Reintegration Barriers and Prospects on Emotional and Psychological Well-Being of Gulf Returnees in Kerala

Nithin Ninan Thomas; KM Anu

doi:10.2478/ijssis-2026-0069

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Reintegration Barriers and Prospects on Emotional and Psychological Well-Being of Gulf Returnees in Kerala

International Journal on Smart Sensing and Intelligent Systems

Volume 19 (2026): Issue 1 (January 2026)

By: Nithin Ninan Thomas and KM Anu

Open Access

|Sep 2026

Figures & Tables

Table 1:

Emigrant list of Keralites (1998–2023)

Year	Emigrants	Inter-survey difference	Increase/decrease (%)
1998	13.6 L	-	-
2003	18.4 L	4.8 L	35.00
2008	21.9 L	3.5 L	19.30
2013	24 L	2.1 L	9.40
2018	21.2 L	−2.8 L	−11.60
2023	21.5 L	32.4 K	1.50

[i] Source: KMC 2023.

Table 2:

Fit of the model to financial variables FC

Fit Index	χ²	RMSEA	GFI	NFI	CFI
Value	13.21	0.073	0.982	0.972	0.979

[i] CFI, Comparative Fit Index; FC, Financial Constraints; GFI, Goodness-of-Fit Index; NFI, Normed Fit Index; RMSEA, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation.

Table 3:

How well the model handles government challenges

Fit Index	χ²	RMSEA	GFI	NFI	CFI
Value	4.82	0.078	0.995	0.993	0.986

[i] CFI, Comparative Fit Index; GFI, Goodness-of-Fit Index; NFI, Normed Fit Index; RMSEA, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation.

Table 4:

The Family Reintegration (FRI) Model fit

Fit Index	χ²	RMSEA	GFI	NFI	CFI
Value	12.43	0.074	0.993	0.991	0.992

[i] CFI, Comparative Fit Index; GFI, Goodness-of-Fit Index; NFI, Normed Fit Index; RMSEA, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation.

Table 5:

SRD Model fit

Fit Index	χ²	RMSEA	GFI	NFI	CFI
Value	7.22	0	0.996	0.992	0.991

[i] CFI, Comparative Fit Index; GFI, Goodness-of-Fit Index; NFI, Normed Fit Index; RMSEA, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation; SRD, reintegration into society.

Table 6:

Fit of the Model for CE transitions

Fit Index	χ²	RMSEA	GFI	NFI	CFI
Value	8.92	0.085	1	1	0.991

[i] CE, career and employment; CFI, Comparative Fit Index; GFI, Goodness-of-Fit Index; NFI, Normed Fit Index; RMSEA, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation.

Table 7:

Returnees demographic profiles from the Gulf

Category	Group	Count	Proportion (%)
Age bracket (years)	20–30	32	4.10
	31–41	44	5.60
	42–51	328	43.20
	52–61	244	32.10
	>61	114	15.00
Sex	Male	738	96.10
Sex	Female	30	3.90
Faith	Hindu	32	4.20
	Muslim	652	85.00
	Christian	82	10.70
Educational background	<10th grade	110	14.30
	Completed 10th grade	158	20.50
	High school diploma	150	19.60
	Bachelor’s degree	154	20.00
	Postgraduate degree	88	11.40
	Technical education	104	13.70
Destination country	Saudi Arabia	254	33.00
	UAE	292	38.00
	Kuwait	72	9.30
	Qatar	56	7.20
	Oman	84	11.00
	Bahrain	18	2.20
Gulf stay duration (years)	3–6	18	2.20
	7–9	148	19.20
	10–12	272	35.50
	>12	338	43.10
Job type in Gulf	Agriculture/shepherding	190	24.80
	General labour	142	18.50
	Semi-professional	196	25.50
	Skilled work	96	12.40
	Business/services	78	10.20
	Other	66	8.60
Monthly income in Gulf (INR)	<30 k	136	17.70
	30 k–40 k	280	36.40
	40 k–50 k	130	17.00
	50 k–60 k	142	18.50
	>60 k	86	11.00

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijssis-2026-0069 | Journal eISSN: 1178-5608

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Language: English

Submitted on: Jan 31, 2026

Published on: Sep 4, 2026

Published by: International Journal on Smart Sensing and Intelligent Systems

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

Keywords:

Kerala,

Related subjects:

Introductions and overviews,

Engineering, other

© 2026 Nithin Ninan Thomas, KM Anu, published by International Journal on Smart Sensing and Intelligent Systems
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 19 (2026): Issue 1 (January 2026)

Reintegration Barriers and Prospects on Emotional and Psychological Well-Being of Gulf Returnees in Kerala

Figures & Tables

Figure 1:

Table 1:

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