While the first entry of Chinese immigrants to Canada dates back to more than a century, in 1967 when the Canadian immigration policy changed, Chinese immigrants from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan became the top source of migration. Over the past few decades, the process of acculturation and mental health of Chinese immigrants has received attention in cross-cultural research. Researchers are particularly interested in investigating the stress experienced by immigrants during the process of acculturation and the ways of dealing with such stress. The thesis reports on a study that explores acculturative stress, length of residence, and cohesion of Chinese immigrants in Canada. The results from this study showed that enmeshment (a high level of family cohesion or family togetherness) and flexibility (a high level of adaptability to change family rules and roles) are related to a lower level of acculturative stress in Chinese immigrant mothers in Vancouver, British Columbia. Of particular interest was the effect of cohesion and adaptability on the social dimension of acculturative stress. Additionally, the results showed that length of residence did not predict acculturative stress in Chinese immigrant families. Limitations, contributions, and implications of the present study for future acculturation research are discussed.

While the first entry of Chinese immigrants to Canada dates back to more than a century, in 1967 when the Canadian immigration policy changed, Chinese immigrants from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan became the top source of migration. Over the past few decades, the process of acculturation and mental health of Chinese immigrants has received attention in cross-cultural research. Researchers are particularly interested in investigating the stress experienced by immigrants during the process of acculturation and the ways of dealing with such stress. The thesis reports on a study that explores acculturative stress, length of residence, and cohesion of Chinese immigrants in Canada. The results from this study showed that enmeshment (a high level of family cohesion or family togetherness) and flexibility (a high level of adaptability to change family rules and roles) are related to a lower level of acculturative stress in Chinese immigrant mothers in Vancouver, British Columbia. Of particular interest was the effect of cohesion and adaptability on the social dimension of acculturative stress. Additionally, the results showed that length of residence did not predict acculturative stress in Chinese immigrant families. Limitations, contributions, and implications of the present study for future acculturation research are discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Very little is known about the acculturation of African refugees in Canada. This study examined the experiences and determinants of the psychosocial adjustment of Sudanese men (n=185) who are resettling in the lower mainland of British Columbia. Findings indicate that the men use two main coping resources to ease adjustment: social support and religiosity/spirituality. The former is predictive of improved social adjustment and the latter greatly ameliorates psychological adjustment. Additionally, the role strain experienced from supporting family members in Africa financially while resettling is examined. This study shows that greater role strain does not exacerbate the adjustment difficulties of Sudanese men, but socio demographic variables such as length of residence and language proficiency do affect adjustment. Men who have resided in Canada for longer showed improved social adjustment and those who were more proficient in English had adjusted better psychologically. This study further discusses the economic insecurity of Sudanese refugees, their family composition, the importance of a cohesive ethnic community in adjusting to life in Canada and various other aspects of the experience of this group of newcomers. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Traditional psychological research on resilience has focused on individual traits and abilities and minimized the role of cultural and socio-political contexts in its analyses. In this tapestry, I use a narrative framework to learn about ten Vietnamese refugee youths, who have received university scholarships to attend university, but whose life chances would otherwise be considered, at high risk of failure because of their race, ethnic, and income status. I also interviewed their parents. Their narratives are discussed in the light of historical, cultural and social contexts in which they live and learn. In reporting the students' life stories, I use the concepts of "dance of life " that takes place within a context of shared human stories. The parents' endurance, struggles, and hopes accumulated over generations, become a story of collective resiliency. This story provides the informative thread for a collaborative weaving of the students' "dance of life" in which the children's individual responsibility for their academic (achievements. For the refugees academic resilience is a pervasive individual and collective experience, rooted in the distortions of social relations and the disruptions of community life that are the product of an oppressive society. Resiliency becomes the common "process" of participation open to all individuals, and conjoins deep personal meaning and shared common purpose. Thus, academic achievement is seen by the refugees as an effective instrument of empowerment and liberation for the entire family, community, and the hope for the future The self as narrated by these students orchestrates a dance between and among themselves within a family, a community, and across generations. The students' achievement is motivated by a debt of love and gratitude to those members of the family achievement is motivated by a debt of love and gratitude to those members of the family and the community to which they belong. Students stated that through their own efforts and the "right attitudes" they could reach their goals in school and break down the barriers of discrimination. They reported growing closer and more emotionally dependent on their parents over time. They struggled more with how to have and maintain satisfying peer relationships without becoming independent from their parents. This study opens a door to the discussion of socio-cultural perspectives that may partially explain previously reported outcomes of high achievement among Vietnamese refugee youths, despite their humble origins and their parents' low level of in come and education.

As research into acculturation increases, two competing models have emerged. The unidimensional model posits that heritage and host culture identifications have an inverse relationship, whereas the bidimensional model proposes that the two identifications are orthogonal. In the first study we compared these models in 164 Chinese-Canadian students, and found that the two dimensions were viable and had a distinct pattern of non-inverse correlations with aspects of personality. These findings remained after controlling for basic demographic characteristics. In the second study, we compared the two models in a sample of 157 Chinese-Canadian students, and again found that the two dimensions were viable and had a distinct pattern of non-inverse correlations with self-construal and psychosocial adjustment. The findings for adjustment remained after controlling for extraversion and neuroticism. We argue that, for both conceptual and empirical reasons, the bidimensional model is a more useful conceptualization of acculturation. Implications of these findings are discussed.

As research into acculturation increases, two competing models have emerged. The unidimensional model posits that heritage and host culture identifications have an inverse relationship, whereas the bidimensional model proposes that the two identifications are orthogonal. In the first study we compared these models in 164 Chinese-Canadian students, and found that the two dimensions were viable and had a distinct pattern of non-inverse correlations with aspects of personality. These findings remained after controlling for basic demographic characteristics. In the second study, we compared the two models in a sample of 157 Chinese-Canadian students, and again found that the two dimensions were viable and had a distinct pattern of non-inverse correlations with self-construal and psychosocial adjustment. The findings for adjustment remained after controlling for extraversion and neuroticism. We argue that, for both conceptual and empirical reasons, the bidimensional model is a more useful conceptualization of acculturation. Implications of these findings are discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Traditional psychological research on resilience has focused on individual traits and abilities and minimized the role of cultural and socio-political contexts in its analyses. In this tapestry, I use a narrative framework to learn about ten Vietnamese refugee youths, who have received university scholarships to attend university, but whose life chances would otherwise be considered, at high risk of failure because of their race, ethnic, and income status. I also interviewed their parents. Their narratives are discussed in the light of historical, cultural and social contexts in which they live and learn. In reporting the students' life stories, I use the concepts of "dance of life " that takes place within a context of shared human stories. The parents' endurance, struggles, and hopes accumulated over generations, become a story of collective resiliency. This story provides the informative thread for a collaborative weaving of the students' "dance of life" in which the children's individual responsibility for their academic (achievements. For the refugees academic resilience is a pervasive individual and collective experience, rooted in the distortions of social relations and the disruptions of community life that are the product of an oppressive society. Resiliency becomes the common "process" of participation open to all individuals, and conjoins deep personal meaning and shared common purpose. Thus, academic achievement is seen by the refugees as an effective instrument of empowerment and liberation for the entire family, community, and the hope for the future The self as narrated by these students orchestrates a dance between and among themselves within a family, a community, and across generations. The students' achievement is motivated by a debt of love and gratitude to those members of the family achievement is motivated by a debt of love and gratitude to those members of the family and the community to which they belong. Students stated that through their own efforts and the "right attitudes" they could reach their goals in school and break down the barriers of discrimination. They reported growing closer and more emotionally dependent on their parents over time. They struggled more with how to have and maintain satisfying peer relationships without becoming independent from their parents. This study opens a door to the discussion of socio-cultural perspectives that may partially explain previously reported outcomes of high achievement among Vietnamese refugee youths, despite their humble origins and their parents' low level of in come and education. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate