The meaning and perceived benefits of students with the intentions to stay in Venezuela

Abstract

The phenomenon of the meaning making has been little studied in dictatorial and complex humanitarian emergency contexts. To know the meaning and perceived benefits of staying in Venezuela, a mixed sequential explanatory model has been developed. 104 students were randomly administered: The Meaning Creation Scale, The Herth Hope Scale and the Migratory Intention Questionnaire. Subsequently, 4 participants from the initial sample who presented high levels of meaning making and hope and low levels of migratory intention were selected and interviewed. The results show a predominance of high scores on the scales and a positive correlation between the meaning making and hope. The meaning and the perceived benefits of not emigrating lie in the perception by the students that in Venezuela they can develop professionally and academically to participate in the reconstruction of the country and it allows them to differentiate themself from their emigrant peers.