Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Steven Little

Abstract

AbstractThe study investigated the extent to which the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of resettled Liberian refugees in the Delaware Valley region have been affected by their use of public assistance and the overall effect that it has had on their living standards. It also explored whether participants in the study would likely persuade other resettled Liberian refugees in their community to utilize available public assistance programs as a means of improving their living standard. The study utilized Humanist Theory as the theoretical framework to interpret its findings. The research methodology was based on phenomenological approach in which a generic demographic form and a 9-item survey questionnaire were employed to collect data from each of the 12 participants in the study. Data collected from the study were analyzed by identifying emergent themes from participants’ responses on the survey. The findings suggested that irrespective of participants’ gender, age, level of education, or previous experience/no experience with public assistance programs, there were no differences in their depiction of how public assistance programs affected their standard of living. The results also implied that participants felt positive about recommending public assistance programs to other refugees, as a means of improving their living standards. Potential implications for positive social change include improving the quality of services, conducting annual cultural sensitivity trainings and teaching interpersonal skills that staff could use when dealing with migrants and recipients of public assistance programs, and directing more resources to programs that lay emphasis on developing human capital.

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