PLoS ONE
Volume 12, Issue 4, 2017

Emotional problems among recent immigrants and parenting status: Findings from a national longitudinal study of immigrants in Canada (Article) (Open Access)

Browne D.T. , Kumar A. , Puente-Duran S. , Georgiades K. , Leckie G. , Jenkins J.
  • a Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
  • b Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
  • c Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
  • d Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
  • e Center for Multilevel Modeling, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, United Kingdom
  • f Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Abstract

The present study examined predictors of emotional problems amongst a nationally representative cohort of recent immigrants in Canada. Specifically, the effects of parenting status were examined given the association between parenting stress and mental health. Data came from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (N = 7055). Participants were recruited 6-months post landing (2001-2002) and followed up at 2 and 4 years. Selfreported emotional problems over time were considered as a function of parenting status (Two Parent, Lone Parent, Divorced Non-Parent, Non-Divorced Non-Parent) and sociodemographic characteristics. Odds of emotional problems were higher among Two Parent, OR = 1.12 (1.01, 1.24), Lone Parent, OR = 2.24 (1.75, 2.88), and Divorced Non-Parent, OR = 1.30 (1.01, 1.66) immigrants compared to Non-Divorced Non-Parents. Visible minority status, female gender, low income, and refugee status were associated with elevated risk. Findings reveal that immigrant parents are at risk for emotional health problems during the post-migration period. Such challenges may be compounded by other sociodemographic risk. © 2017 Browne et al.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

Parents prospective study immigrant longitudinal study parental stress refugee lowest income group poverty minority group mental health human Prospective Studies Refugees Self Report middle aged Longitudinal Studies sex difference Cohort Studies controlled study Logistic Models Affective Symptoms Young Adult emotional stability migrant psychology Humans Minority Groups male Canada Emigrants and Immigrants female risk factor Risk Factors Parenting major clinical study adult gender Sex Factors cohort analysis divorced person statistical model child parent relation parent
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85017194413&doi=10.1371%2fjournal.pone.0175023&partnerID=40&md5=bfbd20dffd68a5b8b422374592fd44cd
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175023
ISSN: 19326203
Cited by: 6
Original Language: English