Migration of the health belief model (HBM) : effects of psychosocial and migrant network characteristics on emigration intentions in five countries in west Africa and the Mediterranean region

The effects of psychosocial and migrant network factors on emigration intentions are examined. Following a review of migration and health theories, it is argued that adaptation of the Health Belief Model (HBM) conceptualization of behavioural intentions contributes to a better understanding and prediction of emigration intentions. An HBM-inspired conceptual model is derived and tested, using comparable data collected in migration surveys by a multi-country project on international migration from West Africa and Mediterranean region to Europe. Results show that indicators of the psychosocial constructs of ‘perceived threat to financial living conditions’, ‘perceived benefits and perceived barriers to emigration’, ‘cues to action’ and ‘perceived general self-efficacy’ show effects in predicted directions and contribute considerably to the explanation of emigration intentions. It is therefore recommended that international migration surveys, when examining emigration intentions, use the advocated framework to identify relevant indicators and survey questions to capture and measure the aforementioned psychosocial constructs.