Predictors of immigrant children’s mental health in Canada: selection, settlement contingencies, culture, or all of the above?

Abstract

Immigrant family human and social capital, according to which immigrants are selected for admission to Canada, play a relatively small role in determining children's mental health. These effects are overshadowed by resettlement contingencies and cultural influences. Concentrating on trying to find a formula to select the "right" immigrants while neglecting settlement and culture is likely to pay limited dividends for ensuring the mental health of children.

Cultural distance and emotional problems among immigrant and refugee youth in Canada: Findings from the New Canadian Child and Youth Study (NCCYS)

“…Culture of origin helps shape parenting style (Beiser et al, 2014), but the current study results suggest that resettlement stress also makes a contribution. Stress may make parents less patient and less emotionally giving than they might otherwise be if they were not confronting the challenges of resettlement.…”

“…Ali, 2002) suggests that, at arrival, immigrants enjoy better mental health than the native-born but that, with increasing length of residence, the immigrant advantage deteriorates. Other studies (Beiser, 1999;Beiser et al, 2014) suggest the opposite. No research to date has explored a possible role for CD in explaining discrepancies: for example, low CD may not only confer initial mental health advantage but may also facilitate psychological adjustment over time.…”

“…In comparison with immigrant families originating in countries culturally similar to Canada, families from culturally distant origins can be expected to experience more resettlement stress arising from language problems, isolation and discrimination. Resettlement stress may give rise to harsh parenting, parental emotional withdrawal, and intrafamilial conflict all of which jeopardize youth mental health, migrant and non-migrant alike (Beiser et al, 2010;Beiser, Goodwill, Albanese, McShane, & Nowakowski, 2014;Downey & Coyne, 1990;Ponnet, 2014). Mental illhealth in parents has an adverse effect on youth mental health (Beiser, 1999;Beiser et al, 2010Beiser et al, , 2011Beiser et al, , 2012Beiser et al, , 2014Downey & Coyne, 1990;Ponnet, 2014) and research (Schwartz, 2011;Sorthiex, Olakvi, & Helkama, 2013;Sortheix and Lonnqvist, 2014a,b) shows that parents from culturally distant source regions are at higher risk for mental distress than parents from culturally proximate areas.…”

Influence of Perceived Racial Discrimination on the Health of Immigrant Children in Canada

“…Each of these variables have been found in the literature to be vital in understanding immigrant children's health in Canada Bassani 2013, 2015;George et al 2012;Beiser et al 2011Beiser et al , 2012Beiser et al , 2014Tran 2014). Household income was measured with a closed-ended 12-item response variable, ranging from $0.00 to over $80,000 per year.…”

Use of the emergency department as a first point of contact for mental health care by immigrant youth in Canada: a population-based study

“…[8][9][10] Variation may be related to a combination of differences in disease prevalence, stigma, settlement supports, poverty, language and education among immigrants. 11,12 Population-based health system indicators that can be tracked over time are important for understanding system responsiveness to the needs of immigrant populations so that mental health services can be better aligned with specific populations' needs. To build on descriptive analyses of this important health system indicator, our objectives were to determine whether immigration and immigration-related factors are associated with using the emergency department as an entryway into mental health services in Ontario, Canada.…”