The purpose of this study was to determine whether a discrepancy existed between the premigration expectations and postmigration experiences of Hispanic immigrants with regard to their quality of life in the United States in communication, social, economic, and educational domains, and whether the discrepancy is correlated with acculturative stress. Acculturative stress refers to the stress that is related to the demands and pressure to adapt to a new culture. Indicators of acculturative stress include feelings of isolation due to inadequate social resources, apprehension at having to adapt to a new environment, angst over an inability to communicate in English, and worry over limited financial resources (Hovey, 1999). The current study analyzed data collected from a sample of 61 foreign-born individuals of Latin ancestry who came to the United States as an adult and have lived here for less than five (5) years. The findings indicate that violated expectations are correlated with acculturative stress more so than demographic variables, personality constructs and common sources of stress. Additionally, discrepancies between premigration expectations and postmigration experiences were found to be better predictors of acculturative stress than postmigration experiences alone.

Résumé: Le phénomène du vieillissement au Canada s'accentue et la proportion d'aînés immigrants d'origines ethnoculturelles diverses grandit aussi. Cependant, les connaissances entourant cette portion de la population sont très limitées car peu d'études se sont intéressées à comparer les aînés immigrants et non-immigrants au niveau de leurs perceptions du soutien social. Les aînés immigrants, tout comme les aînés non-immigrants, sont exposés à des problèmes d'ordre physique ou social divers. Le soutien social est une variable déterminante pour la santé physique et mentale et permet aux aînés de pouvoir vivre chez eux malgré des limitations fonctionnelles qui peuvent les empêcher de réaliser certaines activités de leur vie quotidienne et domestique. Cette étude propose d'explorer, à partir d'analyses secondaires des données de l'Enquête sur la Santé dans les Collectivités Canadiennes (ESCC), l'impact du statut d'immigrant sur le soutien social et ses différents déterminants chez les aînés. L'échantillon de la présente a été constitué à partir d'un sous-échantillon restreint géographiquement de l'échantillon initial de l'ESCC, regroupant 130 000 participants âgés de 12 ans et plus et résidant dans une des 122 régions socio-sanitaires du Canada Le sous-échantillon de la présente recherche est de 848 participants âgés de 60 ans et plus, résidant dans la ville de Montréal. Il a été divisé en 2 groupes selon le statut d'immigration (207 participants groupe immigrants, 641 participants groupe Canadiens do souche). L'appréciation subjective du soutien social a ôté mesurée avec l'instrument Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS). Afin de répondre aux objectifs, une analyse de covariance a servi dans un premier temps à évaluer si des différences apparaissaient entre les deux groupes sur les sous-échelles du soutien social et deuxièmement, une analyse de régression linéaire a servi à identifier les variables qui prédisaient le mieux le score aux différentes échelles de soutien social pour chacun des deux groupes. Les résultats des analyses ont permis de révéler qu'il n'existe aucune différence significative entre les deux groupes quant à l'appréciation subjective du soutien social, et que les déterminants inclus dans le modèle théorique élaboré pour l'étude ne permettent d'expliquer que très peu de variances au niveau du soutien social tout en démontrant qu'il y a encore beaucoup d'autres déterminants à identifier. Les personnes âgées constituent un groupe hétérogène, il est important de diversifier les approches et les programmes afin de répondre le plus adéquatement à leurs besoins. La présente recherche veut apporter de nouvelles connaissances dans un domaine de recherche où elles se doivent d'être précisées.//Abstract: Aging in Canada is growing fast and the proportion of aged immigrants from diverse origins is growing as well. Therefore, the knowledge related to this portion of the population is very limited because a few studies had been interested to compare aged immigrants and aged non-immigrants in terms of their perception of social support. The aged immigrants as well as the aged non-immigrants are exposed to different social and physical problems. Social support is a key variable to physical and mental health and allows elderly to live longer at home even though they can face functional limitations that can slow them in their everyday tasks. This study proposes to explore, from a secondary analysis of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) data, the impact of immigrant status on social support and its determinants among elderly. The sample of this study is coming from a geographically restricted sample of the original study that had 130 000 subjects aged over 12 years old and who lived in one of the 122 socio-sanitary sectors of Canada. The sub-sample of the present study counts 848 subjects aged over 60 years old, living in the city of Montreal. The subjects were divided in two groups in terms of their immigration status (207 subjects in the immigrants group, 641 subjects in the non-immigrants group). Perceived social support was measured, using the Medical Outcomes Study-Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS). In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a covariance analysis served in first to evaluate if some, differences occurred in the sub-scales of the social support between the two groups. In a second time, a linear regression analysis has been done to identify the more reliable variable that can predict the score in the different sub-scales for each group. The results of those analyses did not reveal any significant difference related to the perceived social support in the two groups. Also the determinants included in the theoretical model of this study explains a very few variance in the social support. That allows us to think that there are a lot more determinants to identify. Elderly are a heterogenic group, it is very important to diversify to way we get to them and the programs we built if we want to respond correctly to their needs. The present study wants to add on knowledge in a field where it has to be specified.

This project examines narratives of transplanted identity-building and memory in European languages by second-generation non-European writers who choose to write their stories in European languages. The dissertation focuses on three books: La colline aux oliviers by Mehdi Lallaoui, a “Beur” (French Algerian) writer, White Teeth by British Caribbean Zadie Smith and Lipstick Jihad by Do-rageh/Iranian American Azadeh Moaveni. I argue that these three narratives use the language and memory sites of the host countries. They claim these as their own in order to recuperate events removed from historical memory by the violence of colonialism and the disruptive tide of exile and immigration. Because these children of immigrants are born and raised in the host country, they occupy a privileged position of being in-between that enables them to undertake reconciliatory mediation and assert the relevance of the colonized and imperialized experience for all its inheritors, both former colonizers and former colonized. Multiple choices eclipse the sense of dead end and rejection that characterizes literature of exile and colonization. To discuss these choices, I use Edward W. Said's concepts of filiation and affiliation. Filiation implicates the culture inherited from the parents of second-generation characters whereas affiliation points to the place of birth and upbringing. Filiation and affiliation can be seen as contradictory and antagonistic, however I choose to use these terms as complementary and reconciliatory. If previous scholars consider second-generation immigrant narratives to reproduce the sense of displacement and bitterness experienced by their parents, I propose to examine how concepts such as Maurice Halbwachs'collective memory nevertheless occupy a positive strength in the second-generation immigrant narratives where memory and reconciliation are reclaimed. / text

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The total number of births among immigrants is on the rise and currently exceeds one fifth of live births within industrialized countries. The relation between adverse birth outcomes and migration remains unclear. The objectives of this thesis are to undertake a literature review to clarify the relation between migration and adverse birth outcomes, and to examine the interplay between duration of residence, maternal country of origin, and the residential environment using data on immigrants to Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas. The findings indicate that: a) Analyzing disparities in birth outcomes by migrant status with migrants defined as a single category is not informative. Rather, ethnicity and country of origin are important predictors of birth outcomes among immigrants. b) Duration of residence is linearly associated with low infant birth weight and preterm birth, mainly driven by decreases in gestational age with prolonged stay in Canada. c) The detrimental effects of long duration of residence on preterm birth are modestly attenuated, but not prevented, among immigrants living in urban neighbourhoods characterized by low material deprivation. d) Neighbourhood material deprivation has little, if any, influence on birth outcomes of recent immigrants, and only becomes influential after 15 years of stay in Canada. Maternal world region of origin constitutes a stronger predictor of adverse birth outcomes among recent immigrants. These findings stress the importance of the maternal country of birth and duration of residence as key predictors of immigrants’ health. They also support further research aimed at clarifying the nature of the association between time spent in Canada after migration and decreases in gestational age at delivery, and the identification of immigrant groups at high risk of adverse birth outcomes, based on these two key predictors.

This work examines the relationship between multiculturalism, feminism and violence against women within the context of Muslim women in Scotland.  It problematises multiculturalism and feminism by critiquing the difficulties which arise when multiculturalism is unqualified and feminism is constructed from white middle-class Western liberal values.  This illuminates the interstices created in binary thinking by employing intersectional and interdisciplinary methodologies.  The work uses categories which relate to women’s social and political status, such as human rights, citizenship, immigrants status, refugee, asylum-seeker and ‘paperless’ as they apply to women in the study.  These categories are then used to interpret violence against women as it is, or may be experienced by Muslim women in Scotland. The aim is to develop critical multiculturalism and pluralize the category ‘woman’ in order to move beyond binary notions of difference and sameness, employing intersectional approaches in a move towards a more fluid and holistic understanding of identity.  The limitations of gender as a category of analysis and the importance of ethnicity, religious affiliation, class, dis/ability, maternal status and generation in the construction of identity, changes in life-cycles and geographic location, make the appeal of an intersectional approach and methods explicit.  This is because intersectional approaches recognise that in order to create as inclusive a view as possible, there are categories which could be equally relevant.  To create responsive, flexible and cost-effective social policies there are a number of disciplines and themes to be traversed and the work moves between religious studies, gender studies, globalisation and social policy in order to contribute to the development of new, inclusive methods and theories regarding critical multiculturalism and Muslim women in Scotland.

The current study examined relationships among acculturation, parent-child relationship quality, and selected wellbeing indicators (health-related quality of life, life satisfaction, anxiety, depression, and stress) among a group of young adults from immigrant families of Asian and Hispanic descent. The first goal of the current study was to replicate previous research demonstrating a mixed relationship between acculturation and the wellbeing indicators. The second was to explain this relationship by testing for a moderation effect of parental care on the acculturation-wellbeing relationship. An examination of differences between members of the two ethnic groups on all measured variables served an exploratory purpose. Participants included 204 participants of Asian (N =80) and Hispanic (N = 124) descent who came from an immigrant family, or a family in which at least one parent was born outside of the U.S. Eligible respondents were also current students at the University of the North Texas who fell within the age range of 18-24, and the data for the current study was selected from a larger dataset (N = 1064). Results indicated that higher acculturation levels had a positive effect on each wellbeing indicator. Father Care and Mother Care were found to be significantly positively correlated with most outcome variables but neither parental care variable moderated the acculturation-wellbeing relationship. Asian and Hispanic participants differed on a number of predicting and outcome variables. Implications of the findings, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between depression and the personal characteristics of Asians who are 50 years or older. The secondary objective was to determine whether Asians 50 years or older living in the United States are more likely to be depressed than other ethnicities. The information for this study was secured from the National Health Interview Survey, spanning the years 2001 to 2010. In this study, I utilized the SAS-Callable SUDAAN statistical system. Multivariate regression was used to predict and determine significant correlations. The results indicated that Asians 50 and older living in the U.S. and who experience functional limitations, poor vision, hypertension, poor health, not married, and unemployed in previous year were in general more prone to depression. Furthermore, the study indicated that Asian elderly living the U.S. showed lower rates of depression than all non- Asian ethnicities. However when controlled for personal characteristics only Whites and Hispanics had higher depression incidences than Asian elderly. Recommendations for future studies include: conducting more micro and macro studies of Asian elders, such as in-depth case studies for each ethnicity, longitudinal studies of various Asian subgroups, and studies of Asian elderly with hypertension who have committed suicide.

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Thesis advisor: Thanh V. Tran / Research has established that dietary quality among Asian immigrants declined after immigrating to the United States, indicated by decreasing intake of healthy food and increasing intake of unhealthy food. There is a need for a broader investigation for the interactive influence of acculturation, sociodemographic and environmental factors on dietary intake among this population. Guided by the Operant Theory of Acculturation, and the Dietary Acculturation Theory, the present study examined the following research questions to address the gaps in the literature: (1) Are acculturation factors associated with dietary intake among Asian immigrants? (2) What sociodemographic factors are associated with dietary intake among Asian immigrants? (3) What environmental factors are associated with dietary intake among Asian immigrants? (4) What sociodemographic factors moderate the effect of acculturation on dietary intake among Asian immigrants? (5) What environmental factors moderate the effect of acculturation on dietary intake among Asian immigrants? The data in use come from the 2011 – 2012 Adult California Health Interview survey. The sample includes 2,122 non-Hispanic Asian adults born out of the United States. Results from negative binomial regression indicate that intake of fruits, vegetables, soda, fries and fast food was all negatively associated with living in the United States for at least 10 years, compared to living in the Unites States for less than 10 years. The present study also found sociodemographic (including ethnicity, age, gender, education, employment status, and income) and environmental factors (including family type, household size, household tenure, housing type, perceived availability of fresh fruits and vegetables, residential area category, and participation in food stamp and WIC) statistically significantly confounded and moderated the association between length of time lived in the United States and dietary intake. Findings from this study extend the understanding of the protective and risk factors for Asian immigrants to develop and maintain healthy diet, and demonstrated the complexity of dietary changes among Asian immigrants. Based on the findings, the importance that social work research and practice in addressing nutrition inequality among Asian immigrants was highlighted. The study also discovered potential issues and challenges of developing measurement for dietary intake among Asian immigrants, and provided empirical evidence of longitudinal research designs to further explain dietary changes, and guidelines for community-based interventions to address strategies of nutrition promotion among Asian immigrants. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.