One of the challenges that Caribbean immigrant parents and children face as they settle into their new environment is interacting with teachers using their variety of English. This study seeks to explore the experiences of Caribbean immigrant parents and their children in their interactions with teachers in Toronto and the perceptions that they have about these interactions. The author’s purpose is to bring voice to their language encounters. Qualitative analysis is utilized throughout the general discussion of the study. Using Colaizzi’s (1978) phenomenology approach, data was collected through semi-structured interviews from a sample of six immigrant parents and seven children within Toronto. The central themes that emerge from the data are organized under the four research questions. The results of the research may assist policy makers, educators, teachers, and support staff who plan and implement programs geared towards enhancing the interaction between themselves and Caribbean immigrant students and parents.

One of the challenges that Caribbean immigrant parents and children face as they settle into their new environment is interacting with teachers using their variety of English. This study seeks to explore the experiences of Caribbean immigrant parents and their children in their interactions with teachers in Toronto and the perceptions that they have about these interactions. The author’s purpose is to bring voice to their language encounters. Qualitative analysis is utilized throughout the general discussion of the study. Using Colaizzi’s (1978) phenomenology approach, data was collected through semi-structured interviews from a sample of six immigrant parents and seven children within Toronto. The central themes that emerge from the data are organized under the four research questions. The results of the research may assist policy makers, educators, teachers, and support staff who plan and implement programs geared towards enhancing the interaction between themselves and Caribbean immigrant students and parents.

The racial and ethnic diversity of the United States continues to evolve due to increases in immigration from nearly all parts of the globe, including the Caribbean region. Like the U.S., this region can also be considered a melting pot of cultures, with the Afro-Caribbean population widely scattered across these island nations. Important to this investigation is the large diaspora population of Black Caribbean immigrants (BCs) in the U.S. who are often viewed as African American simply by virtue of their skin tone and facial features. As such, this racial consolidation does not take into account their distinct history, immigrant experiences, and cultural 'separateness,' particularly with respect to mental health counseling. Current research is limited as to how the racial and ethnic identities of various generations of Black Caribbean immigrants in the U.S have shaped their experiences—and especially how racism in American may be impacting their lives. Moreover, their already limited experience with the counseling process may be undermined by culturally-inappropriate services that do not consider their distinct cultural beliefs and needs. Guided by known and respected clinical standards for multicultural counseling and training for culturally-competent counseling, this qualitative study explored the counseling experiences of eight English-speaking BCs. Themes related to if and how mental health clinicians are actually addressing their racial distinctiveness, ethnic identity, and immigrant experiences were highlighted. Implications for counselors, counselor educators, and Black Caribbean immigrants were summarized. / Ph. D.

Background. Obesity has been associated with a number of negative health consequences (e.g., hypertension/heart disease, type-2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and respiratory illnesses). Despite health communication campaigns to reduce overweight/obesity by encouraging lifestyle changes (e.g., eating healthier foods and exercising), the rates of overweight and obesity levels have continued to rise. Studies indicate that the rate of overweight and obesity in the U.S. is highest among Blacks. Messages targeted toward “Blacks” (African-Americans) in the United States treat this segment of the population as a homogenous group and fail to account for within-group cultural differences. Cultural values and beliefs related to food, physical activity, and ideal body size may contribute to overweight and obesity. Objective. This study was designed to gain a deeper understanding of the similarities and differences between African-American and Afro-Caribbean immigrant women living in the Metro Atlanta, Georgia, in terms of the role that culture and social environments play in forming obesity-related—food, physical activity, and body image—attitudes, values, and behaviors. Method. A social cognitive theory (SCT) framework informed the design of semi-structured interview guides. Study participants were comprised of 13 African-American women and 12 Afro-Caribbean women who recently immigrated to the United States from English-speaking countries. All participants were living in Atlanta, Georgia at the time of the study. They were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling and interviewed between October 5 and December 26, 2014. Data from audio-recorded in-depth interviews were transcribed and analyzed using textual analysis software package NVivo9. Results. African-American and Afro-Caribbean participants were similar in terms of some food-, physical activity- and body-image related attitudes and behaviors. Health-related concerns and matrilineal influence affected the food-related behaviors of both groups of participants. Physical activity and body image-related attitudes and behaviors of women in both groups were affected by the norms of their childhood and current social environments. Although a healthy physical activity lifestyle was important to women in both groups, not all women were consistently physically active. The study also revealed some differences between African-American and Afro-Caribbean participants. In general, the African-American women described the food-related norms of their childhood environments in negative terms and were more likely to have changed their food-related behaviors for health reasons. The Afro-Caribbean women described their childhood food-related norms in positive terms, and thus, strove to maintain healthy behaviors from their childhood. The norms of the current social environments of African-Americans, but the childhood social environments of Afro-Caribbean participants, influenced them more toward healthier food-, physical activity- and body image-related attitudes and behaviors. In terms of body ideals, Afro-Caribbean women typically identified a smaller “ideal body size” than African-American women. African-Americans from the South, or those with parents from the South tended to choose larger figures than women from the North. Conclusion. Consistent with other SCT studies, this study found attitudes and behaviors that were consistent with those modeled within the participants’ social environments. There are more cultural differences than similarities between African-American and Afro-Caribbean women. The similarities and differences revealed in this study have implications for the design of culturally relevant obesity-related messages.

Background. Obesity has been associated with a number of negative health consequences (e.g., hypertension/heart disease, type-2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and respiratory illnesses). Despite health communication campaigns to reduce overweight/obesity by encouraging lifestyle changes (e.g., eating healthier foods and exercising), the rates of overweight and obesity levels have continued to rise. Studies indicate that the rate of overweight and obesity in the U.S. is highest among Blacks. Messages targeted toward “Blacks” (African-Americans) in the United States treat this segment of the population as a homogenous group and fail to account for within-group cultural differences. Cultural values and beliefs related to food, physical activity, and ideal body size may contribute to overweight and obesity. Objective. This study was designed to gain a deeper understanding of the similarities and differences between African-American and Afro-Caribbean immigrant women living in the Metro Atlanta, Georgia, in terms of the role that culture and social environments play in forming obesity-related—food, physical activity, and body image—attitudes, values, and behaviors. Method. A social cognitive theory (SCT) framework informed the design of semi-structured interview guides. Study participants were comprised of 13 African-American women and 12 Afro-Caribbean women who recently immigrated to the United States from English-speaking countries. All participants were living in Atlanta, Georgia at the time of the study. They were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling and interviewed between October 5 and December 26, 2014. Data from audio-recorded in-depth interviews were transcribed and analyzed using textual analysis software package NVivo9. Results. African-American and Afro-Caribbean participants were similar in terms of some food-, physical activity- and body-image related attitudes and behaviors. Health-related concerns and matrilineal influence affected the food-related behaviors of both groups of participants. Physical activity and body image-related attitudes and behaviors of women in both groups were affected by the norms of their childhood and current social environments. Although a healthy physical activity lifestyle was important to women in both groups, not all women were consistently physically active. The study also revealed some differences between African-American and Afro-Caribbean participants. In general, the African-American women described the food-related norms of their childhood environments in negative terms and were more likely to have changed their food-related behaviors for health reasons. The Afro-Caribbean women described their childhood food-related norms in positive terms, and thus, strove to maintain healthy behaviors from their childhood. The norms of the current social environments of African-Americans, but the childhood social environments of Afro-Caribbean participants, influenced them more toward healthier food-, physical activity- and body image-related attitudes and behaviors. In terms of body ideals, Afro-Caribbean women typically identified a smaller “ideal body size” than African-American women. African-Americans from the South, or those with parents from the South tended to choose larger figures than women from the North. Conclusion. Consistent with other SCT studies, this study found attitudes and behaviors that were consistent with those modeled within the participants’ social environments. There are more cultural differences than similarities between African-American and Afro-Caribbean women. The similarities and differences revealed in this study have implications for the design of culturally relevant obesity-related messages.

This dissertation explores how the sociocultural experiences of migration and acquisition of health knowledge influence the beliefs and behaviors related to human papillomavirus (HPV) risks and cervical cancer prevention among women who have emigrated from English-speaking Caribbean nations and now live in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. Genital human papillomavirus is very common, and cervical cancer is the most common HPV-associated cancer. Additionally, all cervical cancers are caused by the HPV infection. More women of color, including Black and Hispanic women, are diagnosed with cervical cancer and at a later stage of the disease than women of other races or ethnicities. Black women have lower levels of knowledge and awareness of HPV and related preventive measures compared to Whites. The incidence of cervical cancer is higher among African American/Black women and Latina women than among White women. Globally, Caribbean countries have some of the highest incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer. It is unclear how knowledge, perceptions and behaviors surrounding HPV risks and cervical cancer influence prevention practices among immigrant women from English-speaking Caribbean countries residing in the United States. Existing literature highlights factors which influence cervical cancer prevention behaviors and HPV knowledge among immigrants in the United States, including educational barriers, HPV tests and vaccine costs, duration of time within the United States, in addition to the beliefs, myths and stigma surrounding cervical cancer originating in the birth country. But there is a dearth of information on immigrant women from the Caribbean. Ethnographic methods were employed in this study, including participant observation, key-informant interviewing, focus groups, and semi-structured in-depth interviewing to assess attitudes, available knowledge, culturally specific perceptions, and behavioral practices of the study participants. This dissertation develops a modified approach in the Critical Medical Anthropology (CMA) genre that links political economy with an interpretive approach. It also utilizes the theoretical approaches of transnationalism and embodiment to analyze the phenomena under consideration. Some key outcomes of this research are as follows: Many women were very aware of HPV, and most women were familiar with cervical cancer. However, the majority of women were not confident regarding how HPV and cervical cancer were connected. They did not know how a virus causes a chronic disease. Even with some of the study participants having the HPV vaccine, they were still not aware of the link between the two. This lead the researcher to inquire what HPV or a sexually transmitted disease meant to the women, resulting in a mixture of responses ranging from never thinking about HPV or acquiring an infection to placing blame on being “loose” or “promiscuous” as a woman. Their narratives provided insights into how their childhood and familial experiences as young Caribbean women contributed to how they act upon knowledge about being sick, having an infection, or living a healthy lifestyle since migrating to the United States. This research contributes to works applying anthropological perspectives and ethnographic methodology to narrow the gap in available literature relevant to migration, Black Caribbean immigrant health and cancer health disparities.

<p>Many Caribbean international students travel to Canada to complete their post-secondary education. Upon graduation, these students often remain in Canada to work as opposed to returning home. This study identifies the factors that influenced Caribbean international students’ decisions of whether to remain in Canada or to return home and evaluates the relative importance of their labour market perceptions in light of all of the factors influencing their decisions. Factors such as easy labour market entry, high wages, less stringent immigration policies, careers relevant to the students’ degrees, family ties and relationships with loved ones, discrimination in the labour market, lifestyle and attitudes of governing bodies and prominent community members can all act as push or pull factors in Canada, the host country, or the students’ countries of origin. These factors influence the students’ decisions of whether they should remain in Canada to work or return home. However, results support the conclusion that labour market perceptions are the most significant factors in students’ decision making.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

Caribbean immigrants' challenges with acculturation following immigration to the United States, could result in acculturative stress, discrimination, stereotyping, and mental health issues. This study examined the relationship between cultural levels of interaction (LCI), acculturation orientation levels (AOLs), and acculturation levels (ALs) as well as examined the relationship between acculturative stress levels (ASLs), mental health problems, and discrimination/ stereotyping among Caribbean immigrants, age 25-54, in a northeast U.S. metro. Bourhis' interactive acculturation model was the theoretical foundation for this study. It was hypothesized that (a) there would be a relationship between LCI measured in language, food, religion, and education and AOL or AL and (b) there would be a relationship between ASL and mental health problems (negative coping, depression, anxiety, and general life stress) or discrimination/ stereotyping. This research used a survey design, with 138 participants; analyses included Pearson correlations and multivariate multiple linear regression. Results revealed that the LCI group was significantly associated with Caribbean immigrants' AOLs, but food was not significant to their ALs. Additionally, ASL was significantly related to discrimination/ stereotyping, depression, anxiety, general life stress, and negative coping. This research may facilitate social change by urging clinicians to more effectively address preventive care for mental health problems in Caribbean immigrants. Educating society about the economic and other contributions of this population could also decrease discrimination/ stereotyping. Further, the study's findings may lead to initiatives for transitioning new arriving Caribbean immigrants.