Social categorisation of asylum seekers: Free-listing by professionals in German reception centres

BACKGROUND: Newly arriving asylum seekers in Germany mostly live in large reception centres. Goods and services are provided by professionals. Their social categorisations may impact discretionary decisions and determine the scope of access to health and social services. We sought to explore what social categories were mostly applied to asylum seekers in that context. METHODS: We conducted a modified, verbal free-listing with health care, security, translation, social work and administrative staff in two German reception centres, asking what kind of asylum seekers were there. After qualitative content analysis, categories were quantitatively mapped using the Excel Macro “Flame” showing frequencies, ranks and salience of those social categories. RESULTS: 40 professionals listed on average 16 items (min = 4, max = 31). In total 624 items were analysed. Categorisations were of individual, interactional, professional, and societal nature. Professionally relevant categories like needs were not mentioned with the highest frequencies. The leading social categorisations of asylum seekers referred to asylum seekers attitudes professionals derived from their behaviour mostly in combination with socio-demographic variables, such as countries and regions of origin and sex. The most relevant social categories were “demanding and expectant” and “polite and friendly” behaviour, also the effort to adapt to the German environment was often evaluated. The category “economic refugees” ranked forth. CONCLUSIONS: Social categorisation is permeable to public and political discourses related to motives for flight, or integration efforts and chances, impacting on negotiations of deservingness. Since categorisation structures perception, it potentially influences interaction and decision-making, it can trigger empathy and support as well as rejection and discrimination. Free-listing provides a suitable tool, to explore real world categorisation without leaning on pre-given social categories. KEY MESSAGES: • Public health studies on bias, racism and discrimination could benefit from free-listing as useful methodological tool to explore real world social categorisation without using pre-given categories. • Health sciences should foster awareness on political and societal discourses about migrant and minority populations seeping into professional cognition, which can trigger support or discrimination.