SENSE OF IDENTITY LOSS AND CONTINUITY IN NARRATIVES OF IMMIGRATION OF A GROUP OF LATIN AMERICAN CANADIAN WOMEN by Nancy Espinoza-Magana B.Sc. Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, 1996 M.Sc. Rice University, 1999 M.A. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2006 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Counselling Psychology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) October 2013 © Nancy Espinoza-Magana, 2013 Abstract Drawing from an action theory and other perspectives on identity, which emphasize individuals' social processes and contextual factors, and utilizing a social constructivist approach, this inquiry proposes an understanding of the participants' immigration experiences. This secondary analysis explored the narratives of 25 semistructured interviews conducted in 2002 with Latin American immigrant and refugee women. Using a categorical-content (thematic) analysis, this qualitative research aimed to address the women's sense of identity loss and continuity in their narratives of immigration. Moving to Canada became problematic for half of the women when they experienced a sense of identity loss influenced by challenges of immigration. ii Preface This inquiry is a secondary analysis of narratives of immigration existing in the City of Richmond Archives. These narratives were brought together by a research project that interviewed 25 Latin American Canadian (LAC) immigrant and refugee women in 2002. In chapter 3, I explain how I conducted a categorical-content (thematic) narrative analysis of the narratives of immigration of 25 LAC immigrant women and the criteria for evaluating the findings. I was responsible for conducting this narrative analysis. This research did not require ethics approval because the information is legally accessible to the public and appropriately protected by regulation (in Canada publicly available archives have policies regarding how people can access their records). iii Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Preface............................................................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... vi 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Latin American Immigration to Canada: Contexts and Definitions ............................. 2 1.2 The Context of the Study within the Research Literature ............................................. 5 1.3 Rationale ....................................................................................................................... 9 1.4 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................... 12 1.5 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 13 2. Literature Review...................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Perspectives on Identity .............................................................................................. 15 2.2 Sense of Identity Loss and Sense of Identity Continuity ............................................ 22 2.3 Identity in Narratives of Immigration Experiences ..................................................... 25 2.4 Identity in Narratives of Immigration of Latin American Canadian Women ............. 30 2.5 Concluding Comments of the Literature Review........................................................ 35 3. Method ...................................................................................................................................... 38 3.1 Secondary Analysis of Narratives of Latin American Canadian Women................... 39 3.2 Ethical Considerations ................................................................................................ 41 3.3 Participants .................................................................................................................. 43 3.4 Procedure..................................................................................................................... 45 3.5 Research Perspective ................................................................................................... 46 3.6 My Immigration Story ................................................................................................ 48 3.7 Narrative Analyses ...................................................................................................... 52 3.8 Categorical-Content (Thematic) Analysis................................................................... 53 3.9 Criteria for Evaluating the Findings ............................................................................ 57 4. Findings..................................................................................................................................... 60 4.1 We Appreciate Who We Are and Where We Are From ............................................. 62 4.2 Sense of Identity Loss ................................................................................................. 70 4.2.1 Loss of Our Voices: the Fear of Speaking or not Being Able to Speak ........... 71 4.2.2 Loss of Relational and Group Identities ........................................................... 77 4.2.3 Loss of Self-confidence as a Result of Emotional and Physical Trauma ......... 83 4.2.4 Loss of Our Student and Professional Identities ............................................... 89 4.3 Sense of Identity Continuity........................................................................................ 91 4.3.1 Continuity of Our Capacity to Open Doors and Construct Meaning in Life .... 92 4.3.2 Continuity of Our Strength and other Values to Overcome Obstacles ............. 98 4.3.3 Continuity of Our Professional Identities and Skills ...................................... 102 iv 4.3.4 Continuity by Preserving Latin American Culture ......................................... 105 5. Discussions ............................................................................................................................. 111 5.1 Links to Previous Perspectives on Identity ............................................................... 116 5.2 Links to Previous Studies on Identities ..................................................................... 126 5.3 Implications for Counselling Practice ....................................................................... 131 5.4 Limitations of this Study ........................................................................................... 133 5.5 Suggestions for Future Research and Conclusions ................................................... 134 References ................................................................................................................................... 138 Appendices .................................................................................................................................. 149 Appendix A: List of Topics Discussed During the Interviews ....................................... 149 Appendix B: Interview Questions in English and Spanish ............................................. 150 Appendix C: Participants' Demographic Information ..................................................... 152 Appendix D: Participants' Descriptive Statistics ............................................................ 154 Appendix E: Participants' Spanish Quotes ...................................................................... 155 v Acknowledgments This dissertation was made possible by the collective efforts and generosity of the women of this study, professors, acquaintances, friends and family. I would first like to thank Dr. Richard Young from the Counselling Psychology Department. I benefited from his long-time experience guiding students to find and express what is meaningful for them and to learn how to do research. Under Dr. Young's supervision I learned about having conversations with other researchers and revisiting and reflecting my own interpretations. I am also very thankful to the other two members of my research committee. Dr. Marla Buchanan from the Department of Counselling Psychology for the conversations we had and for all the support about conducting qualitative research. Also, Dr. Carl Leggo from the Department of Language & Literacy Education provided helpful revisions and reminded me to keep the presence of the participants' rich and alive stories. Dr. Buchanan and Dr. Leggo were also my inspiration from previous meaningful projects to become a counsellor and a narrative inquirer. So I am very grateful to them. Two institutions provided scholarships that allowed me to pursue my studies full time during the first two years of my program. I appreciate the financial help from the Faculty of Education Graduate Award from the University of British Columbia, and the two years scholarship