Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Volume 45, Issue 10, 2010, Pages 1011-1021

Predictors of emotional problems and physical aggression among children of Hong Kong Chinese, Mainland Chinese and Filipino immigrants to Canada (Article)

Beiser M.* , Hamilton H. , Rummens J.A. , Oxman-Martinez J. , Ogilvie L. , Humphrey C. , Armstrong R.
  • a Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, JOR-1016, 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON M5B2K3, Canada, Ontario Metropolis Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement, Toronto, ON, Canada, Cultural Pluralism and Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • b Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • c Child Health Evaluation Sciences, Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • d École de Service Social, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
  • e Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
  • f Data Library, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
  • g Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Abstract

Background and study aims: Data from the New Canadian Children and Youth Study (NCCYS), a national study of immigrant children and youth in Canada, are used to examine the mental health salience of putatively universal determinants, as well as of immigration-specific factors. Universal factors (UF) include age, gender, family and neighbourhood characteristics. Migration-specific (MS) factors include ethnic background, acculturative stress, prejudice, and the impact of region of resettlement within Canada. Methods: In a sample of children from Hong Kong, the Philippines and Mainland China, the study examined the determinants of emotional problems (EP), and physical aggression (PA). A two-step regression analysis entered UF on step 1, and MS variables on step 2. Results: Universal factors accounted for 12.1% of EP variance. Addition of MS variables increased explained variance to 15.6%. Significant UF predictors: parental depression, family dysfunction, and parent's education. Significant MS variables: country of origin, region of resettlement, resettlement stress, prejudice, and limited linguistic fluency. UF accounted for 6.3% of variance in PA scores. Adding migration-specific variables increased variance explained to 9.1%. UF: age, gender, parent's depression, family dysfunction. MS: country of origin, region of resettlement, resettlement stress, and parent's perception of prejudice. Conclusions: Net of the effect of factors affecting the mental health of most, if not all children, migration-specific variables contribute to understanding immigrant children's mental health. © 2009 Springer-Verlag.

Author Keywords

Emotional disorder Physical aggression Regional effects Immigrant children Ethnicity

Index Keywords

Parents perception China social psychology Asian psychological aspect sex ratio human statistics Asian continental ancestry group Stress, Psychological mental stress comparative study probability Affective Symptoms ethnology Humans Aggression Adolescent parent male Canada child psychology Acculturation preschool child Emigrants and Immigrants Child, Preschool Socioeconomic Factors female socioeconomics questionnaire cultural factor emotional disorder Article Questionnaires migration Prejudice Sex Distribution age distribution Hong Kong Social Perception Philippines Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-77957204877&doi=10.1007%2fs00127-009-0140-3&partnerID=40&md5=8b0024cf60456fc983a177fb05f7feb4
DOI: 10.1007/s00127-009-0140-3
ISSN: 09337954
Cited by: 35
Original Language: English