Background Research on voluntary migrants shows that splitting phenomena are highly conducive to individual identity and psychic well-being. Although these phenomena are also frequently encountered in work with refugees, the adaptivity to refugees has not yet been empirically proven and has even been questioned. This pilot study, which was based on the mixed methods design, examined whether refugees can also benefit from engaging in splitting processes during their arrival in the new country. Material and methods In interpreter-assisted interviews 16 refugees reported about their refugee experiences, their early days and their current life in Germany and answered questionnaires on identity development. On the basis of developed operationalization guidelines and taxonomies, the interview transcripts were assessed with respect to splitting processes during the arrival in the new country (retrospectively) and at the time the survey was conducted. In addition, the functionality of the identity was also rated. Results With the exception of the ethnocultural identity crisis, Mann-Whitney U-tests showed that the refugees that split more during their initial period, which was on average about 2 years before, showed a significantly more integrated (U & x202f;= 1.00, p & x202f;< 0.001, r & x202f;= -0.80), less conflicted (U & x202f;= 11.50, p & x202f;< 0.028, r & x202f;= -0.55) and more functional identity (U & x202f;= 6.00, p & x202f;< 0.005, r & x202f;= - 0.69) in comparison to the group that did not split as much at that time. The qualitative results further demonstrated the protective and adaptive functions of splitting. Conclusion The refugees interviewed were able to protect their ego and their identity from flooding and decompensation by means of splitting and the nostalgic fixations as well as the transitional acts they contained. Therefore, it was possible for them to emotionally refuel through their inner object "home" in order to have more energy available for the (re)construction of intrapersonal and interpersonal identity.
