Perceived mental health
and well-being of
immigrants
Natalia Lapshina, Ph.D. Candidate
March 13, 2014
Department of Psychology
March 13, 2014
Today’s Agenda
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Factors that influence mental health of immigrants
“Healthy immigrant effect”
Present study
Implications and recommendations for settlement
agencies and employers
Presentation Title Here
Objectives
• To examine the effect of immigrant status on:
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mental health
life satisfaction
stress
sense of belonging
social support
• Whether this effect depends on the area of residence
• Whether mental health depends on visible minority status
Importance of Immigrant Status
Stressors in immigrants:
Pre-migration & Post-migration
• “Healthy immigrant” effect:
– recent immigrants - in as good or better general health than nonimmigrants,
– established immigrants - decline in health towards Canadian health
norms with time since immigration (McDonald & Kennedy, 2004).
Importance of Area of
Residence & Visible Minority Status
Area of Residence
• Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver (Chui, Tran, & Maheux, 2007)
Reasons for settlement in TMV areas:
– social support networks,
– job prospects (Toronto),
– language (Montréal)
– climate (Vancouver)
(Tremblay, Bryan, Perez, Ardern, & Katzmarzyk, 2006)
Protective effect of neighborhoods with higher immigrant
concentrations - (Menezes,Georgiades & Boyle, 2011)
Visible Minority Status
• Lower likelihood of depression with increasing percentage of immigrants
in the region among visible minority participants but not among Whites
(Stafford, Newbold, & Ross, 2010)
Data
Canadian Community Health Survey 2007-2008
– Annual Component (CCHS)
– Data at the sub-provincial levels of geography
• health region or combined health regions
– 131,061 respondents
Outcome Measures & Techniques of
Analysis
• Self-perceived mental health
1- good to excellent
0- poor to fair
Analysis
• Satisfaction with life in general
• Hierarchical
logistic
1 – satisfied to very satisfied
regression
0- nether satisfied or dissatisfied to very dissatisfied
• ANOVA
• Self-Perceived Life & Work Stress:
1- quite a bit to extremely stressful,
0- not at all to a bit
• Sense of belonging to local community:
1- strong
0- weak
• Perceived Social Support
–Based 20 questions
–Overall total score, 0-100
Measure of Predictor Variables
Predictor
• Immigrant status
– non-immigrant
– recent immigrant
– established immigrant
• Area of residence
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Toronto
Montreal
Vancouver
Rest of Canada
• Visible minority status
- Visible minority
- White
Control
•
Adjusted for
demographics and SES
(age, sex, highest level
of education, income,
marital status,
employment status)
Perceived Mental Health by Immigrant
Status
Immigrant status
Odds
Ratio
Non-immigrant (Ref)
1.00
Recent
1.28**
Established
.93
Note. * p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001
Perceived Mental Health by Area of
Residence
Area of Residence
Rest of Canada
Montreal
Odds Ratio
1.00
1.49***
Toronto
.90
Vancouver
.75*
Note. * p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001
Perceived Mental Health
and visible minority status
Cultural or Racial Origin
Odds Ratio
White
1.00
Visible minority
Non-immigrants
Recent immigrants
Established immigrants
.80**
1.29
.95
Note. * p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < 001
Perceived Life Satisfaction
Area of Residence
Immigrant status
Montreal
Toronto Vancouver
Rest of
Canada
Odds
Ratio
Odds
Ratio
Odds
Ratio
Odds
Ratio
Non-immigrants
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
Recent immigrants
Established
immigrants
.61**
.84
.34***
.79*
.78
.92
.61***
.73***
Note. * p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001
Perceived Life Stress
Area of Residence
Immigrant status
Non-immigrants
Montreal
Toronto
Vancouver
Rest of
Canada
Odds
Ratio
Odds
Ratio
Odds
Ratio
Odds
Ratio
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
Recent immigrants
.63***
.84
1.13
.89*
Established
immigrants
.68***
.82**
1.17
.96
Work stress
Area of Residence
Immigrant status
Montreal
Toronto
Vancouver
Rest of
Canada
Odds
Ratio
Odds
Ratio
Odds
Ratio
Odds
Ratio
Non-immigrant
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
Recent immigrant
.80
.86
.93
Established
immigrant
.84
.76***
.88
.80***
1.00
Sense of Belonging
Area of Residence
Immigrant status
Montreal
Toronto
Vancouver
Rest of
Canada
Odds
Ratio
Odds
Ratio
Odds
Ratio
Odds
Ratio
Non-immigrants
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
Recent
immigrants
1.42**
.61***
.78
Established
immigrants
1.84***
.79***
1.13
.66***
.95
Perceived Social Support
*
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*
*
*
*
Summary of results
• Recent immigrants who choose to reside in Toronto
reported less favourable outcomes in terms of perceptions
of stress, life satisfaction, and sense of belonging
• The outcomes are more favourable in Montreal and other
places in Canada.
• These results can be taken into account by employers
and settlement agencies.
Practical implications
Importance of non-medical factors contributing to mental
health:
• Immigrant status
• Area of residence
• Perceived life stress (visible minorities, women, seniors)
• Perceived social support
• Cultural background
• Ethnic identity
Recommendations
For settlement and service agencies:
• Planning support services for recent immigrants
to reduce their chances of developing mental
health problems later on.
• Encourage awareness, acknowledgement of
emotional and mental problems, and getting
professional help.
For employers:
• Provide on-site support in terms of recognition of
mental health problems and directing employees
to services available on-site and in their
community.
Acknowledgements
Zenaida R. Ravanera, Ph.D.
Victoria M. Esses, Ph.D.
Email: nlapshin@uwo.ca
Thank you!