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Boletín de Coyuntura, Nº 23; octubre- diciembre 2019; e-ISSN 2600-5727 / p-ISSN 2528-7931; UTA – Ecuador; Pág. 21-26
1
Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo. Facultad de Artes Liberales y Ciencias de la Educación. Guayaquil-Ecuador. E-mail lauracruz@uees.edu.ec. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2891-2426
2
Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo. School of International Studies. Guayaquil-Ecuador. E-mail atusev@uees.edu.ec. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3794-9669
Fecha de recepción: 17 de octubre de 2019 Fecha de aceptación: 10 de diciembre de 2019
Laura Cruz- Mera
1
; Aleksandar Tusev
2
The resilience of Venezuelan immigrants in Ecuador
La resiliencia de los inmigrantes venezolanos en Ecuador
Resumen
El estudio actual tiene como objetivo general evaluar los niveles de
resiliencia que poseen los inmigrantes venezolanos que residieron en
Ecuador desde enero de 2018 hasta noviembre del mismo año. La
resiliencia, en psicología, es el proceso de buena adaptación contra la
adversidad, trauma, tragedia, amenaza o tensiones signicativas t de
alto estrés. Integra varios factores como la autoestima, la autonomía,
la creatividad, el humor, la autoconanza, el apoyo social y la empatía;
Estos fueron analizados a través de una herramienta psicométrica de-
nominada "Inventario de factores personales de resiliencia". Este estu-
dio se realizó con una muestra de población de venezolanos que viven
en el refugio provisto por la organización Hogar de Cristo en Guayaquil.
Los resultados demostraron que existe un nivel medio de resiliencia
general de acuerdo con los puntajes promedio. No obstante, al analizar
los resultados de los factores individuales, se observó que los factores
mejor calicados fueron la autoestima y la autonomía.
Palabras clave: Inmigrantes, resiliencia, adversidad, autonomía, au-
toestima
Abstract
The current study has as a general objective to evaluate the levels of re-
silience possessed by Venezuelan immigrants who resided in Ecuador
from January 2018 until November of the same year. Resilience, in psy-
chology, is the process of good adaptation against adversity, trauma,
tragedy, threat or signicant tensions regarding interpersonal conicts,
health diculties and high stress situations. It integrates various factors
such as self-esteem, autonomy, creativity, humor, self-condence, so-
cial support and empathy; these were analyzed through a psychometric
tool denominated “Personal factors of resilience inventory”. This study
was done with a sample population of Venezuelan nationals who live in
the refuge provided by the Hogar de Cristo organization in Guayaquil.
The results demonstrated that there is a medium level of general resil-
ience according to the average scores. Nonetheless, when analyzing
the individual factor results, it was observed that the highest rated fac-
tors were self-esteem and autonomy.
Keywords: Immigrants, resilience, adversity, autonomy, self-esteem
Introduction
Forced migration is becoming an ever more common theme in today’s
globalized world. There are currently, 25,4 million refugees worldwide,
as stated by Amnesty International (2019). International Humanitarian
crises have increased from 16 events to 30 in the time period between
2005 and 2017. Around 16,2 million people were newly displaced by
conict and violence in 2017 alone; this amounts to 44,000 people be-
ing forced from their homes every day. Nearly 70 million people are
currently displaced worldwide, most of them within their own borders,
Syria being at the top of the list of countries with people internally dis-
placed by conict, with 6,8 million; followed by Colombia, with 6.5 mil-
lion; the Democratic Reublic of the Congo, with 4,5 million; Sudan, with
2,1 million; and Iraq, with 2 million (United Nations Organization, 2018).
Venezuela is facing its largest humanitarian crisis of its history. In every
conict, in every situation, thousands of people are aected; some lose
property and family, others even lose their lives. In the face of such
calamity, what distinguishes those that most persevere and overcome
these challenges over those that do not? Why do some people "stag-
nate" at one point in their lives, without the ability to move on, whereas
others nd a way to overcome? Psychologists have studied these cas-
es in detail, and point to a key factor to help answer such questions:
"Resilience”, derives from the Latin verb resilio that gives a notion of
jump, jumping back;, also the quality of being able to recover success-
fully from injury or disaster (Cohen, 2017; Cyrulnik, 2017; Rutter, 1990).
The situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is critical. This has
been traced to the death of President Hugo Chávez, leaving the government of
the republic in the hands of Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela is in the midst of
an economic and political crisis aggravated by shortages of medicines
and food, rising crime rates and an authoritarian government (Council
on Foreign Aairs, 2018). The current government has taken steps to
consolidate its power, holding much-questioned elections to replace
legislation. The president's actions have been met with massive pro-
tests and international condemnation and these have threatened to del-
egitimize the most recent election campaign. One of the consequences
of this uneasiness felt by citizens with the government has been mani-
fested in a massive migration, mostly forced and the proclamation of an
interim president by the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaido,
making Venezuela the only south American country to have two presi-
dents. Moreover, Guaido has been internationally recognized by over 14
countries whereas President Maduro has the support of 6 countries in-
cluding his own government. This has sparked an international conict
among countries that support Guaido and those who support Maduro
and the eect these alliances have on migration reforms and status.
The number of Venezuelan immigrants in Latin America went from
89.000 to 900.000 individuals in 2 years, indicating a 900% growth.
Around the world, Venezuelan mobilization increased by almost 110%
between 2015 and 2017, from 700.000 to more than one million (UN
News, 2018).. From January to August 2018, 115.690 Venezuelan mi-
grants entered Ecuador. The country received around 240.000 Vene-
zuelan immigrant since 2015 until 2019, from which more than 100.000
have obtained regulated legal status and a residence identication
card (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana, 2019),
13.535 applied for refugee status between 2014 and 2018 (Coor-
dination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela, 2019).
This has resulted in a humanitarian crisis in Ecuador. Many of them
have managed to get ahead and prosper in this country; others are still
looking for possibilities and waiting for opportunities. And they are the
members of this group, the so-called resilient individuals.
The term resilience is the process of good adaptation to adversity, trau-
ma, tragedy, threat or signicant strong tensions such as problems in
interpersonal relationships and family, health problems or situations of
high stress at work or nancial. In colloquial terms, it is the "bouncing"
of a dicult experience or situation (American Psychology Association,
n.d.). Resilience is integrated by several factors that vary from author
to author, but those that are repeated are self-esteem, autonomy, cre-
ativity, humor, self-condence, social support, and empathy. The set
of these factors are those that create a resilient personality capable of
facing situations. Self-esteem, according to Nathaniel Branden (1990),
comprises two components: a feeling of personal competence and a
feeling of personal worth. In other words, self-esteem is the sum of
condence and self-respect. Empathy is the ability to understand the
needs, feelings, and situations of others, putting oneself in their shoes
and thus being able to respond correctly to their reactions and understand
their emotions (Balart, 2013). Autonomy refers to the ability to set limits
and rules for oneself without the inuence of external or internal pressures
(Moderna: Modelo de Desarrollo Económico de Navarra, n.d.). Finally,
creativity is the capacity of the brain to reach new conclusions and solve
problems in an original way (Huerta, Rodríguez, In Castro, & In Escobar, 2014).
URL: http://revistas.uta.edu.ec/erevista/index.php/bcoyu/article/view/845 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.31164/bcoyu.23.2019.845
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The resilience of Venezuelan immigrants in Ecuador
L. Cruz, A. Tusev / Boletín de Coyuntura, Nº 23; octubre- diciembre 2019; e-ISSN 2600-5727 / p-ISSN 2528-7931; UTA – Ecuador; Pág. 21-26
The study of resilience in Venezuelan refugees and immigrants would
contribute to a better understanding of the situation they live in after
their mobilization. Mental health is an important part of the development
of people, especially those who have come to live a traumatic expe-
rience, as is the case of the crisis in Venezuela. The new information
gathered in this study will contribute to improving the services currently
available to refugees in Ecuador by non-governmental organizations,
international and national agencies, and specialists in mental health and
shelter.
This study will involve the use of a psychological tool developed in
Peru by the psychology PHD professor Ana Cecilia Salgado. She has
a background in research and is a professor at Santiago de Loyola
University and at Marcelino Champagnat University, in Lima (ORCID,
n.d.). The psychometric tool called “Inventory of Personal Factors of
resilience” and Salgado created this inventory in 2005, to create a con-
temporary way to measure Resilience stating that this is one of the most
researched variables nowadays, due to the implications it has in the
prevention and promotion of the human development (Salgado, 2005).
This tool was specically developed to evaluate personal factors of re-
silience in children aged 7 to 12 in Peru.
This Psychometric tool was featured in a study carried out in Arequipa
Peru, “Dierences in Resilience, based on Sociodemographic factors in
students age 8 to 12 from marginal zones” by Virgilia Quishpe and luz
Vera, where they tested high school students to determine if the Socio-
economic factors had an inuence in the level of resilience the children
would develop (Quispe & Vera, 2017).
General objective: To identify the levels of resilience of Venezuelan mi-
grants and refugees who travel and settle in Ecuador, due to abandonment
by the government and the economic, social and political crisis that the
Bolivarian country is experiencing.
Specic Objectives: To analyze the levels of resilience presented, taking
into account the variable of schooling present in each individual. Com-
pare the results obtained with relevant data and studies carried out
in the country. Investigate possible variables that inuence and give a
deeper perspective of the factors that comprise the development of
resilience.
Literature Review
Refugees
Refugees are people who have ed war, violence, conict or persecu-
tion and have crossed an international border to nd security in another
country. Moreover, they are protected under international law, in the
1951 Convention on Refugees (United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, n.d.). This denes them as: "Someone who is unable to re-
turn to their country of origin because of a well-founded fear of being
persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a
particular social group, or political opinion. (United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 1951, p. 6). According to ocial
gures of the UNHCR, by the end of 2017, there will be 25,4 million refugees
among men, women, and children registered around the world.
According to UNHCR (2017), there are three types of migrants: refugees,
displaced persons and asylum seekers. Refugees are those who, be-
cause of life-threatening persecution, such as war, have been forced to
cross borders to take refuge in a host country. Displaced persons are
those who have had to ee their homes for causes similar to those of
refugees, but seek refuge in the same country, in more secure areas;
and asylum seekers are those who have applied for refugee status to a
country other than their own, but who have not yet received a denitive
response (United Nations Agency for Refugees, 2017). In most cases
these groups are a product of forced migration: the movement of people
in which the pressure that it causes is observed, and the threat to life and
their survival is due to natural causes or at the hands of people (Interna-
tional Organization for Migration, 2018). This denition ts the situation
that Venezuelan refugees are facing today.
According to the study conducted by the Dutch intercultural psychi-
atrists, Ortal Slobodin and Joop TVM de Jong (2014), it is clear that
psychological problems among refugees and asylum seekers are not
rare, especially since the prevalence of trauma-related issues is very
high within the crisis boundaries and the adversity of experiences asso-
ciated with forced migration. What this study concluded is that there is
a shortage on guiding frameworks that are available to researchers and
clinicians, interested in the intervention and work with these vulnerable
individuals. The idea of looking into refugees’ mental health was also
proposed by Lindert, Carta, Schafer and Mollica (2016) in their study.
This study looked at the experiences and traumatic events they may
have been subjected to, such as war trauma, persecution, humiliation
or torture among other human rights violations. Usually, before they
are being forced to ee, individuals may experience physical assault,
extreme fear, loss of livelihood; the destruction of their communities,
separation of families, friends and cultural systems. According to this
research, the impact and eect of these stressors on the mental health
of the individuals has a relation with the violence and traumatic events
they had been exposed to. Considering this, females and unaccom-
panied minors are even more likely to develop a wide variety of issues
due to their large exposure to dierent events and feelings (Lindert, J.,
Carta, M. G., Schäfer, I., & Mollica, R. F, 2016).
On the other hand, there is the situation with migrants. The International
Organization for Migration (IOM) denes migrants as: any individual who
moves or has moved across an international border or within the same
country, outside his or her usual place of residence independent of:
(1) his or her legal status; (2) the voluntary or involuntary nature of the
displacement; (3) the causes of the displacement; or (4) the duration of
his or her stay" (2018).
Resilience
When it comes to the concept of resilience, some authors state that it
has many aspects and denitions depending on its core use. For ex-
ample, Fletcher & Sarkar (2013) consider resilience under the two core
concepts of adversity and positive adaptation. Their study reveals that
resilience is required as a response to dierent adversities, from ongoing
daily hassles to major life situations, and also that positive adaptation must
be appropriate to the adversity examined. On the other hand, there is
the other conceptualization of resilience, leaning towards it being the
interactive inuence of psychological characteristics within stress and
stress processes (Fletcher & Sarkar, 2013).
Resilience is exposed as an adaptive capacity of any system. These
can usually be assessed by observing its response when encountered
with disruptions or challenges. As expressed by Woods (2017) in his
book on resilience, as an adaptive capacity, resilience has limits or
boundary conditions that are tested by disruption, since these are the
ones that would tell, where the limit of the resilience lies. therefore, how
the individual will adapt.
When it comes to resilience, studies associated to refugees and im-
migrants, research to date has predominantly focused on factors that
make individuals more vulnerable for developing posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) and /or psychological distress, as exposed in the study
titled “Resilience as a Protective Factor against the Development of
Psychopathology among Refugees” where the authors indicate that
very few papers have studied potential protective factors such as resilience
(Arnetz, Rofa, Arnetz, Ventimiglia, & Jamil, 2013). By “protective factor”
it refers to a quality that is developed or possessed before the time of
the situation, enabling the individual to have a resource to rely on and
that would protect their psyche by the time, and after, the situation happens.
What was found was that a resilience-oriented approach, putting more
focus on studying the protective and recovery-fostering individual
assets is what is needed with the large numbers of re-settlers arriving
from conict and unstable zones, rather that utilizing a symptom-oriented
approach (Arnetz et al., 2013). Leaving to the understand the great im-
portance of the resilience factor in the adaptation skills that individuals
in this vulnerable circumstances need.
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The resilience of Venezuelan immigrants in Ecuador
L. Cruz, A. Tusev / Boletín de Coyuntura, Nº 23; octubre- diciembre 2019; e-ISSN 2600-5727 / p-ISSN 2528-7931; UTA – Ecuador; Pág. 21-26
meal, a bed, water, showers, migration advice and internet access for a
limited time before they prepare to continue on their journey (R. Borges,
personal communication, March 13, 2019). This organization has been
working in Guayaquil for about a year and a half, when the migration situation
was at its peak. Borges comments that a common characteristic that
the Venezuelan immigrants have when they reach Guayaquil city is that
they come running away from a crisis, with no access to human rights;
they come from long and exhausting journeys on foot or hitchhiking,
looking to get to Peru and Chile. Ecuador is not their destination any-
more. According to Borges, who is also a specialist in coaching and an
immigrant himself, resilience plays an important part on the determina-
tion of whether or not the individual will prosper in their journey. It is their
capacity to make a possibility of a better outcome, from an adversity (R.
Borges, personal communication, March 13, 2019).
Methodology
The design of this study presents a non-experimental, transactional
structure of a descriptive nature. The study was carried out with the
beneciaries of the Hogar de Cristo Organization, where migrants from
Venezuela come to Ecuador in search of support and temporary shelter
assistance. Hogar de Cristo Organization in Guayaquil was selected for
convenience since this is a non-governmental organization that works
together with other organizations in search of a better quality of life for the
neediest in Ecuador and in recent years has been inserted in providing
and supporting assistance to refugees and asylum seekers worldwide,
including those of Venezuelan origin with their action Techo para el Camino.
This location is located in La Atarazana area, behind the Bolivarian Tech-
nical Institute ITB.
The study consisted of the evaluation of a focus group of migrants who
entered Ecuador from January 2019 to March 2019. During this period
the migratory waves have intensied, more citizens have mobilized. In
the same way, several countries, where migrants go, have changed
their migration policies. Countries such as Panama, Nicaragua, and
Colombia are now applying for sealed visas for Venezuelans to enter
(Noticiero Digital, 2018). This means an increase in the number of citi-
zens entering Ecuador.
For the most accurate assessment of resilience levels, a question-
naire was administered to 50 people with migrant status, ranging in
age from 18-60 years of age. The tool used was the Personal Factors
Scale (Salgado, 2005) made up of 48 items that evaluate the dimen-
sions of Self-esteem, Empathy, Autonomy, Humor, and Creativity; using
a two-choice response method, YES or NO. For this study, the tool was
modied by reducing the factors evaluated to Self-esteem, Autonomy
and Creativity due to the high relevance these three factors have in the
development of resilience when migrating to a dierent country as a
result of a humanitarian and political crisis.
The evaluation and rating of this instrument are given by the following
method: in each of the factors mentioned there are three categories
of the score, being high, medium and low; the range of direct score
on each scale is 1-10. In addition, a joint total resilience score is given
through the ve normative scores establishing the following categories:
very low, low, average, high, and very high.
Among the variables implemented in the study are sex, age, and level of
schooling. The latter provides a view of the economic and social status
of those evaluated, giving us a perspective on another important factor
in the study of resilience.
A study conducted by students at National University of San Marcos in
Lima, Peru, “Personal factors of resilience and self-concept in primary
school students of Metropolitan Lima” had the objective to establish the
existence, or lack thereof, between the resilience factors and self-con-
cept in students from primary schools in Lima using the inventory of per-
sonal factors of resilience (Matalinares et al., 2011).
Supportive Methodology
As part of the methodology in this study and in order to provide a qualita-
In terms of resilience in the context of an armed conict or a humani-
tarian crisis, as it was exposed in the study by Siriwardhana, Ali, Roberts,
& Stewart (2014) the global burden of forced migration due to armed
conict, and in this case, to economic and political instability, is increas-
ingly recognized as an important issue in global health. Involuntary mi-
gration or forced migration is a factor that generates a higher risk in the
development of mental disorders in the individuals that attempt them.
However, since resilience is dened as the ability of a person to successfully
adapt to or recover from stressful and traumatic experiences, it has
been stressed as a key potential protective factor for those migrating as
a consequence of the countries situation as is the case of the Venezuelans
in Ecuador.
For Clinical Psychologist Jenyfer Aguilar (personal communication,
March 19, 2019), resilience is the capacity of an individual to take psychic
tools to enable them to accommodate and adapt to their location and
situation. As an expert in Human rights, Jenyfer has been working for
the Jewish service as their Social Psychologist since October 2018, she
is the one in charge of reviewing the status of each immigrant that stays
in “Techo para el Camino”. She believes that there is a correlation in the
level of schooling a person has and their level of resilience, which will be
revised further on this study.
Venezuelan situation
For almost a decade, the world had been the witness of the Venezuelan
crisis that erupted from an economic downturn and led to its ramica-
tion into an, overall, humanitarian crisis. This ramication has created
a direct correlation with the changes in the migration patterns in Latin
America and the Caribbean, both voluntary and forced. John (2018), in
her economical study of the Venezuelan crisis, stated that due to the
growing political upheaval Venezuelan migrates are looking for better
and safer opportunities and living spaces. Poverty and crime have es-
calated to levels never imagined in the country. There is a real fear of
becoming victims of human tracking in the region and its borders, with
cases of sex tourism, and smuggling having been conformed. As such,
individuals see eeing as their only solution. As John states, Venezuela
was once a thriving economy where people had a good life; they are
now struggling to survive. This is a great example as to why it is relevant
to talk about mental health in Venezuelan immigrants. Their background
and their history has not prepared them for a crisis.
When it comes to culture shock or stress caused by the dierences
in culture of the immigrant and the host country, it is said that if they
are from similar cultural backgrounds, the shock is lessened as are the
possibilities of developing any mental disorder (Schwartz et al., 2018).
Cultural stress theory states that immigrant groups in host environment
contexts that are more culturally similar to them would report a less
negative context of reception, compared to immigrant groups settling
in countries that are more culturally dissimilar. However, it was found
that immigrants from Venezuela, settling in Colombia would face more
discrimination and negative connotations than those who decided to
settle up north in the United States, leading to questioning their levels of
resilience and adaptation capacity.
Venezuelan situation in Ecuador
Ecuador has never been a signicant destination for immigrants, but as
of the last decade, it has become an attraction for migrants because
its economy is dollarized. The current situation is represented in the
evolution of the non-Ecuadorian population, as it was shown by the last
two censuses; this population grew from 104.130 in 2000 to 194.398 in
2012 (90% increase). Most immigrants come from Colombia and Peru.
Colombian citizens represent 49% of the total foreign population in Ecuador,
and 98% of the refugees are recognized by the Ecuadorian State
(Cerrutti & Parrado, 2015).
As for Venezuelans, the currency is one of the main incentives they have
for coming to Ecuador, but not as a nal destination. The Venezuelan
born coordinator of “Techo para el camino” (A roof for the road), part of
the Organization Hogar de Cristo, Ronald Borges, described the place
as a refuge for the immigrants and refugees, where they can have a
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The resilience of Venezuelan immigrants in Ecuador
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Tabla 1. Sample population
Tabla 2. Average values by factors and their corresponding category
Source: Own elaboration based on surveys and interviews. Note: This table represents the percentages of
representation within the external variables.
Source: Own elaboration based on surveys and interviews. Note: This table presents the scores obtained for
individual factors and the category to which they belong according to the rating scale.
The external variables were categorized and 42% of the sample is fe-
male and the remaining 58% is male. With regard to the level of schooling,
72% of those surveyed only got at least 12 years of education, either
graduated with a baccalaureate from high school or dropped out before
nishing and don't have a technical or university degree. On the other
end, only 22% are pursuing or have completed the university educa-
tion corresponding to 4 or more years of higher education; leaving 6%
having completed a technical education, corresponding to 2 years of
superior education.
The results obtained from the individuals evaluated are shown in Table
2. This table indicates that for the dierent factors that comprise Resilience,
the sample reached scores that locate the factors as shown, MEDIUM
on Self-esteem; HIGH on Autonomy; and MEDIUM on Creativity as in-
dicated in the scale.
Analysis and Discussion of Results
In the resilience assessment of this work, an overall result of resilience
was obtained that corresponds to an AVERAGE level. It is worth men-
tioning that in this study three external variables were proposed and
evaluated: age, sex, and level of schooling. With respect to sex, it was
identied that the majority (58%) of those evaluated were men, which
does not allow for a concrete evaluation due to the inequality in the
number of men and women evaluated; therefore, it is recommended
that future studies on this topic present a sample where the amounts
are equal between men and women. According to Prado & Del Águi-
la (2003) and its study on resilience in Peru, there are no signicant
dierences in the quantitative part, but they did nd dierences in the
interaction part, indicating a positive result in the female sex.
Age is usually a determining factor when evaluating psychological as-
pects, due to rational and cognitive maturation. It is for this reason that
the age ranges evaluated can determine the levels or capacity of resilience
in people after a dicult situation that is faced. According to the results
obtained, a majority of individuals within an age range of 19-50 years
are identied. According to Tutillo's research (2014), there is an impor-
tant relationship between resilience factors present during the school
stage and their inuence on adequate personal development. This indi-
cates that if the person had training in resilient factors, whether this was
obtained in school or university, they are much more likely to develop a
resilient personality.
The next part of the interpretation of the personal resilience factor test
is the interpretation by individual factors. According to the theory, an
individual is considered resilient when he is able to face diculties or
traumatic situations and get on with their life (APA, n.d). According to
the results obtained, it can be inferred that the Venezuelan immigrant
population has a medium level of global resilience and an average level
of factor resilience, which can be correlated with the external variables
that were evaluated. These results are good because they signify a better
outcome than expected, indicating that there is, at least, an average
resilience level complementing the individuals in their adaptation and sur-
vival through their journeys.
The rst factor evaluated is that of self-esteem which, according to the
sample results, this factor obtained an average score of 7,94 tting
in the category of MEDIUM. An important factor in the acceptance of
the situation they live and having the necessary condence makes the
process of resilience and move forward more uid. It was clear during
the administration of the test, that the individuals felt out of place in
tive analysis and more in depth information on the situation of the Vene-
zuelan immigrants in Ecuador, two interviews were performed to a mental
health and human rights specialist working directly with the migrants in
Guayaquil, and to a Coach and Venezuelan activist who coordinates a
temporary house in Guayaquil for immigrants.
Jenyfer Aguilar is a Clinical Psychologist with a Master degree in Human
Rights. She currently works as a Social Psychologist for the Jewish Ser-
vice in Ecuador, focusing on the Area of Guayaquil. Her job has been
focused on providing assessment in terms of migration and analysis of
proles that are considered vulnerable, to provide them with help in terms
of housing, job opportunities and other necessities.
Ronald Borger, a certied coaching expert, is the current coordinator
of “Un techo para el camino” since the beginning of the project a year
and a half ago. He was born in Venezuela and arrived in Ecuador when
he was assured his position to work with the organization “Hogar de
Cristo”, having experienced the crisis from beginning to his arrival to
this country.
The main limitation found is the Venezuelan and Ecuadorian
standardization of the psychological tool since it was developed for a
Peruvian population. The second limitation was the age range for what
this tool was originally destined towards.
Another limitation in the study was the compilation of individuals for the
sample, since there are many places and NGOs that deal with the ow
of Venezuelan immigrants with assistance and asylum, most of these
were hard to contact and get permissions to get interviews and partici-
pants for the test. The sample size is average compared to the popu-
lation. This sample represents a good view of the general trend and it
gives leverage to future studies to consider. Further studies would re-
quire more qualitative analysis and more in depth interviews in order to
consider all the factors that aect mental health, specically, resilience.
The results present a high percentage of reliability due to the qualities of
the group that was analyzed, that are qualities shared among most of
the migrant population.
Lastly, there was scarce information on the specic issue. There are
very few to none prior studies around the current problem and analysis
of resilience in this kind of population in the country, making it dicult to
nd referential studies.
Results
In response to the general research objective of revealing the levels
of resilience of Venezuelan immigrants who have arrived in Ecuador, it
was found that the sample has a combined resilience score of 21,56.
This result indicates that this sample falls into the category of "Average"
according to the scale of interpretation on the understanding that they
have an AVERAGE capacity to succeed, grow, be strong and prevail
under dicult circumstances (Salgado, 2004).
25
L. Cruz, A. Tusev / Boletín de Coyuntura, Nº 23; octubre- diciembre 2019; e-ISSN 2600-5727 / p-ISSN 2528-7931; UTA – Ecuador; Pág. 21-26
The resilience of Venezuelan immigrants in Ecuador
menting these individuals as they adapt to the environment during their
migration process.
The results of the psychometric tests show that Venezuelan immigrants
and refugees are resilient at dierent levels and that there are other
variables that aect their resilience levels. However, the correlations of
these factors were not determined in this study. Mental health is inu-
enced by individuals´ surroundings and upbringing environment. Hence,
it is pertinent to acknowledge that there are dening socioeconomic
factors that need further investigation in order to obtain more holistic
results.
This study did not look at the extent of added obstacles Venezuelan
migrants may be facing in Ecuador, such as unemployment, discrimination,
mistreatment, and unfair payment. These factors are likely to also aect
resilience levels of migrants. As such, these factors deserve greater
attention in order to better understand the situation of Venezuelans in
Ecuador. Nevertheless, the results in this study advanced the
understanding, from a mental health perspective, of these migrants,
contributing to the eld of cultural psychology with reference to migrants.
In future investigations, it would be recommended to create focus
groups of Venezuelan immigrants to further investigate the dierent as-
pects mentioned with the results from this study, Also, more in-depth
and individual interviews with the migrants would provide qualitative
information helping better understand their situations and their per-
ception on resilience. Furthermore, reaching out to more professionals
specialized in this area of research would provide greater insight in or-
der and further cover other psychological aspects of migration such as
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, that unfold from
studying resilience.
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their spatial context and some of them even expressed feelings of there
being no other choice, expressing a sense of defeat but at the same
time, determination to reach a safer place. These results represent the
population´s resistance to adapt to the new environments in a short
time, which should be interpreted taking in consideration the context
they leave behind in their country, developing a feeling of insecurity and
inability to trust easier.
In terms of autonomy, with a score of 8,64, it is placed in the HIGH cate-
gory in the evaluation scale. Autonomous people are able to do things
on their own without the need to wait for someone else to give instruc-
tions, or do it for them. It can be said that most of the people that leave
Venezuela, do it in small groups of 4 or in pairs, when it comes to family
migration. Some of them choose to leave on their own, going solo and
maybe tagging along another person or group that they nd on the
way. Other cases include the chain migration, where one member of
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the foreign country. This backs up the reason for the autonomy factor
being higher than the others. There should be more research into indi-
viduals that ee Venezuela in order to understand the reason for their
choice of migration and how this migration might inuence their mental
health adaptation.
The last factor is creativity that according to Huerta and Com. (2014), is
the capacity of the brain to draw new conclusions and solve problems
in dierent ways. This factor obtained a score of 4,98, which, according
to the scale provided, is placed in the category of MEDIUM.
The education factor should be further evaluated, as literature indicates
a possible inuence on resilience. However, it was not tested in this
study, and does not have a large role in the paper. Having university
education is said to inuence the way in which people face these types
of situations, as indicated by Rodríguez & Velásquez (2017).
As for socioeconomic levels, it is a variable that should be further studied
because of its apparent inuence on the perception of the quality of life
of each person. It is likely to have a possible inuence on the way peo-
ple react to changes in their socioeconomic situation after migration.
In a study conducted in the city of Quito, García & Soria (2011), it was
found that a lower socioeconomic level is associated with lower levels
of resilience. As for this study, the variable could not be tested properly,
nevertheless, it is recommended that in future studies, this variable be
taken into account to obtain a much clearer view of the previous cir-
cumstances that may aect the development of high or low resilience.
Overall, these results show a part of the general perception of the situa-
tion Venezuelans are facing in Ecuador and how their level of resilience
helps in their adaptation process. The results serve as a base for further
studies to be done on the mental health obstacles such immigrants
face. Research that focuses on the psychological factors of migration
can help formulate policies to improve conditions for migrants such as
those in Ecuador, or simply give a perspective on the situation in order
to provide better assistance.
Conclusions
The objective of this research was to analyze the levels of resilience of
Venezuelan migrants in Ecuador, resulting from the ongoing crisis in the
Bolivarian country. This was done by applying the personal factor scale,
in the three categories of self-esteem, autonomy and creativity.
After conducting the resilience evaluations, it is clear that of the sample
evaluated, the majority turned out to have a medium level of global
resilience and an average level of factor resilience, indicating that faced
with the adversity experienced in their native country they were never-
theless able to strive for a way to better quality of life. With regards to
self-esteem, Venezuelans were found to have a medium level. For au-
tonomy they scored a high level. And, for creativity they had a medium
level. Overall, there is, at the least, an average resilience level comple-
26
The resilience of Venezuelan immigrants in Ecuador
L. Cruz, A. Tusev / Boletín de Coyuntura, Nº 23; octubre- diciembre 2019; e-ISSN 2600-5727 / p-ISSN 2528-7931; UTA – Ecuador; Pág. 21-26
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