Ethnic Identity, Self-Esteem, Resilience and Mental Health Among Immigrant and Canadian-Born Pakistani Youth

Abstract

This study presents select findings from the quantitative arm of a mixed-method community-based study. The study examines ethnic identity, self-esteem, resilience, and mental health in immigrant and Canadian-born Pakistani youth from a systems perspective. Sixty-one youth aged 18–24 years participated in a survey; among these, 28 completed the survey online and 33 completed the paper-based version. Youth reported on demographics, physical health, mental, and social health, and completed the 4-item Current Self-Esteem Scale (CSE), the 15-item Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-12). Descriptives’ analysis was applied to the numeric items and content analysis was applied to open-ended questions. Among the sample, 34% youth were male and 66% females, 69% were Pakistani-born, and 20% were Canadian-born. About 36% of the youth had been in Canada for 5 years or less, and 10% reported 5–10 years of stay. Eighty percent of youth (n = 46) reported good to excellent mental health, and 74% felt stressed on most days. Scores for self-esteem (CSE) [6.5 (2.13 SD)], Ethnic Identity MEIM [3.14 (0.21 SD)], and resilience (CYRM-12) [4.23 (0.23 SD)] were moderate to high. Academic success and religious and family connectedness were found to have a positive effect on youth sense of self. Higher levels of ethnic identity and higher rating on mental health in our sample suggests the healthy immigrant effect.