Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., JOR-1016, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 2K3 Canada.
Transcult Psychiatry. 2012 Nov;49(5):651-77. doi: 10.1177/1363461512457155. Epub 2012 Sep 25.
According to a literature of theory and advocacy, immigration and resettlement jeopardize the mental health of children and youth, largely because of factors such as intergenerational tensions arising from conflicts about the retention of traditional values, and experiences of prejudice and discrimination. The current study examines the specificity of these putative mental health risks to the immigration experience. The level and predictors of emotional problems among preadolescent Ethiopians living in immigrant families in Toronto, Canada, were compared with a matched sample of Ethiopian youngsters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Data came from structured interviews with the person most knowledgeable about the family (usually a parent), as well as from the children themselves. Youth reported higher levels of emotional problems (EP) than their parents. Predictors differed for parent and child ratings. In both the Toronto and Addis Ababa samples, parental mental health predicted parent-rated, but not self-rated EP. Contrary to immigration stress theory, parental perceptions of prejudice predicted EP in Addis Ababa, but not Toronto, and parent-child discordance regarding ethnic adherence were predictors of self-rated emotional problems in Ethiopia, but not in Canada. Perceived discrimination was a significant predictor of self-rated emotional problems in both settings. Implications for theory and further research are discussed.
根据理论和宣传文献，移民和重新安置会危及儿童和青少年的心理健康，这主要是因为代际紧张关系等因素，例如在保留传统价值观方面存在冲突，以及经历偏见和歧视。本研究探讨了这些所谓的移民经历对心理健康风险的特殊性。在加拿大多伦多的移民家庭中，与埃塞俄比亚亚的斯亚贝巴的埃塞俄比亚青少年相匹配的样本相比，研究了生活在移民家庭中的青春期前埃塞俄比亚儿童的情绪问题水平和预测因素。数据来自对最了解家庭情况的人（通常是父母）的结构化访谈，以及来自孩子自己的访谈。与父母相比，青少年报告的情绪问题（EP）水平更高。父母和孩子的评分预测因素不同。在多伦多和亚的斯亚贝巴两个样本中，父母的心理健康状况预测了父母对 EP 的评价，但不能预测孩子对 EP 的自我评价。与移民压力理论相反，父母对偏见的看法在亚的斯亚贝巴而不是在多伦多预测了 EP，而父母与子女对种族坚持的分歧是埃塞俄比亚自我评估情绪问题的预测因素，但在加拿大则不是。在这两个环境中，感知到的歧视都是自我评估情绪问题的重要预测因素。讨论了理论和进一步研究的意义。
