Anticipated job benefits, career aspiration, and generalized self-efficacy as predictors for migration decision-making

Abstract

This study aims to identify person-level factors, rather than economic situations, that influence migration decision-making and actual migration. Building on the theory of planned behavior, this study investigated potential migrants’ expectations and attitudes toward migration and career (i.e., anticipated job benefits of migration, career aspiration) as well as beliefs (i.e., generalized self-efficacy) as predictors of migration decision-making conceptualized in three phases: the pre-decisional, pre-actional, and actional phases. This was examined with cross-sectional pre-migration questionnaire data from 1163 potential migrants from Spain to Germany. We also examined whether the migration decision-making phases predicted actual migration with a subsample (n=249) which provided follow-up data within twelve months. For the cross-sectional sample, multinomial logistic regressions revealed that anticipated job benefits and career aspiration are predictive for all migration phases. Self-efficacy predicts the preactional (e.g., gathering information) and actional phases (e.g., making practical arrangements). Finally, for those with low self-efficacy, anticipated job benefits play a stronger role for taking action. For the longitudinal subsample, a logistic regression revealed that being in the preactional and actional phases at baseline is predictive of actual migration within twelve months. This study expands previous research on migration intentions and behaviors by focusing on expectations, values, and beliefs as person-level predictors for migration decision-making. With a longitudinal sample, it shows that international migration is a process that involves multiple phases.

Personality traits, migration intentions, and cultural distance

“…Individuals' aspirations and beliefs also play a role in their migration decisions. Individuals with, for example, higher self‐efficacy (Hoppe & Fujishiro, ) or internal locus of control (Caliendo, Cobb‐Clark, Hennecke, & Uhlendorff, ) might be more willing to undertake the necessary preparations required for migration. In this respect, analysis on decision to migrate can be enriched by including individuals' core self‐evaluations, aspirations, and motivations.…”

Choice Under Uncertainty: The Settlement Decisions of Serbian Self-Initiated Expatriates in the United States

“…Lastly, the research on migration and SIEs' decisions shows strong evidence that it relates to economic and professional gain (Froese, 2012;Massey et al, 1993;Selmer & Lauring, 2013) as well as social networks and family ties (Achenbach, 2017;Kritz & Zlotnik, 1992;Massey, 1999); however, economic and social factors are not the only ones influencing migration decisions (Hoppe & Fujishiro, 2015). Studies that call for both person-and institutional level are needed for deeper understanding of migration and settlement decisions as parameters exploring the consequences of immigration, crucial for the development of the international psychology field.…”

Comparative Patterns of Migration Intentions: Evidence from Eastern European Students in Economics from Romania and Republic of Moldova

“…In this paper, we analyze the likelihood of the intention to migrate versus to stay in the country of origin, considering that these two are highly connected with several background, individual, and socio-professional aspects [12][13][14][15]. Migration represents, for the young adults, a period needed for maturity [16].…”