Impact of life events and difficulties on the mental health of Chinese immigrant women

Over the last decade Chinese migrants have constituted the largest ethno-cultural group to arrive in Canada, with the highest concentration among business people and skilled workers. Research, both theoretical and policy-driven, has not kept pace with this rapidly expanding population. Moreover, the experiences of women are often obscured by broad-stroke statistics reflective of the principal migrants only, the majority of whom tend to be men. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the life events and difficulties in Chinese women's lives inhere to the immigration process and the sources of social support which contribute to mental health and well-being. To this end a six-month follow-up study, utilizing a semi-structured interview protocol and standardized questionnaires, was conducted with a group of Chinese women who had migrated with their romantic partners in the past decade. Analyses are based on a sample of 43 middle-class women from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan over two time points within a half year interval. All of the women and all of their partners experienced major downward mobility in Canada. Correspondingly, the most frequent negative life event was employment-related and the most frequent difficulty was the financial strain of living below the poverty line, factors which significantly predicted symptoms of psychological distress and negative affect among these women. Social support in the form of dyadic functioning between the women and their partners and relationship harmony within the women's broader interpersonal network had neither a main effect on psychological distress and affect nor a buffer effect on the relationship between life events and difficulties and the mental health outcome measures. A construct, "belief in common fate" was developed from interviews with the women and refers to an unfailing devotion to the traditional Confucian ideal of the marital union without regard for external contingencies or individual needs. Analyses revealed that women who did not believe in common fate reported more positive affect and fewer symptoms of psychological distress, particularly in the face of adverse life circumstances. Results are discussed in light of a social-cognitive model of psychological distress. The findings of this study have implications for immigration and settlement policy and directions for future research are suggested.