an examination of integration, inclusion, exclusion and bullying
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Health and Social Integration of Newcomer Youth: Results from a National Longitudinal Study
John P. Anchan, Esther Blum, Bong-Hwan Kim, Joyce Cabigting Fernandes & Lori Wilkinson
Prairie Metropolis Node Meeting, September 29, 2009Winnipeg
Project Overview• Longitudinal study of close to 4,900
immigrant and refugee children living in six Canadian cities
• Wave One national sample includes children aged 4-6 & 11-13 from 17 different ethnocultural communities in Canadian 6 cities
• Wave Two follow-up, children now aged 6-10 and 13-17 years
• Children born outside of Canada, arrived within last 10 years; OR children born of parents who arrived within the last 10 years
• A broad range of factors investigated including child growth and development plus those specific to the migration and resettlement process
Sampling FrameworkImmigration Status
Visibility Like Ethnic Community in Canada
Established Not Established
Immigrants Visible Hong Kong ChineseMainland ChineseFilipinoIndian (Punjabi)Jamaican
Haitian
Non-Visible IranianRefugees Visible Vietnamese Ethiopian
SomaliSri Lankan TamilAfghan
Non-Visible
Lebanese El Salvadoran, Columbian, Nicaraguan, Guatemalan
SerbianKurdish
Note: ethnocultural communities in red text were interviewed in Winnipeg
Selected Indicators of Social Integration for Newcomer Families
• Integration is a multifaceted, long-term process for all newcomers and includes several aspects related to acceptance by the host society and settlement conditions• Social supports: does my family have help from
others when needed?• Homeownership: an indication of economic
integration and attachment• Living conditions since last move: has moving to
Canada been a benefit or a detriment to my family’s livelihood?
Social Supports by Ethnocultural Group, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg
26.3
26.7
27.5
22.8
25.3
26.4
24.4
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Mainland Chinese
Hong Kong Chinese
Filipino
Kurdish
Vietnamese
Latin American
Canadian average
Homeownership by Ethnocultural Group, Prairies
Just over two-thirds (68.4%) of Canadians own their home (Statistics Canada, 2008).
38.4%
79.6%
60.2%
0.0%
63.6%
33.3%
55.4%
42.9%
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%
Mainland Chinese
Hong Kong Chinese
Filipino
Kurdish
Vietnamese
Latin American
Prairies average
Canadian average
Assessment of Living Conditions in Canada by Ethnocultural Group
2%11% 11%
21%
45%
87% 89%
77%
55%
0%10%20%30%40%50%
60%70%80%90%
100%
MainlandChinese
Hong KongChinese
Filipino Prairie groups
Poor Unsure Good
Physical Health
• The “Healthy Immigrant Effect” suggests that newcomer youth are significantly more healthy than Canadian-born youth due to government and self-selection processes
• After about 10 years, the health practices and behaviours of newcomers begins to mimic that of the native-born• Second-generation youth have poorer health and
exhibit more risk behaviours than immigrant youth• Rates of obesity, asthma, and diabetes are
significantly higher among Canadian-born youth• Newcomer youth are significantly more likely to
have no significant health problems as children and adolescents
Statistics Canada, 2006, 2007; Mullins Harris, 1999; Yu et al., 2003
General Health of Child, Prairie Groups
Excellent35%
Very good38%
Good17%
Fair4%
Poor6%
Poor
General Health by Immigrant Category, Prairies Only
9.5
2.8
31.9
20.7
35.3
40.4
23.3
36.1
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
fair good v good excellent
Pmk CdnbornPmk foreignborn
Health Risk Behaviors
• 9% of 11-13 year olds knew of a friend who drank alcohol without their parents’ knowledge
• 11% of 11-13 year olds regularly smoke cigarettes
• None of the children we studied in Wave 1 reported illegal drug use, though some participants in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal admitted to illegal drug use
• 1.4% of youth aged 11-13 in our study reported they were active members of gangs
• A very small number of youth indicated they gambled for money
Physical Activity (compared to others of same sex and age) Prairie Groups
P<0.01
52.141.4
6.5
100
0102030405060708090
100
v. active thesame
lessactive
total
% Active
Participation in Organized Sports (11-13 year olds only)
39.2%
46.2%
29.7%32.5% 33.7%
30.3%
25.3%
29.2% 30.3%
23.1%24.3%
15.4%
27.0%23.4%
22.0%23.0%
15.4%
27.0% 26.5%
14.0%13.5%16.2% 14.9%
17.7%
0.0%5.0%
10.0%15.0%20.0%25.0%30.0%35.0%40.0%45.0%50.0%
Calgary
Edmon
ton
Winn
ipeg
Mon
treal
Toron
to
Vanco
uver
Never 1X/week 2-3X/week 4+X/week
P<0.05
Mental Health
• Over 80% of mental health issues arise in adolescence. If left untreated, they can manifest as severe illness as adults
• Among Canadian-born youth, anxiety disorders are most predominant, ranging from 2.1-22.2% incidence rates among youth as young a age 5 years
• Mental health of newcomer youth has been a topic of sustained interest • Refugee youth have higher rates of PTSD• Refugee youth have slightly higher rates of other
illnesses• Immigrant youth have good mental health though
some may struggle with the transition to a new country
Flannery-Schroeder, 2004; Costello et al., 2004, 2005; Leitch, 2007
Self-assessment of Current Life Stress
73%67%
83%
67%
27%33%
8%
33%
9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
MainlandChinese
Hong KongChinese
Filipino Prairie groups
Low Medium High
P<0.05
Prosocial Behaviour by Integration Stage
P<0.05
23.1923.29
22.02
22.88
21.221.421.621.8
2222.222.422.622.8
2323.223.4
Mean
short term
medium term
Cdn born
Total
Mean score on prosocial behaviours index
Hyperactivity-Inattention by Stage of Integration
P<0.05
12.6
11.311.4
11.9
10.6
10.8
1111.2
11.4
11.6
11.812
12.2
12.4
12.6
Mean
short termmedium termCanadian-borntotal
Mean score on hyperactivity-inattention index
Tentative Conclusions
• Overall, newcomer youth are adjusting to life in Canada • Housing & neighborhood conditions: good for some,
fair for others• Physical Health: excellent & active• Mental Health: excellent, with few behavioural
problems
• Wave 2 interviews are complete; longitudinal analysis to commence in fall
• Your ideas for specific analyses and exploration are most welcome-there are over 1300 data points needing analysis!
Selection of Forthcoming Papers• Predicting Emotional Disorder/Anxiety and Physical
Aggression among Hong Kong Chinese, Mainland Chinese, and Filipino Immigrant Children in Canada.
• Immigrant Families and Access to Primary Health Care for their Children
• Examining the impact of ethnic discrimination and social exclusion on visible minority immigrant children’s psychosocial development.
• Cultural Affiliation and Identification Patterns among Newcomer Immigrant Children in Canada
• School & Parental Influences on the Academic Achievements of Filipino, Hong Kong & Mainland Chinese Youth
• Neighbourhood Influences on the health of Canada’s Immigrant and Refugee Youth: A Vancouver Study
• A Snapshot of the Health & Well-being of Newcomer Children and their Families-to appear on PMC website soon!
Mental health
Physical health
Discrimination
Identity &Cultural Preservation
Health &Neighbourhood
EducationalAchievements
Acknowledgements
This presentation is a product of the New Canadian Children and Youth Study (Morton Beiser, Nominated Principal Applicant; Robert Armstrong, Linda Ogilvie, Jacqueline Oxman-Martinez, Joanna Anneke Rummens, Principal Applicants), a national longitudinal survey of the health and well being of more than 4,000 newcomer immigrant and refugee children living in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. The NCCYS is a collaboration between a large team of more than 25 investigators, two national coordinators, other research staff, community advisors, and trainees affiliated with four Canadian Metropolis Centres of Excellence for research on immigration and settlement, and community organizations representing sixteen different immigrant/refugee populations across Canada.
The Winnipeg Research Team wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Alison Kalischuk, Swati Mandal
University of ManitobaSara Deane, University of Winnipeg
and the cooperation of newcomer families, the assistance of our Local Advisory Committee and 7 Community Consultation
Groups
Funding Sources
Prairie Site: PCERII, AHFMR, CIHR, Canadian Heritage, Health Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Manitoba Labour and Immigration, Winnipeg Foundation, and Alberta Learning.
National: Canadian Institutes for Health ResearchSite Specific Funding: Federal departments of Canadian
Heritage, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Health Canada, Justice Canada; Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, Alberta Learning, B.C. Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security, B.C. Ministry of Multiculturalism and Immigration, Conseil Quebecois de la Recherche Sociale, OASIS (CIC); and the Montreal, Prairies, and Toronto Metropolis Centres of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration.
Universities In-Kind Support: Universities: Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary, Manitoba, McGill, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Metropolis Centres of Excellence: Toronto, Montreal, Prairies, Vancouver, Statistics Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada.