Nike Yetunde Ayo

Weaving Christian Spirituality into Women’s Wellness: Narratives from the African Diaspora in Canada by Nike Yetunde Ayo A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation University of Alberta © Nike Yetunde Ayo, 2016 Abstract This research highlights the significant role spirituality plays in how a group of African diasporic women in Canada understand and experience wellness in their daily lives. The central research question that I pose is: How do Christian African diasporic women in Canada make sense of and experience the interweaving of spirituality and wellness in their daily lives? Wellness as a construct emerged following World War II to challenge and offer an alternative to traditional biomedical views of health as not merely the absence of disease (Panelli & Tipa, 2007). Generally, wellness has been understood to be a highly integrated, synergistic, multidimensional concept that exists along a continuum rather than as an end state (Adams, Bezner, Drabb, Zambarano, & Steinhardt, 2000; Harari, Waehler, & Rogers, 2005; Miller & Foster, 2010; Roscoe, 2009). Since then there has been an extensive amount of literature that has focused on defining and measuring wellness using various constructs and quantitative psychometric scales (Roscoe, 2009). However, despite the vast research that has gone into conceptualizing and measuring wellness, there has been little empirical research examining the lived experiences of wellness and how the various dimensions of wellness may be interrelated (Roscoe, 2009). Utilizing Roscoe’s (2009) seven dimensional holistic model of wellness, which entails social, physical, emotional, intellectual, occupational, spiritual, and environmental components, my study provides an empirical qualitative investigation of how the spiritual dimension is integrated into the broader experiences of wellness as a whole. This examination captures the rich background, depth, and meaning of such experiences in the everyday lives of Christian African diasporic women in Canada. Because such experiences do not exist within a vacuum, I also highlight the important role of diaspora in shaping the women’s lived experiences. Faist’s ii (2010) model of diasporas, as consisting of three key variables—reason for migration, transnational connections and activities, and settlement abroad—also guides my analysis of the context of the women’s lived experiences. I use a narrative methodological approach to structure my research and in doing so construct two research stories/narratives utilizing an amalgamation of participants’ words derived from the transcribed one-on-one interviews conducted. The first narrative illustrates the women’s journey within the African diaspora and the second highlights how their experiences of wellness are inseparable from their Christian faith. The women in this study, while maintaining a certain level of transnationality, have settled very well in Canada and have established it as home. This is evident through both their words and their emotional and psychosocial sentiments about life in Canada as well as their attainment of their intellectual and occupational goals in their new homeland. Spirituality proved to be a major positive force woven into the wellness experiences of diasporic women. While they understood wellness to encompass Roscoe’s various dimensions of the term, their faith had a significant influence on how they experienced each of these dimensions. The findings and analysis from this study help to redress the paucity of research on the lived experiences of wellness as well as the experiences of African diasporic women in Canada. Thus, this research will be beneficial for those engaged in the settlement and wellbeing of this particular immigrant group as well as those interested in the fields of wellness studies and the African diaspora in Canada, particularly in terms of the role that faith can play in members’ of this community lives. iii Preface This thesis is an original work by Nike Ayo. The research project, of which this thesis is a part, received research ethics approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board, Project Name “Weaving Christian Spirituality into Women’s Wellness: Narratives from the African Diaspora in Canada”, No. Pro00041257, January 13, 2014. iv Acknowledgements This work would not have been possible without the tremendous support, dedication, and faithfulness of many involved. It has certainly been a team effort in which I am just one member. I wish to acknowledge the other players who have been instrumental in this project. My supervisor Dr. Lisa McDermott provided great support in gently guiding me throughout the entire research process while giving me the liberty to discover myself as a researcher. My other supervisory committee members, Dr. Pirkko Markula was key in helping me to situate and establish my research within the interpretive paradigm in a manner which was coherent, and Dr. Philomina Okeke-Ihejirika helped me to understand the significance of diasporas in the experiences of people of African descent. I am also grateful to my two external examiners Dr. Troy Glover and Dr. Suzette Breamault-Phillips for taking interest in my study and the time to be a part of my Ph.D. journey. I am eternally grateful for the support of my family and friends who have been relentless in their passion for my success. My mother Christiana Ashabo and Aunty Elizabeth have been faithful to the very end in being my Aaron and Hur by holding me up when I was weak and being a limitless reservoir of spiritual strength and encouragement in my time of need. My beloved husband Victor Ayo has also been zealous for me to achieve this accomplishment; as such, he has and continues to embody a servant-leader, eagerly laying his life down for mine, and offering himself in any way possible to make life easier for me. My precious gifts from Heaven, Peter and Grace, you are both a blessing without end. You both have been a key source in my motivation to stay focused on this journey to its completion so that I will have more time to spend with you. Thank you for your cooperation all the times when mama had to go to school v and thank you for your sweet prayers! I am also grateful for the moral support and prayers of my wonderful siblings. This research would not have been possible without the beautiful women who shared their lives with me and opened themselves up to a perfect stranger inviting me to journey into the deep places with them. I have learned so much from each one and they are an inspiration to me. Above all, I dedicate this work to my Creator. I thank God for giving me the opportunity, privilege, and His grace to do this degree. vi Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….. ii Preface……………………………………………………………………………………… iv Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………… v Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………….. vii 1.0 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………. 1 2.0 Literature Review: Part One Spirituality, Religion, and Wellness: Conceptualizations and Intersections….............. 5 2.1 The Conceptualization of Religion and Spirituality........................................................ 5 2.2 The Conceptualization of Wellness................................................................................. 11 2.3 Dimensions and Characteristics of Wellness................................................................... 15 2.4 Gaps in the Wellness Literature....................................................................................... 22 2.5 Exploring the Relationship among Spirituality, Religion, Health, and Wellness............ 23 3.0 Literature Review: Part Two The African Diaspora in North America, Transnationalism, and the Role of Faith...... 28 3.1 Transnational Diasporas and Differing Levels of Transnationality................................. 34 3.2 The African Diaspora in North America and the Role of Spirituality and Religion........ 37 4.0 Methodology................................................................................................................... 47 4.1 Statement of Purpose....................................................................................................... 47 4.2 Phase 1: Theoretical Paradigms and Perspectives........................................................... 47 4.2.1 Narrative Research within the Interpretive Paradigm....................................... 55 4.3 Phase 2: The Researcher and the Role of Reflexivity...................................................... 58 4.4 Phase 3: Research Strategy.............................................................................................. 67 4.5 Phase 4: Methods of Collection and Analysis................................................................. 71 4.5.1 Semi-Structured Narrative Interviews.............................................................. 71 4.5.2 Sampling........................................................................................................... 73 4.5.3 Thematic Narrative Analysis............................................................................ 73 4.6 Phase 5: The Art, Practices, and Politics of Interpretation, Representation, and Evaluation.............................................................................................. 75 4.6.1 The Art of Representation: Research Stories.................................................... 76 4.6.2 The Art of Re-presentation:

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