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Mental Health and Arab Canadian Immigrants: Risks, Protective Factors, and Resilience

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Mental Health and Arab Canadian Immigrants: Risks, Protective Factors, and Resilience University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 10-30-2020 Mental Health and Arab Canadian Immigrants: Risks, Protective Factors, and Resilience Ruby (Rawa) Jamil University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Jamil, Ruby (Rawa), "Mental Health and Arab Canadian Immigrants: Risks, Protective Factors, and Resilience" (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 8449. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/8449 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). Under this license, works must always be attributed to the copyright holder (original author), cannot be used for any commercial purposes, and may not be altered. Any other use would require the permission of the copyright holder. Students may inquire about withdrawing their dissertation and/or thesis from this database. For additional inquiries, please contact the repository administrator via email ([email protected]) or by telephone at 519-253-3000ext. 3208. Mental Health and Arab Canadian Immigrants: Risks, Protective Factors, and Resilience By Ruby (Rawa) Jamil A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies through the Department of Psychology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada 2020 © 2020 Ruby (Rawa) Jamil Mental Health and Arab Canadian Immigrants: Risks, Protective Factors, and Resilience by Ruby (Rawa) Jamil APPROVED BY: ______________________________________________ M. Kia-Keating, External Examiner University of California, Santa Barbara _____________________________________ S. McMurphy Department of Sociology, Criminology, and Anthropology ______________________________________________ B. Kuo Department of Psychology ______________________________________________ R. Menna Department of Psychology ______________________________________________ J. Hakim-Larson, Advisor Department of Psychology August 31, 2020 DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this thesis has been published or submitted for publication. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques, quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis, published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copyrighted material that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the Canada Copyright Act, I certify that I have obtained a written permission from the copyright owner(s) to include such material(s) in my thesis and have included copies of such copyright clearances to my appendix. I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as approved by my thesis committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution. iii ABSTRACT Mental health is a term which encompasses “a positive sense of well-being, or the capacity to enjoy life and deal with the challenges we face” (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2018, p. 1). Both risk and protective factors have previously been found to be associated with Arab immigrants’ mental health. Some documented risk factors for poor mental health include economic stressors, weak English language proficiency, and trauma (Lemaster et al., 2018), whereas documented protective factors for optimal mental health include trait resilience (e.g., Lemaster et al., 2018). Given the risks that Arab immigrants face before and after migration, effective coping strategies are vital for their success in a new country. The way that a person chooses to cope with stressors is embedded in a person’s culture, values, and customs (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach with Arab-Canadian immigrants, this study examined self- reported risk and protective factors in relation to mental health, and the relation between acculturation and coping. Qualitative interviews, conducted after the quantitative study, addressed the following research questions: What was each participant’s lived experience in his or her home country? What challenges did participants face after arriving to Canada? Which factors helped immigrants settle in Canada? What are Arab-Canadian immigrants’ approaches to coping? Participants in the quantitative study included 172 1st generation Arab Canadian immigrants with origins from any of the 22 countries in the Arab League of States. Participants (58% female) were recruited from the community (n = 100) and a psychology participant pool in southwestern Ontario (n = 72). Qualitative interview participants (N = 11; 55% female) were a subsample from the quantitative study. For both the quantitative and qualitative components of the study, participants were on average 29 years old and were most often Iraqi, Muslim, and females with some university education. iv All participants completed either an online or in person set of questionnaires that addressed their mental health (i.e., well-being and mental illness outcomes), various risk and protective factors, and coping strategies. Next, a subsample of these participants with a range of mental health outcomes participated in a qualitative interview to further elucidate quantitative findings. Results from the quantitative study suggested that younger age at immigration, female gender, weak English language skills, socioeconomic problems, immigration problems, self-criticism coping, and avoidance coping were associated with more negative mental health indicators (e.g., lower well-being, higher levels of mental illness), whereas trait resilience and support from others coping were associated with more positive mental health indicators (e.g., positive emotions). Additionally, higher levels of Arab cultural orientation were associated with higher levels of collective coping, whereas higher levels of Canadian acculturation were associated with higher levels of engagement coping. Qualitative interview results revealed the following themes with respect to understanding participants’ lives in their native countries: Poor Quality of Life, Religious Lifestyle, Relocation Prior to Settling in Canada, and Simplicity. Additionally, participants immigrated to Canada in order to Improve Quality of Life. Common risk and protective factors were categorized into the following themes: Cultural, Economic, Personal Connections, and Trait Resilience. With respect to coping, participants described using the following coping strategies: Proactive Reflective Coping, Support from Other, and Faith. These results have several implications for policy and practice. Given that immigrants are at high risk for mental health problems, these results can support Canada’s goal to successfully integrate immigrants into Canadian society by informing policy makers of potential risk and protective factors in this group. By improving the quality of life of adult Arab immigrants, these individuals will be empowered to provide better care and advocacy for themselves and their relatives. If immigrants are better able to cope with their symptoms, they are less likely to require costly interventions later on. v DEDICATION I dedicate this project to my parents, the hardest working, loving, and selfless Arab-Canadian immigrants I have ever known, and without whose sacrifices, bravery, and dedication for a better life, this project could never have come to fruition. I am eternally grateful for how much I have achieved, and all my success I owe to you. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank everyone who participated in my study. Thank you for sharing your stories with me, whether in person, through quantitative data, or qualitative interviews. I am humbled by your openness, and I am grateful to have a better understanding of the Arab- Canadian immigrant experience. I hope the results adequately give voice to your unique experiences. I am grateful for the input of my committee throughout the research process. My supervisor, Dr. Julie Hakim-Larson, has spent countless hours mentoring and guiding me through this project. Her wealth of knowledge in research methods and specifically her knowledge in the field of Arab immigrants has helped make this project a success. Additional thanks to Drs. Rosanne Menna, Ben Kuo, and Suzanne McMurphy for your expertise and valuable suggestions for improving my project. Thanks to Dr. Maryam Kia-Keating for serving as my external examiner. Thank you to Dr. Kendall Soucie for your guidance in helping me create a fantastic qualitative interview. I am also thankful for the funding I received throughout my doctoral studies from both the Ontario Graduate Scholarship and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Thanks also goes to my grad school cohort, particularly to Kendra Nespoli and Samantha Daskaluk. I could not have asked for a better group of friends with whom to ride the graduate school roller coaster.
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