Life Satisfaction Among Recent Immigrants in Canada: Comparisons to Source-Country and Host-Country Populations (original) (raw)
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Quality of life research is a key component of policymaking. Research on this topic can embrace two approaches-social or health-related perspectives. With a focus on the social aspect, this study uses cross-sectional data from the Canadian Community Health Survey to explore differences in the level of satisfaction and quality of life of immigrants and non-immigrants. To examine changes over time, recent immigrants are compared with earlier immigrants who are further compared with non-immigrants. Some subjective indicators are selected from the available data and an index of quality of life is computed using the methodology developed by the United Nations Development Program for measuring human development. Findings of the study show that among the three groups, earlier immigrants are least satisfied with life in general but most satisfied with their financial situation. The score on the quality of life index is lowest for earlier immigrants mainly due to deterioration in their health. Non-immigrants enjoy the best quality of life attributed particularly to their higher income and participation in leisure and social activities.
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... are not significant in several studies focused on immigrants (Fugl-Meyer, Melin and Fugl-Meyer 2002; Remennick 2005 ... Sam (2001) and Chow (2007) find a negative correlation between perceived discrimination and life satisfaction among immigrant and international students ...
Acta Sociologica, 2019
With a focus on the immigrant population, this study examines how the association between a relative income position and life satisfaction varies when the comparison group changes. Drawing data from Understanding Society in the UK between 2009 and 2015, this study first shows that after migration, income comparisons with the mainstream and co-ethnic groups in the host country matter more than that with the source-country population for one's life satisfaction. Furthermore, the relevance of comparison groups to life satisfaction varies across immigrant generations. Income comparison with the source-country population is more relevant to life satisfaction of the 1st generation, whereas 1.5 and 2nd generations consider income comparisons within the host country more relevant. In particular, favourable income comparison with the mainstream group in the host country is the most relevant to life satisfaction of the 2nd-generation, followed by the 1.5-generation, and last by the 1st-generation immigrants.
Dimensions of life satisfaction: Immigrant and ethnic minorities
The article investigates the dimensions of life satisfaction of immigrant and ethnic minorities comparing them with the majority population. It constructs a theoretical framework, taking into account both pecuniary and non-pecuniary dimensions of welfare. This study is based on the data of the Social Survey, administered by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics. Immigrants in this study are regarded as a migrant minority and Israeli-born Arab citizens as an ethnic minority. The results reveal significant life satisfaction gaps between the groups, which can be partially explained by the value of work per se and the value of leisure activities. Applying the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique, the study revealed that the gap in life satisfaction could be attributed both to the differences in pecuniary and non-pecuniary resources for each group, and to different returns on resources. Policy targeted on increasing the economic possibilities of minority groups would decrease the life satisfaction gaps.
Acculturation, discrimination and wellbeing among second generation of immigrants in Canada
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2017
This study examines the acculturation, experiences of discrimination and wellbeing of a representative sample of over 3000 adult second generation of immigrants in Canada; 43% were born in Canada, while 57% immigrated before the age of 12 years. Four acculturation profiles were created using two sense of belonging questions: those who have strong sense of belonging to both Canada and own ethnic group (integrated); those who have a strong sense of belonging to Canada only (assimilated); those who have strong sense of belonging to own ethnic group only (separated); and those who have weak sense of belonging to both Canada or own ethnic group (marginalised). In the study sample, 75% are in the integration group, 15% in assimilation, 6% in separation, and 5% in marginalization. Wellbeing is assessed with two questions about life satisfaction and self-rated mental health. Those in the integration group have a significantly higher level on both measures of wellbeing. The experience of discrimination is significantly associated with being in the separation group. The effect of discrimination on wellbeing varied by acculturation profile: marginalization amplifies the effect of discrimination, while assimilation mitigates it. Social and demographic factors also affect wellbeing, particularly having low levels of education, income and employment. Implications for the settlement process are suggested.
Purpose There is a lack of population-based studies on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and satisfaction with life (SWL) of immigrants compared to the native populations. Findings of previous research are inconclusive. Our study compares HRQoL and SWL in immigrants and native-born Germans, investigating immigration-related factors as suspected determinants of HRQoL and SWL in immigrants. Methods In the German Socio-economic panel from 2006, HRQoL (measured with the SF-12v2) and SWL as well as immigration-related factors were assessed in 21,079 subjects (including 2,971 immigrants). Analyses of variance were applied as statistical tests in our study. Results Native-born Germans report a higher amount of SWL and of HRQoL on the physical health component compared to the immigrants. With effect sizes ranging from E2 = 0.001 to 0.111, these findings are of minimal practical relevance. In immigrants, the physical health component of HRQoL is significantly associated with younger age at migration and with country of origin. As the effect sizes are extremely low, these findings have limited practical relevance. Conclusion There are small differences in SWL and HRQoL of immigrants and native-born Germans. Some immigration-related factors are related to HRQoL, but not to SWL. As immigrants are a quite heterogeneous group, it seems useful to focus on immigration-related factors, not simply comparing immigrants and the native-born. Our findings suggest that research on the association of immi- gration-related factors with quality of life in immigrants seems a promising approach to better identify subgroups of immigrants with lower levels of quality of life.