The Dual Burden of Loneliness: Linking Family Separation to Life Satisfaction among Ukrainian Refugee Women

Nataliia Levchuk, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)/Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies, Kyiv
Domantas Jasilionis, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research / Vytautas Magnus University
Lisa Kriechel, Federal Institute for Population Research
Martin Bujard, Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)

War-related displacements have profound impacts on refugee well-being, yet prior studies often focus on male-dominated samples. The refugee wave following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presents a unique pattern, with a majority of women, many separated from their partners. This study examines complex pathways linking forced family separation and loneliness to life satisfaction among Ukrainian women resettled in Germany in 2022. Using structural equation modeling and mediation analysis, we assess direct and indirect effects of separation, with loneliness and integration barrier factors – language proficiency, social contacts and feeling welcome, and economic and health concerns – considered as mediators. We found that family separation is not directly linked to life satisfaction; instead, its effect is fully mediated by loneliness. Loneliness, in turn, is associated with increased economic and health concerns and reduced social connectedness. It emerges as a key negative predictor of life satisfaction, playing a dual role in displacement, as an emotional burden of family separation and as a factor that exacerbates integration challenges. These findings underscore the need for policies that address loneliness and other mental health challenges to support the well-being and integration of forcibly separated refugee women.

Keywords: Migrant Populations and Refugees, International Migration, Structural equation modelling

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session 62. Migrant Populations and Refugees