Ethnic Minority Immigrants Research Articles

Promoting Ethnic Entrepreneurship in European Cities: Sometimes Ambitious, Mostly Absent, Rarely Addressing Structural Features

AbstractAn increasing number of immigrants have become entrepreneurial and many governments expect or hope that the ongoing rise of ethnic entrepreneurship will contribute significantly to the integration of immigrants, to their upward mobility, and to the economic development of the city of residence. In this article we explore the rules, regulations and policy interventions that shape self‐employment trajectories in general and those of immigrant ethnic minorities in particular. The article is based on a general inventory of measures to promote ethnic entrepreneurship in 32 European countries, and a somewhat deeper inventory of policies and interventions in 28 European cities. We came across all kinds of measures and interventions and identified certain patterns, but the most striking finding was that such explicit measures and interventions were actually thin on the ground. We conclude this article with a discussion of the structural determinants of this outcome.

Font and Mendez (eds.): Surveying Ethnic Minorities and Immigrant Population

In 2014, the seemingly ever-increasing flows of international migrants and refugees hit the headlines across Europe. Putting the spotlight on migration and its various forms reveals the difficulties in creating accurate, comparable and complete data sets on migration around the world from population censuses and registers. Surveys play a minor role in the collection of data on migration flows and immigrant populations at a global scale, but they have been widely used to gather information on the characteristics of immigrant populations and ethnic minorities in a specific country or region. But designing and carrying out a nationally-representative survey presents as many challenges as does the collection and harmonisation of migration statistics through censuses and registers. So what exactly are the challenges in surveying immigrants and how can they best be overcome?

Intimate Partner Violence and its Health Impact on Ethnic Minority Women [corrected

In the United States, intimate partner violence (IPV) against women disproportionately affects ethnic minorities. Further, disparities related to socioeconomic and foreign-born status impact the adverse physical and mental health outcomes as a result of IPV, further exacerbating these health consequences. This article reviews 36 U.S. studies on the physical (e.g., multiple injuries, disordered eating patterns), mental (e.g., depression, post-traumatic stress disorder), and sexual and reproductive health conditions (e.g., HIV/STIs, unintended pregnancy) resulting from IPV victimization among ethnic minority (i.e., Black/African American, Hispanic/Latina, Native American/Alaska Native, Asian American) women, some of whom are immigrants. Most studies either did not have a sufficient sample size of ethnic minority women or did not use adequate statistical techniques to examine differences among different racial/ethnic groups. Few studies focused on Native American/Alaska Native and immigrant ethnic minority women and many of the intra-ethnic group studies have confounded race/ethnicity with income and other social determinants of health. Nonetheless, of the available data, there is evidence of health inequities associated with both minority ethnicity and IPV. To appropriately respond to the health needs of these groups of women, it is necessary to consider social, cultural, structural, and political barriers (e.g., medical mistrust, historical racism and trauma, perceived discrimination, immigration status) to patient-provider communication and help-seeking behaviors related to IPV, which can influence health outcomes. This comprehensive approach will mitigate the racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities related to IPV and associated health outcomes and behaviors.

Experiences of health and care when growing old in Norway - From the perspective of elderly immigrants with minority ethnic backgrounds

Background : Along with the growing population in Norway of older people with immigrant backgrounds from countries in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe there is a need for a better understanding of trans-cultural aging, illness experiences and care preferences among minorities and their families. Aim : This study explored older ethnic minority immigrants’ experiences of growing old in Norway with a focus on health and care. Design : An explorative, descriptive design with a grounded theory approach was used. Method : The data was collected in Norway by means of open-ended interviews with nine ethnic minority immigrants representing an age span from 63 to 85 years. In total 15 interviews were conducted, with the sampling, data collection and analysis carried out simultaneously and guided by the constant comparative method. Results : This study showed that the most important issue when growing old in a new homeland as an ethnic minority immigrant was to be surrounded by one’s family. When the needs for care increased due to changes in age and health, the family was seen as the only possible solution. Feelings of fear and distrust, language barriers, and preferences for the familiar care were reasons for this. Due to cultural rules it was taken for granted that the younger generation took on responsibility for their older parents/relatives in need of care, which led to feelings of dependency and being a burden. A high price had been paid for finding a new homeland. Conclusions and Implications for Practice : The elderly immigrants’ expectations of care was found to be strongly connected with traditions from their native country, where it was taken for granted that the younger generation took the responsibility for their older parents/relatives in need of care. Our findings highlighted the dilemma of culturally determined controversies, as elderly immigrants’ beliefs and values about care within the family may be rather difficult to unite with a life in a new Western society. Nursing practice needs to implement a more family-oriented care perspective in order to meet the needs of elderly people with ethnic minority and immigrant backgrounds. Further it is important to increase elderly immigrants’ feelings of trust and cultural safety towards health-care services.

Protective factors against suicide among young-old Chinese outpatients.

BackgroundSuicide is common among the elderly worldwide. However, no literature could be found on the beliefs/expectations that protect young-old people from attempting suicide. The purpose of this study was to explore young-old outpatients’ reasons for not killing themselves in Taiwan.MethodData for this qualitative descriptive study were extracted from a large research series. From the 83 elderly outpatients in the original sample, 31 were chosen for this study because they were young-old (65–74 years old) and from two randomly selected medical centers in northern Taiwan. Data on participants’ reasons for not killing themselves in unhappy situations were collected in individual interviews using a semi-structured guide and analyzed by content analysis.ResultsAnalysis of interview data identified six major themes: satisfied with one’s life, suicide cannot resolve problems, fear of humiliating one’s children, religious beliefs, never thought about suicide, and living in harmony with nature.ConclusionThese identified protective factors (reasons for living) could be added to suicide-prevention programs for the elderly. Our findings may also serve as a reference for geriatric researchers in western countries with increasing numbers of elderly ethnic minority immigrants.

Recent Immigrant Students at Research Universities: The Relationship Between Campus Climate and Sense of Belonging

Immigration issues continue to generate attention and vigorous debate at national and international levels; some of these discussions involve immigrant students and issues pertaining to higher education (e.g., DREAM Act). Camarota (2007) noted that from 2000 to 2007, 10.3 million immigrants arrived—the highest 7-year period of immigration in United States history. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, 24.3 million immigrants were reported in 1995; that number grew to 31.8 million in 2001, and is at 37.6 million for 2010 (Camarota, 2010). Based on these immigration trends, immigrant students (defined broadly to include recent immigrants born abroad as well as refugees) will continue to pursue post-secondary education. Many of these individuals will be ethnic minority immigrants who are first-generation college students (Erisman & Looney, 2007). According to figures from the National Center for Education Statistics, more than 12% of the total undergraduate population is comprised of immigrant students (Kim, 2009); yet, research on this growing population remains scant and the literature on student development issues of immigrant groups is still emerging. Research suggests that immigrants’ college experiences are unique from other students and merit further inquiry (Szelényi & Chang, 2002). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between campus climate and sense of belonging for recent immigrant generations (i.e., foreign born) who attend large, public research institutions located in the United States.

An empirical study of Indian entrepreneurs in Christchurch, New Zealand

This qualitative exploratory study seeks to present a deeper understanding of entrepreneurs of Indian ethnicity operating firms in the formal sector in Christchurch, New Zealand. Our over-arching guiding question was: Why do first generation ethnic minority immigrants become entrepreneurs? Sub questions included the exploration of the why and what of entrepreneurship for these first generation immigrants, in particular why these immigrants choose to be exporters. In-depth interviews were conducted with a dataset of 58 entrepreneurs of Indian origin of whom 11 were involved in exporting from New Zealand. With increasing geographical mobility of the Asian population, our study contributes to the growing need for host societies to comprehend in a more sophisticated manner the reasons for entrepreneurship by immigrants, and the importance of putting in place appropriate policies and learning programmes to reap the benefits of immigrant entrepreneurship in a globalised world.

Does it really matter? Understanding the impact of engagement and beliefs on immigrant ethnic minority entrepreneurship

This research considers the importance of ethnic minority immigrant entrepreneurs’ engagement within and beliefs surrounding their host country experiences, and how this impacts on entrepreneurial action. The relevance of such research is highlighted by an ever increasingly global economy and as a consequence greater emphasis has been placed on understanding the entrepreneurial behaviour of persons moving across cultural, economic and national borders. This paper is derived from a grounded theory study of narratives from ethnic minority immigrant entrepreneurs in New Zealand, and resulted in a conceptual framework which considers the impact of engagement and beliefs on actions within the entrepreneurial process. The conclusion of this study is that there is an interdependent relationship which warrants further investigation and this paper offers insights into that relationship and a framework for further empirical study.

Intergenerational Relations and Elder Care Preferences of Asian Indians in North Carolina

The US older population is growing in ethnic diversity. Persistent ethnic disparities in service use among seniors are linked to structural barriers to access, and also to family processes such as cultural preferences and intergenerational relations. There is sparse information on the latter issue for immigrant ethnic minority seniors. Information on the Asian group (the fastest growing senior sub-population) is extremely scarce, due to this group's diversity in national, linguistic, and cultural origins. We conducted a qualitative study among community-dwelling Asian Indian families (including at least one member aged 60 years and older) in North Carolina to examine preferences of seniors and the midlife generation regarding elder care, and the role of intergenerational relations in desired care for elders, exploring the theoretical perspective of intergenerational relationship ambivalence. Our results suggest that cultural preferences, ambivalence in intergenerational relations, and regulations on health service eligibility among immigrant/transnational seniors and midlife adults influence preferences for elder care.

Instruments measuring externalizing mental health problems in immigrant ethnic minority youths: a systematic review of measurement properties.

BackgroundLittle is known about reliability and validity of instruments measuring externalizing mental health problems in immigrant ethnic minority youths.AimsTo provide an overview of studies on measurement properties of instruments measuring these problems in immigrant ethnic minority youths, their methodological quality and results.MethodsA systematic review of the literature in MEDLINE, EMbase, PsycINFO and Cochrane Library was performed. Evaluation of methodological quality of studies found was done by using the ‘COSMIN-checklist’. Full text, original articles, published in English after 1990 were included. Articles had to concern the development or evaluation of the measurement properties of self-reported, parent-reported and/or teacher- or clinician-reported questionnaires assessing or screening externalizing mental health problems in immigrant ethnic minority youths. Specific results of analyses on (an) immigrant ethnic minority group had to be given.ResultsTwenty-nine studies evaluating 18 instruments met our criteria. Most studies concerned instruments with known validity in Western populations, tested mainly in African Americans. Considering methodological quality, inequivalences between ethnicities were found, self-reports seemed to perform better, and administration of an instrument influenced reliability and validity.ConclusionIt seems that the majority of instruments for assessing externalizing problems in immigrant ethnic minority youths is currently not sufficiently validated. Further evaluating existing instruments is crucial to accurately assess and interpreted externalizing problems in immigrant ethnic minority youths.

479 – Opinions about elderly suicide and reasons for not killing oneself among community-dwelling young-old Chinese elders

Background Suicide rates are high for older persons worldwide. However, no literature could be found on young-old people’s opinions about elderly suicide and the beliefs/expectations that protect them from attempting suicide. Objectives To explore opinions about elderly suicide among community-dwelling young-old people in Taiwan and their reasons for not killing themselves. Method A qualitative descriptive design was used. Young-old (65–74 years old) outpatients were recruited by convenience from two randomly selected medical centers in northern Taiwan if they had never expressed suicidal ideas and had no severe cognitive deficit. Data were collected in individual interviews and analysed by content analysis. Results Among 31 participating young-old people, most participants (87.1%) had heard of elderly suicide. Their opinions about elderly suicide reflected negative emotional reactions (32.3%), judgmental attitudes (32.3%), could happen after losing the meaning of life (9.7%), and expectations of social welfare (9.7%). Reasons for not killing themselves fell into six major themes: living well (32.3%), suicide cannot resolve problems (22.6%), fear of humiliating their children (16.1%), religious beliefs (12.9%), never thought about suicide (12.9%), and living in harmony with nature (12.9%). Conclusion Among the factors that prevented participants from killing themselves, perceptions of living well and of children’s filial behavior, as well as rational thinking could be adjusted. These factors can be addressed and improved by healthcare providers and policy makers to prevent suicide among the young-old. Our findings may also serve as a reference for geriatric researchers in western countries with increasing numbers of elderly ethnic minority immigrants.

Alleviating the negative impact of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil leaks on the physical and psychological health of ethnic minority immigrants: A Vietnamese case study.

The disproportionate impact of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico on ethnic minorities, particularly the English literacy–challenged populations (e.g., Vietnamese) is an important public health concern. An understanding of the etiology and manifestation of disaster-induced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) promotes community resiliency. In emergency situations, socioeconomically marginalized ethnic minorities who are not fluent in English are at a disadvantage. These individuals often face economic and social barriers due to their limited-English-proficient (LEP) communication with government personnel, lack of scientific knowledge about the environmental hazards, and limited access to mental health care during postdisaster events. The objective of this commentary is to examine the potential impact of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Leaks on the physical and psychological health of Vietnamese ethnic minority residents living in the emergency-impact area. The article first provides a...

Evaluation of the CES-D Scale factor structure in a sample of second-generation Arab-Americans

Very few studies have examined the psychometric properties of mental health measures for use with the immigrant Arab American population, and fewer still have evaluated measures for use with the second generation. The present study evaluated the reliability and factor structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). A total of 119 second-generation Americans of Arab descent completed the instrument on a Website. Cronbach's alpha was high, at .90. Principle components factor analysis yielded a three-factor solution in which emotional and physiological symptoms overlapped in one factor. These results are consistent with many other studies of ethnic minority immigrants, which report that affective and somatic symptoms were not experienced as separate. They are also consistent with research on the somatization of depression among Arabs living in the Middle East. However, the results challenge assumptions that as a result of the acculturation process, children of immigrants will expe...

Effect of a Short-Duration, Culturally Tailored, Community-Based Diabetes Self-management Intervention for Korean Immigrants

The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of a short-duration, culturally tailored, community-based diabetes self- management program (CTCDSP) for Korean immigrants with type 2 diabetes delivered at a non-clinic-affiliated community center. Forty-one Korean adults with type 2 diabetes participated in a 2-session CTCDSP delivered by a bilingual nurse practitioner at a Korean community center. Outcome measures included biological, behavioral, and general health well-being; diabetes knowledge; and self-efficacy assessed at baseline, post-education, and 3-month follow-up. Repeated-measures analyses of variance were used to explore mean differences in outcomes across the 3 assessment points. From baseline to 3-month follow-up assessment, participants exhibited significant improvement on several physiological and behavioral measures. Mean levels of hemoglobin A1c and waist circumference decreased, whereas high-density lipoprotein levels increased. Additionally, participants reported an increase in weekly feet checks, and there was a trend increase in participants' reported frequency of exercise activities. The feasibility of the CTCDSP was established, and participant satisfaction with the program was high. A short-duration CTCDSP may be an effective, feasible, and favorably received approach to improving diabetes outcomes in Korean and potentially other underserved ethnic minority immigrants who have limited access to mainstream clinic-based diabetes self-management programs.

Globalization, Threatened Identities, Coping and Well-Being

This paper explores the links between the changes associated with the processes of globalization and their psycho-social consequences. Focusing primarily on socio-cultural domain, it examines the impact of globalization on various facets of individual psyche. The paper also looks at social functioning, delineates the role of globalization and acculturation processes in the decentring, dislocation, and reconstitution of core identities that provide crucial linkages to the well-being consequences. The review shows that despite threats to their valued identities, ethnic-minority immigrants who adopt active, problem-focused coping and/or identify with their social identity-based support groups cope efficaciously with stress of identity-based discrimination and devaluation, protect their well-being, and even report enhanced collective self-esteem. The “threatened identities” and “coping options—resources and strategies” that are invoked to cope with such threats, are significant psycho-social moderators between the processes of globalization and the well-being of individuals and groups.

Psychological Distress Is Associated with Inadequate Dietary Intake in Vietnamese Marriage Immigrant Women in Korea

Previous studies have reported that the nutritional status of Vietnamese female marriage immigrants in Korea is inadequate. And the mediation of acculturation stress can contribute to problems in their eating practices and dietary intakes. This study examines an association between psychological distress and inadequate dietary intake in Vietnamese female marriage immigrants living in Korea. A cross-sectional study analyzed baseline data (n=570) from the Cohort of Intermarried Women in Korea. Daily nutrient intakes were compared according to the quartiles of distress scores assessed by the Psychological Well-Being Index–Short Form. One-way analysis of variance and χ 2 tests were used to compare eating practices and nutrient intake across quartiles of psychological distress. Subjects in the highest stress scores were more likely to skip breakfast and to change their dietary habits after living in Korea than those in groups with low stress scores. Analyses of the subjects' Mini Dietary Assessments revealed that those with the highest stress scores were less likely to consume milk or dairy products, eat regular meals, or have balanced diets than those with the lowest stress scores. Nutrient intakes were found to be inadequate in the subjects, and those with the highest stress scores showed lower consumptions of energy, carbohydrate, protein, fat, calcium, zinc, thiamin, riboflavin, and folate compared to those with the lowest scores. The prevalence of underweight (body mass index [calculated as kg/m 2] <18.5) increased from the lowest to highest quartiles of psychological distress scores. Psychological distress in Vietnamese female marriage immigrants living in Korea was negatively associated with dietary intake. These findings can assist dietetics practitioners working with minority immigrants because such information is important in designing appropriate strategies for dietary counseling. A follow-up study should address the underlying mechanisms of the observed diet−distress association in Vietnamese marriage immigrant women in Korea, as well as other various ethnic minority immigrants in Korea.

Transnational migration, social capital and lifelong learning in the USA

At the beginning of the twenty‐first century, immigration continues to be a powerful force that shapes the US demographic landscape and hence influences all aspects of US lifeways. Unlike past waves of immigration, communication, media and transportation technologies enable today’s immigrants to maintain strong ties and relationships with their homeland while they live and work in the host country. The transnational identities of today’s immigrants have implications for lifelong learning across both nations. In their attempts to adapt in the new society, they form new networks and relationships with members of the host country and other kinfolks who preceded them in the border‐crossing venture. At the same time, they continue to maintain relationships and ties with the homeland, drawing from social capital resources from both contexts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the intersection of immigration, transnationalization and lifelong learning through the lens of social capital theory. More specifically, drawing from the literature, it examines how networks and relationships inform learning and acculturation among today’s ethnic minority immigrants. Findings from the literature suggest that ethnic minorities have strong bonding networks with members of their cultural and racial groups but weak bridging networks with those outside their group, which has implications for accessing funds of knowledge inherent in other network groups.

Ethnic minority immigrants and their children in Britain

This paper investigates educational attainment and economic performance of ethnic minority immigrants and their children in Britain, in comparison to white British born. We find that ethnic minority immigrants and their children are on average better educated in comparison to their British born white peers. Educational attainment of British born minorities is far higher than that of their parent generation, and supersedes that of their white native born peers. Despite this, British born ethnic minorities exhibit on average lower employment probabilities. Their mean wages appear to be slightly higher than those of their white native born peers, but this is due to their higher educational attainment and their concentration in Greater London. Mean wages would be considerably lower for the same characteristics and the same regional allocation. Differences in wage offers do not explain employment differences of British born ethnic minorities. We discuss possible alternative explanations.

Business success among visible and non-visible ethnic entrepreneurs: a look at the effects of unemployment, co-ethnic involvement and human capital

This study examines the relationship between the success of businesses owned by ethnic minority immigrants in Canada and measures of their prior employment status in their homelands, their co-ethnic involvement in Canada and their educational level. Our findings show that while they were mainly unemployed prior to immigration, no significant differences in educational levels were found between groups of visible and non-visible, ethnic minority immigrants. Opposite interaction effects emerged, however, on the success of businesses owned by the visible and the non-visible ethnic groups: being more co-ethnically involved and possessing higher levels of education positively affected the success of businesses owned by non-visible ethnic groups but negatively affected the success of the visible ethnic groups. Building on concepts from Waldinger et al.'s interactive model and 'refugee'/'entrepreneurial' effects (Thurik et al., 2008), we propose an alternative view of the differences by which non-visible minority ethnic groups represent the 'entrepreneurial' effect.

Correlations Between Policy Discourse and Leisure Constraints among Ethnic Minorities: A case study of recent arrivals to Canada

This paper examines the correlation between policy discourse and the leisure constraints of ethnic minority adults who are recent arrivals to Canada. The aim of this study was to provide further insight into the leisure constraints of immigrant populations by examining the inference of dominant ideology embedded in recreation policy. A case study methodology was adopted to explore how recreation policy has addressed the needs and interests of Spanishspeaking immigrant adults who are recent arrivals to Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Following a critical analysis of national and provincial government documents (published between 1983 and 2006), semi‐structured interviews were conducted with three municipal recreation administrators and six Spanish‐speaking immigrant adults. Findings suggest neo‐liberalism has become a major ideology in recreation policy discourse, inhibiting ethnic minority immigrants undergoing socio‐cultural and economic transitions.