Behaviour in Crisis Lab, Strategic Programme Excellence Initiative at Jagiellonian University

Zafer Özkan, Małgorzata Kossowska, Anna Potoczek, Tolga Tezcan, Marek Palace

This project aims to understand what shapes the mental health, quality of life, and intentions to remigrate among Ukrainian immigrants living in Poland, using a three wave longitudinal design with a planned fourth wave in 2026. It examines a wide range of psychological and social factors, including different forms of intergroup contact, fear of war, identification with one’s group, intergroup anxiety, perceived discrimination, religiosity, social support, personal and interpersonal agency, belonging, perceived similarity, language proficiency, and key demographic characteristics. Grounded in established theories such as intergroup contact theory, identity fusion, and intergroup threat theory, the project also builds on our earlier work on remigration intentions and the links between intergroup contact and mental health. By collecting longitudinal data with a large sample from Ukrainians in Poland, this research will offer new insights into the social cure hypothesis and provide evidence that can help policymakers better understand the situation of Ukrainians in Poland, who remain highly vulnerable to mental health difficulties and face integration problems following the 2022 Russian invasion.