These e-books may be relevant to the Recent Immigrant and Refugee Migration Special Topics assignment in Psych 341 Cultural Psychology.
Twenty-First-Century Immigration to North America: Newcomers in Turbulent Times
Human migration has reached an unprecedented level, and the numbers are expected to continue growing into the foreseeable future. Host societies and migrants face challenges in ensuring that the benefits of migration accrue to both parties, and that economic and socio-cultural costs are minimized. An insightful comparative examination of the policies and practices that manage and support immigrants, Twenty-First-Century Immigration to North America identifies and addresses issues that arose in the early years of the twenty-first century and considers what to expect in the years ahead. The volume begins with an overview of immigration policies and practices in the United States and Canada, then moves to an investigation of the economic and socio-cultural aspects, and concludes with a dialogue on precarious migration. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the editors include research from the areas of psychology, political science, economics, sociology, and public policy. Underscoring the complicated nature of immigration, this collection aims to foster further discussion and inspire future research in the United States and Canada.
The Criminalization of Migration: Context and Consequences
With over 240 million migrants in the world, including over 65 million forced migrants and refugees, states have turned to draconian measures to stem the flow of irregular migration, including the criminalization of migration itself. Canada, perceived as a nation of immigrants and touted as one of the most generous countries in the world today for its reception of refugees, has not been immune from these practices. This book examines "crimmigration" - the criminalization of migration - from national and comparative perspectives, drawing attention to the increasing use of criminal law measures, public policies, and practices that stigmatize or diminish the rights of forced migrants and refugees within a dominant public discourse that not only stereotypes and criminalizes but marginalizes forced migrants. Leading researchers, legal scholars, and practitioners provide in-depth analyses of theoretical concerns, legal and public policy dimensions, historic migration crises, and the current dynamics and future prospects of crimmigration. The editors situate each chapter within the existing migration literature and outline a way forward for the decriminalization of migration through the vigorous promotion and advancement of human rights. Building on recent legal, policy, academic, and advocacy initiatives, The Criminalization of Migration maps how the predominant trend toward the criminalization of migration in Canada and abroad can be reversed for the benefit of all, especially those forced to migrate for the protection of their inherent human rights and dignity.
A National Project: Syrian Refugee Resettlement in Canada
Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, over 5.6 million people have fled Syria and another 6.6 million remain internally displaced. By January 2017, a total of 40,081 Syrians had sought refuge across Canada in the largest resettlement event the country has experienced since the Indochina refugee crisis. Breaking new ground in an effort to understand and learn from the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initiative that Canada launched in 2015, A National Project examines the experiences of refugees, receiving communities, and a range of stakeholders who were involved in their resettlement, including sponsors, service providers, and various local and municipal agencies. The contributors, who represent a wide spectrum of disciplines, include many of Canada's leading immigration scholars and others who worked directly with refugees. Considering the policy behind the program and the geographic and demographic factors affecting it, chapters document mobilization efforts, ethical concerns, integration challenges, and varying responses to resettling Syrian refugees from coast to coast. Articulating key lessons to be learned from Canada's program, this book provides promising strategies for future events of this kind. Showcasing innovative practices and initiatives, A National Project captures a diverse range of experiences surrounding Syrian refugee resettlement in Canada.
After the Flight: The Dynamics of Refugee Settlement and Integration
Knowledge of the integration process for refugees is often subsumed under the broader category of “immigrants”. This book focuses on this process for refugees, including the structural and systemic challenges they face as they integrate in their new host societies, and how they respond to such challenges. The book provides a critical analysis of Canada's approach to integrating refugees with additional chapters focused on refugee integration in Australia, Northern Ireland, and the United States. This collection of work critically addresses a range of topics and employs a variety of qualitative approaches to gain a better understanding of the lived experience of integration for refugees, including the ways in which refugees view integration and the attendant challenges and opportunities encountered during the integration process.
Getting Used to the Quiet: Immigrant Adolescents' Journey to Belonging in New Brunswick, Canada
At a time when Canadian governments are encouraging the dispersion of immigrants throughout the provinces in an attempt to reduce clustering in large metropolitan areas, studies of immigration outside urban centres are rare - and studies of immigrant youth even rarer. In Getting Used to the Quiet, Stacey Wilson-Forsberg looks at the integration experiences of immigrant adolescents in one small city and one rural town in New Brunswick's St John River Valley where the youths find no earlier immigrant communities with shared cultural backgrounds. Emphasizing themes including social capital, social networks, and citizen engagement, Wilson-Forsberg highlights the teens' gradual involvement in their new communities as they confront the challenges of dealing with an unfamiliar environment, learning a new language, and reaching out to their New Brunswick-born peers. In-depth interviews with over thirty teens give readers new insights into the integration process. Focusing on a crucial and underexplored area of immigration studies, Getting Used to the Quiet is a valuable resource for understanding the ways in which newcomers join unfamiliar communities and how the communities, in turn, respond to their presence.
Engendering Transnational Voices: Studies in Family, Work, and Identity
Engendering Transnational Voices examines the transnational practices and identities of immigrant women, youth, and children in an era of global migration and neoliberalism, addressing such topics as family relations, gender and work, schooling, remittances, cultural identities, caring for children and the elderly, inter- and multi-generational relationships, activism, and refugee determination. Expressions of power, resistance, agency, and accommodation in relation to the changing concepts of home, family, and citizenship are explored in both theoretical and empirical essays that critically analyze transnational experiences, discourses, cultural identities, and social spaces of women, youth, and children who come from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds; are either first- or second-generation transmigrants; are considered legal or undocumented; and who enter their adopted country as trafficked workers, domestic workers, skilled professionals, or students. The volume gives voice to individual experiences, and focuses on human agency as well as the social, economic, political, and cultural processes inherent in society that enable or disable immigrants to mobilize linkages across national boundaries.
Child, Adolescent and Family Refugee Mental Health
More than half of the 25.9 million refugees in the world are under the age of 18 and the mental health of these children and adolescents constitutes a growing global public health priority. Refugee children and their families are at increased risk to develop mental health problems, but they often face major challenges in accessing adequate treatment and mental health professionals frequently feel ill-equipped to assist this group. Refugees are faced with a plethora of issues including the ambiguous loss of loved ones, psychological trauma related to past experiences of violence and atrocities, the complexities of daily life as a refugee, and the challenges to adapt to new systems of care and support. Refugees' life circumstances all too often undermine their agency, asthey face discrimination, stigma, and social isolation or exclusion. Refugees are frequently disconnected from the usual family and community supports that they once had, which creates additional mental distress. As parents struggle with these changes, their children often find it even more difficult to adapt and connect with them. This all leads to increased prevalence of mental health conditions among refugees. Humanitarian policies recommend family-centered interventions that are multi-sectoral,multi-disciplinary, and focus on optimizing resource utilization. Over the last decade, a considerable body of research has emerged around socio-ecological models of mental health, family and community approaches, and resilience and strengths-based theories, but these insights are insufficiently incorporated in the practice of mental health care for refugee children. Clinicians often struggle to grasp the common unique stressors that families face and are not familiar with working with families as units for intervention. Using culturally and contextually informed assessment methods and family-oriented management approaches not only help individual children or adolescents, but also their families. This book aims to provide an overview of the latest theoretical insights from research on sociocultural aspects of mental health and connect these with clinical insights from practical mental health care provision. Using strengths-based, resiliency-oriented and family-centered approaches can enrich clinical practice in refugee mental health, but clinicians need to translate the emerging evidence into concrete steps and interventions. This requires additional skills for the assessment and management of mental health conditions in refugee children and families. The chapters in this book are written by a diverse group of authors using global, multi-disciplinary approaches. The chapters provide examples from various contexts including refugees who are displaced to neighboring countries, refugees 'on the move', and refugees and asylum seekers in resettlement settings. This book is therefore a unique resource for clinicians, researchers and policy makers working on mental health issues of refugee children and adolescents around the world.
Refuge and Resilience: Promoting Resilience and Mental Health among Resettled Refugees and Forced Migrants
Taking an interdisciplinary approach and focusing on the social and psychological resources that promote resilience among forced migrants, this book presents theory and evidence about what keeps refugees healthy during resettlement. The book draws on contributions from cultural psychiatry, anthropology, ethics, nursing, psychiatric epidemiology, sociology and social work. Concern about immigrant mental health and social integration in resettlement countries has given rise to public debates that challenge scientists and policy makers to assemble facts and solutions to perceived problems. Since the 1980s, refugee mental health research has been productive but arguably overly-focused on mental disorders and problems rather than solutions. Social science perspectives are not well integrated with medical science and treatment, which is at odds with social reality and underlies inadequacy and fragmentation in policy and service delivery. Research and practice that contribute to positive refugee mental health from Canada and the U.S. show that refugee mental health promotion must take into account social and policy contexts of immigration and health care in addition to medical issues. Despite traumatic experiences, most refugees are not mentally ill in a clinical sense and those who do need medical attention often do not receive appropriate care. As recent studies show, social and cultural determinants of health may play a larger role in refugee health and adaptation outcomes than do biological factors or pre-migration experiences. This book's goal therefore is to broaden the refugee mental health field with social and cultural perspectives on resilience and mental health.
Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior among Immigrants and Refugees
Immigrants' voyages to a new land have been among the most exciting and noble of human endeavours. It is the amazing courage to flee oppression, to leave behind everything that is familiar, and to chance the hostility of a completely alien culture in order to find freedom, opportunity, and a better life. Immigrants often face difficulty adjusting to their new home in a new country for many reasons, including coping with trauma experienced in their native country, overcoming cultural and language barriers, and encountering discrimination. This can lead to severe and long-lasting psychological and behavioural problems, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and a high risk for suicide.
Psychological Well-Being: Cultural Influences, Measurement Strategies and Health Implications
Psychological well-being can be influenced by several factors. This book provides research and reviews cultural influences of well-being, as well as discusses measurement strategies and health implications. Chapter One studies immigrants' psychological well-being by investigating their motivation, preference of tourist activities, and emotional experiences during their visit to their homeland. Chapter Two proposes the creation and validation of theories and measures on positive psychological constructs that can be integrated into a tool that aims at what might be called a desirable and credible global psychology. Chapter Three examines the relationship between language, identity and behavioral acculturation and well-being among non-western skilled migrants in a western host society. Chapter Four discusses well-being, health status and culture. Chapter Five analyses emotional intelligence in adolescents. Chapter Six provides a study of the psychological well-being of Chinese immigrant adolescents. Chapter Seven explains variables related to psychological well-being, and discuss the importance of psychological well-being in the field of psychological counseling and guidance. Chapter Eight examines the predictive role of marital relations and communication styles in psychological well-being within a model proposed by Ryff. The final chapter studies the psychological health among frail older adults with chronic pain.
Engendering Migrant Health: Canadian Perspectives
Voluntary migrants to Canada are generally healthier than the average Canadian, but after ten years in the country they report poorer health and higher rates of chronic disease than those born here. Troublingly, women -- particularly those from non-European countries -- experience the most precipitous decline in health. What contributes to this deterioration, and how can its effects be mitigated? Engendering Migrant Health brings together researchers from across Canada to address the intersections of gender, immigration, and health in the lives of new Canadians. Focusing on the context of Canadian policy and society, the contributors illuminate migrants' testimonies of struggle, resistance, and solidarity as they negotiate a place for themselves in a new country. Topics range from the difficulties of Francophone refugees and the changing roles of fathers, to the experiences of queer newcomers and the importance of social unity to communal and individual health.
The Migrant Maternal: ‘Birthing’ New Lives Abroad
This edited volume explores how and why immigrant/refugee mothers' experiences differ due to the challenges posed by the migration process, but also what commonalities underline immigrant/refugee mothers' lived experiences. This book will add to the field of women's studies the much-needed discussion of how immigrant and refugee mothers' lives are dependent on cultural, environmental and socio-economic circumstances. The collection offers multiple perspectives on migrant mothering by including ethnographic and theoretical submissions along with mothers' personal narratives and literary analyses from diverse locales: New Zealand, Japan, Canada, The United States, Turkey, Italy and the Netherlands among others. The first section of the volume focuses on mothers' roles in the family institution and the pressures and responsibilities they face in "creating" and "reproducing" families physically and socially. The second section shifts its attention to children and highlights mothers' continued roles in the development of their children abroad, along with the gendered/generational dynamics in the settlement process and the resultant effects on motherhood responsibilities. In all chapters, readers will find how women negotiate their traditional roles in a new sociocultural milieu, and how mothering processes are critical in creating connections with traditions and homelands.
Health Inequities in Canada: Intersectional Frameworks and Practices
There is a growing recognition that existing theories on, and approaches to, health inequities are limited in their ability to capture how they are produced through changing, co-constituted, and intersecting effects of multiple forms of oppression. Intersectionality considers the interactions and combined impacts of social locations and structural processes on the creation and perpetuation of inequities. This volume brings together activists, scholars, and community-based researchers to apply interpretations of intersectionality to health and organizational governance cases. By addressing specific health issues, it demonstrates that inequities cannot be understood without the interrogation of power and diverse social locations and structures that shape lives and experiences of health.
Migration, Ethnicity, Race, and Health in Multicultural Societies
The globalization of trade and increasing international travel and migration poses huge challenges for health practitioners and policy makers who have to meet legal and policy obligations to provide health care of equal quality and effectiveness for all.Migration, Ethnicity, Race, and Health in Multicultural Societies provides an accessible introduction to the complex issues of race, ethnicity and minority populations. The book explains the process of migration and the uses and misuses of the key concepts of race and ethnicity, illustrating theirstrengths and weaknesses in epidemiology, policy making, health service planning, research, health care and health promotion.Including many examples from around the world to demonstrate the theory in a practical way, and written in a clear and straightforward style with all terminology explained, this is an ideal book for all students and professionals in the field of migration, ethnicity and race in the health carecontext.
Refugee and Immigrant Students: Achieving Equity in Education
The focus of this book is on educational equity issues affecting immigrants and refugees around the world. Chapters highlight educational approaches that build from experiential knowledge, draw upon multiple languages, consider group identity, grapple with the complexities of inclusion, address family concerns, promote parental involvement, involve liaison with community agencies, and view cultural differences as educational strengths. While the book does not shy away from exploring the more challenging aspects of the refugee and immigrant experience, it avoids dwelling on victimology and rejects applying a deficit framework. Rather it offers hope, emphasizing the potential strengths of refugees, including their cultural capital and survival skills. The authors also make cogent suggestions for structural, pedagogical, and conceptual reform, with targets ranging from individual teachers to educational systems to social, economic, political, and cultural contexts.
Career Optimism and Self-Efficacy in Immigrants
The book presents a research study that examined the retraining and career development experiences of new and professional immigrants in Canada. The study intended to provide an in-depth perspective into the influence of immigrants optimism and self-efficacy on their retraining and career development experiences. Using a qualitative methodology, in-depth interviews were conducted and a grounded theory approach was employed to analyze the data. Central themes within participant narratives emerged and key results were introduced. Participants experiences included a myriad of barriers and challenges, yet many viewed this experience as a positive opportunity for growth and development. The results explored differences between optimists and pessimists retraining and career development experiences, as well as the role of self-efficacy within immigrants career development. Results have implications for career and vocational psychology literature, practice, and career counselling, and include suggestions for future researchers.
Creating Inclusion and Well-Being for Marginalized Students
It is increasingly challenging for teachers to educate without a deeper understanding of the experience of their students. This is particularly the case in marginalised groups of young people who are subject to loss, grief, trauma and shame. Through a snapshot of the diverse student populous, this book explores the impact of these experiences on a student's learning and success. Topics covered include poverty, obesity, incarceration, immigration, death, sexual exploitation, LGBT issues, psychodrama, the expressive arts, resilience, and military students. The authors share the children's perspective, and through case studies they offer solutions and viable objectives.
Best Practices for Social Work with Refugees and Immigrants
Social work practice with refugees and immigrants requires specialized knowledge of these populations and specialized adaptations and applications of mainstream services and interventions. Because they are often confronted with cultural, linguistic, political, and socioeconomic barriers, these groups are especially vulnerable to psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, alienation, grief, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as concerns arising from inadequate health care. Institutionalized discrimination and anti-immigrant policies and attitudes only exacerbate these challenges.
A Practical Guide to Therapeutic Work with Asylum-Seekers and Refugees
The need to support refugees has never been more urgent, but how can everyone working with them provide consistently effective care? Written for a range of professionals including therapists, teachers, social workers, housing support workers and healthcare professionals, this essential guide offers a holistic, person-centred framework to ensure that all those working with refugees to provide them with excellent support. Informed by the authors' direct work with refugees, the book starts with a comprehensive introduction to understanding the underlying issues that lead to the complex needs of an asylum seeking client group. Using an easy-to-follow 'what?', 'why?' and 'how?' structure, within the four key phases of refugee experience. It also shows professionals how to sensitively address trauma, loss and separation with clients who are adjusting to a foreign culture and language using three core principles (therapeutic relationship, bearing witness and psycho-education). Informed and accessible, this guide will help you create a safe, welcoming environment for asylum seekers in all stages of their journey to improve their psychosocial wellbeing and mental health.
