Stressors of the first year after migration among the first-generation migrants to Canada: Five case studies

Abstract

Presently Canada is one of the world’s biggest immigration hubs. Although Canada is one of most popular destinations for different types of migration, moving to another country is not a stress-free process for migrants and their dependents/families. Moving to a different country is a stressful situation by itself due to the impending change in norms, attitudes and lifestyle that migrants face on a daily basis. These stressors can accumulate thus leading to augmentation of the general stress level, which, in turn, might affect physical and mental health of migrant population. Migrant health is an important juncture in the contemporary research on migration, health disparities and policy making.Mental health and well-being of migrant populations is an important instance illustrating the contribution of normative culture to the mental health and stress load. Migration is a process during which a person moves from one cultural setting to another in order to settle for a longer period of time or permanently, and this process is linked to changes in lifestyle, identity, status, attachment, perceived cultural standards, and stress levels. The number of migrants in the world has doubled since the 1970s and continues to increase, while the baseline prevalence of mental disorders has been shown to be higher for the migrant groups in many European studies. It makes the connection between normative culture, migration, and mental health an applied problem of international significance.The present article focuses on the issue of the social stress in the context of migration. The research that lays the foundation of this publication highlights major stressors that affect migrants to Canada during their first year after arrival to the country. Based on five case studies the present work illustrates a set of social stressors that affect individual migrants during their first year in Canada. Some of the most prominent stressors included relational difficulties with family members (due to separation or adjustment issues) and unavailability of networks of friends and contacts in Canada, along with barriers to getting education in the new country and switching to a foreign language.