Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jul:47:13-27.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.03.025.

Anticipated Job Benefits, Career Aspiration, and Generalized Self-efficacy as Predictors for Migration Decision-Making

Annekatrin Hoppe  1 , Kaori Fujishiro  2
Affiliations

Anticipated Job Benefits, Career Aspiration, and Generalized Self-efficacy as Predictors for Migration Decision-Making

Annekatrin Hoppe et al. Int J Intercult Relat. 2015 Jul.

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.

Keywords: beliefs; expectations; international migration; migration decision-making; pre-migration period; values.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual Framework
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interaction of generalized self-efficacy and anticipated job benefits on the actional phase
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aiken LH, Buchan J, Sochalski J, Nichols B, Powell M. Trends in international nurse migration. Health Affairs. 2004;23(3):69–77. - PubMed
    1. Ajzen I. The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 1991;50(2):179–211. doi: 10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T. - DOI
    1. Bandura A. Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological review. 1977;84(2):191–215. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bandura A. Self-efficacy. In: Kazdin AE, editor. Encyclopedia of psychology. Vol. 7. New York: Oxford University Press; 2000. pp. 212–213.
    1. Benson MC. THE CONTEXT AND TRAJECTORY OF LIFESTYLE MIGRATION. European Societies. 2009;12(1):45–64. doi: 10.1080/14616690802592605. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources