There have been numerous studies on the economic, social, and emotional lives of the Southeast Asian refugees (Adelman, 1982; Beiser, Johnson, & Roshi, 1994; Haines, 1989; Neuwirth, 1984; Nutter, 1984; Whitmore, Trautmann, & Caplan, 1989), yet the lack o f focus on Southeast Asian women refugees is prevalent. Human capital theory explored Southeast Asian women refugees' unique settlement experience as workers in Canada. Data from the Refugee Resettlement Study, " A Ten Year Study of Southeast Asian Refugees in Canada" (Beiser et al., 1994) was used to examine the employment experiences of women from Vietnam and Laos who came to Canada as refugees. The majority of the women were employed and were in jobs with low occupational status. Logistic regression was used to analyse variables associated with employment and occupational status. High English language proficiency was associated with being employed and having high occupational status. In addition, being younger increased employability. When the individual items within the English language proficiency scale were assessed, ability to read English and low ethnic concentration promoted employability. Ability to write English and low ethnic concentration increased the likelihood of having higher occupational status. This study contributes to the limited literature on refugee women's human capital accumulation and employment experiences during settlement in the host country.

New Zealand is a country populated by migrants and the Asian population is the largest fastest growing cohort and are predicted to outnumber Māori (i.e. the indigenous people of New Zealand) by 2050. Due to the requirements of immigration to New Zealand the Asian community tends to be highly educated, with Asian ethnicities being more likely to have a university bachelors or post-graduate degree. Asian people are distributed more towards lower household income categories than Europeans, but the proportion of Asian people living in the lowest New Zealand deprivation quintile areas has declined in recent years. Migrants applying for residency are required to have, and thus can be expected to arrive in the country, with good health. The research on health care utilisation in geography has suffered by its tendency to neglect migration and culture as an influencing factor. In New Zealand this neglect is compounded by the near absence of a research focus on Asians and where they do appear it is in collated national surveys that have tended to group all sub-Asian ethnicities as one. This study explored the utilisation of health care from two directions. First, the response and perceptions of health care use from the view of the health services and, second, the perceptions of health care provision from the view of Asian migrants. For these reasons qualitative methods were utilised as they allow a focus on the everyday life situations of subjects.They provide opportunity to expand and flow with the research process. In New Zealand, health services are available that specifically target Asian patients, but they are not uniformly available across New Zealand. This study identifies features of mainstream general practice services, as well as factors that migrants bring with them that act as barriers for Asian people accessing health services, including affordability, language and negative experiences that influence trust of the New Zealand health care system. In many cases affordability was linked to a perceived lack of value for money, where no treatment or tangible outcome was received through a visit to the doctor. Language was indicated to be the most pressing barrier to accessing health care and participants’ home country health experiences continued to influence perceptions and use of health care in New Zealand. The study also highlights some strategies that can be implemented into various stages of the Asian patient’s introduction into and then through the health system and health care to improve the availability and acceptability of these services.

The present study explores the nature of coping mechanisms among South Asian Muslim immigrants living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) who have been living in Canada between three to five years and experienced acculturation challenges and depression. Thirteen immigrants (seven females and six males) were interviewed to share their stories of personal experiences of settlement and acculturation in Canada. These interviews were analyzed using the grounded theory approach to develop themes and sub-themes to understand and interpret the data. The findings reveal that the research participants experienced a number of acculturation challenges (feeling different, feeling excluded, disruption in the family and material differences) which led to depression. During the course of their depression participants experienced certain events which became turning points in their lives, subsequently motivating them to change the way in which they live. They sought out particular kinds of support and coping mechanisms which helped them to settle, integrate and belong to the Canadian culture. The midlevel grounded theory that has emerged from participants’ responses is discussed. Recommendations are made to inform mental health professionals to incorporate these coping mechanisms in delivering culturally sensitive services to the target population. Study implications for theory, psychotherapy, counselling and other mental health practices and future research in the area of settlement and adaption of newcomers in Canada are discussed.

The present study explores the nature of coping mechanisms among South Asian Muslim immigrants living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) who have been living in Canada between three to five years and experienced acculturation challenges and depression. Thirteen immigrants (seven females and six males) were interviewed to share their stories of personal experiences of settlement and acculturation in Canada. These interviews were analyzed using the grounded theory approach to develop themes and sub-themes to understand and interpret the data. The findings reveal that the research participants experienced a number of acculturation challenges (feeling different, feeling excluded, disruption in the family and material differences) which led to depression. During the course of their depression participants experienced certain events which became turning points in their lives, subsequently motivating them to change the way in which they live. They sought out particular kinds of support and coping mechanisms which helped them to settle, integrate and belong to the Canadian culture. The midlevel grounded theory that has emerged from participants’ responses is discussed. Recommendations are made to inform mental health professionals to incorporate these coping mechanisms in delivering culturally sensitive services to the target population. Study implications for theory, psychotherapy, counselling and other mental health practices and future research in the area of settlement and adaption of newcomers in Canada are discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Michael F. Connelly.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed July 24, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-127).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2008.

Thesis (M.A. in communication)--Washington State University, December 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 31, 2008). "Edward R. Murrow College of Communication." Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-85).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2010. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-88). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2008. Graduate Programme in Clinical Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 38-46). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR51529