Refugees' feelings of security and victimization

The pursuit of security is considered as one of the basic human needs. It therefore seems plausible that people leave their country of origin if their personal security is obviously being threatened or the threat to their personal security is feared. Theoretical considerations on perceived security predict an influence of individual experiences or socio-spatial conditions. The present analysis focuses on the subjectively perceived security in the refugees' everyday life in Germany. Influential subjective predictors (e.g. victimization before, during flight and in Germany) were used to make statements about the perceived security. The results show that satisfaction with the current situation is the most important influential factor on perceived security.