being in migrant populations, occupational risk prevention and programme evaluation.
Dr Carmen Pozo-Muñoz is Professor in Social Psychology at the University of Almería (Spain). Her research interests and recent publications are focused on social support and well-being in migrant populations, health social psychology and programme evaluation.
Correspondence to Sonia Hernández-Plaza, Departamento de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales, Universidad de Almería, Ctra. Sacramento s/n, 04120 Almería, Spain. E-mail: splaza{at}ual.es
The phenomenon of immigration has led to an important increase in the number of social programmes and services for migrant populations in many European countries. However, some investigations have shown that the use of formal resources is extremely low in these groups. In contrast to the limited utilization of programmes and services, research in the field of social psychology has revealed that the primary source of help and support for immigrants is their own informal social network. After analysing the characteristics, advantages and limitations of formal and informal support systems, this paper presents a typology of social support interventions with migrant populations that integrates both types of support. Four levels are differentiated: dyadic interventions, social network interventions, mutual aid groups and community interventions. The development of programmes to strengthen the informal support system is emphasized as an alternative to integrating formal and informal resources in social work practice with migrant populations.
Keywords: formal and informal social support, immigration, social intervention
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