The Role of Contexts of Exit and Acculturative Stress on Psychological Distress among Immigrants

• In Event: 242 - Section on International Migration Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 04. Health of U.S. Immigrants

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between contexts of exit and mental health. To illustrate this relationship, I examine the effect of socio-political conditions in country of origin at time of emigration on current level of psychological distress among immigrants living in Toronto, while also considering the role of self-reported pre-migration traumatic events, recent life events, and acculturative stress. Using data on 530 foreign-born respondents from the Neighbourhood Effects on Health and Well-being Study, I find that immigrants from non-conflict countries with high level of human rights violations have greater symptoms of psychological distress than those who emigrated from non-conflict countries with low human rights violations. Self-reported traumatic stress exposure prior to migration had only a modest effect on the observed differences in psychological distress. However, for immigrants who left during internal conflict from countries affected by multiple and ongoing conflicts, greater exposure to both self-reported traumatic events prior to migration and post-migration acculturative stress helps to explain higher level of distress. The mediating effect of acculturative stress is substantial in comparison to that of self-reported traumatic stress experienced prior to migration, explaining over 50% of the difference in psychological distress between immigrants from non-conflict countries with low and high human rights violations. These results show the importance in considering the mental health implications of macro-level factors defining contexts of exit and their subsequent influence in shaping the adaptation of immigrants.

Author

• Marie-Pier Joly, University of Toronto