Multiple belongings and psychological well-being among immigrants and the second generation in Canada.

Abstract

Understanding and managing increasing cultural diversity arising from immigration has become a prominent public issue in Canada and other immigrant resettlement countries. One issue discussed is the degree to which immigrants orient themselves to the new society and to their heritage cultures and religions. Another issue is the success that immigrants achieve in the receiving country, particularly their psychological well-being. Of central concern is the possible relationship between how immigrants orient themselves to their cultural and religious groups and their well-being; is there a way of living interculturally that is associated with better outcomes? This article examines these issues with large samples of immigrants and their descendants in Canada, using the concepts and measures of sense of belonging, religious identity, life satisfaction and mental health. Findings show that having multiple identities is associated with higher levels of life satisfaction and mental health. However, this general finding varies according to which identities are strong, and by religious group. These findings suggest that the promotion of both Canadian and heritage identities and of a religious identity among immigrants is the best path to achieve higher levels of psychological well-being in the multicultural Canadian society. Public Significance StatementPublic policy and practice need to be informed by these findings and conclusions for two reasons. First, there is a widespread backlash against multiculturalism internationally, which is viewed primarily only as the maintenance of cultural and religious beliefs and practices within and across immigrant generations. The present study shows that higher levels of wellbeing are promoted by such own-cultural and religious engagement. In particular, a strong identity with a religion group has psychological benefits mainly when it is combined with a strong identification with Canada and a heritage cultural group. Second, attention should also be given to the other main feature of Canadian multiculturalism: the intercultural contact and equitable participation of all cultural communities in the fabric of the larger Canadian society. Engaging with others, as well as with one's own group, clearly promotes psychological well-being.

How do we get people into contact? Predictors of intergroup contact and drivers of contact seeking

“…The implications of this work are twofold. First, in line with previous work showing an association between ingroup identification and positive intergroup relations (e.g., Berry & Hou, 2019;Phinney et al, 2007), this research identifies the specific intragroup processes through which this may occur. More precisely, the research suggests that groups can provide support to their members to enable them to cope with the challenges they face and, where these challenges include barriers to contact such as intergroup anxiety, this then can facilitate more positive intergroup relations.…”

“…A range of evidence across different domains of intergroup relations points to the interdependence of intragroup and intergroup processes. Some studies indicate that a stronger social identity might in itself allow for more positive intergroup relations: Interventions that allow participants to self‐affirm a positive group identity have been found to facilitate more open intergroup engagement on difficult issues (Čehajić‐Clancy et al., 2011; Cohen & Sherman, 2014), while maintaining a sense of ethnic identity has been found to facilitate more positive integration and intergroup contact among immigrant groups (Berry & Hou, 2019). Several studies have shed some light on the group processes through which this might occur.…”

Childhood memories of belonging among young Romanian migrants in Italy: A qualitative life-course approach

“…As Anca recalls, migrants can find a sense of balance when they manage to accept all the pieces or the puzzle which define who they are. This paper thus contributes to ongoing debates revolving around the existence of multiple belongings affecting the well-being of migrant children and youth (Berry and Hou, 2019). It does so by showing how social relations, the level of acceptance that young migrants experience during childhood in the host and destination countries and socioeconomic and institutional contexts can influence their trajectories of belonging from childhood to young adulthood.…”

Chinese Canadians’ experiences of the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and racism: Implications for identity, negative emotion, and anti-racism incident reporting.

“…Shapes Ethnic Identities: Rejection-Disidentification and -Identification Models Perceived discrimination can not only have detrimental effects on ethnic minorities' well-being, but it can also have profound implications for their heritage and mainstream ethnic identities (Berry & Hou, 2019Esses, 2021;Smith & Silva, 2011). In this study, ethnic identity is defined as a social identity with a group that is defined in terms of common ethnic ancestry and ethnocultural practices.…”