Toward Measuring Geographical Belongingness in a Mobile, Hybrid Globe – Development of a Place-Belongingness Scale Among Immigrants

Authors: H Mohseni, T Kujala, J Silvennoinen

Published: 2026

Publication: SPRINGER

Developed and validated a multidimensional place-belongingness scale to assess immigrants' sense of belonging to geographic locations, identifying four factors: feeling at home, accepted, empowered, and secure.

Methods: Survey data from 270 immigrants worldwide analyzed using exploratory factor analysis.

Key Findings: The subjective sense of place-belongingness, decomposed into four factors: feeling at home, feeling accepted, feeling empowered, and feeling secure.

Limitations: Study focused solely on immigrants; broader applicability may require further testing. Administration and scoring instructions might need refinement for diverse respondent groups.

Institution: University of Jyväskylä

Research Area: Migration studies, Social indicators, Psychometrics, Quantitative social science methods

Discipline: Social sciences

Sample Size: 270 participants