A Meta-synthesis of Post-migration Changes in Marital Relationships in Canada

Abstract

Immigration to a new country constitutes a major life change that can directly and indirectly affect health. Considerable research has focused on the impact of immigration on individual psychosocial and cultural adaptation and integration, but far less has examined "how migration affects marital relationships or the processes by which couples adapt to their new circumstances" (p.149). 1 This is a key limitation in the literature given that the majority of immigrants come as family units. 2 Post-migration changes can both positively and negatively affect marital relationships. For example, post-migration changes in gender roles have been shown to have a profound effect on married couples. [3][4][5] Immigrants' ways of thinking about couple relationships may be rooted in understandings of human nature and social order that differ from those that have set the foundations of Canadian culture and institutions. [6][7][8] Changes in gender roles have been associated with increases in stress, 2,9 marital conflict, 10,11 marital discord, 12 and the risk of abuse. 13,14 The connection between changes in gender roles and spousal abuse has been studied in a number of ethnic communities in the United States including Mexican immigrants, 4 Southeast Asian refugees. 11 Chinese immigrants, 15 and Iranian immigrants. 14 This connection was evident in a number of Canadian studies as well. 1,3,5 Immigration to a new country also offers couples the opportunity to renegotiate and rebuild couple relations. 1 For example, Cheung found that although those with long-term happy marriages went through major adjustments after they had immigrated to Canada, 16 a number of significant factors affected their resilience: 1) adjustment to changing gender relations, 2) increase in intimacy and mutual reliance, and 3) management of conflict and willingness to compromise on differences.However, we do not know if other post-migration changes are faced by immigrant couples in Canada, whether these changes are common across different ethnic communities, and the pathways through which these post-migration changes lead to positive or negative outcomes in couples' lives. This information is necessary for developing health promotion interventions for immigrant couples.Recently, there has been an increase in research on post-migration changes and their impact on immigrants' health. In Canada, much of this work has been qualitative. Individual studies focusing on specific ethnocultural communities help improve our knowledge on the topic, however, a systematic review of the individual studies' findings across communities could provide a better framework

Psychosocial Correlates of Gender-Based Violence Among HIV-Infected and HIV-Uninfected Women in Three US Cities

“…Literature typically points to immigrant women being at particularly high risk for victimization, particularly intimate partner violence, due to many factors including the stress of immigration, the experience of discrimination and marginalization in the US, loss of social networks, and increased financial stress. [62][63][64][65][66] Also, there is often under-reporting of IPV, in particular, among immigrant women, largely having to do with structural barriers, cultural barriers, and fears of the US justice system, including possible fears of deportation. [67][68][69] Given this information, it is possible that we were seeing an under-reporting of abuse among our non-US born participants.…”

Relational Upheaval During Refugee Resettlement: Service Provider Perspectives

“…Descriptions of conflict between partners as they encountered new gender norms in the United States implies that partners may have differing levels of acceptance around these norms or may be adopting norms at different rates. As has been noted in other studies, this process of encountering new norms in the acculturation process may be stressful, and relationship conflict and violence have been associated with adjustment to new norms (e.g., Darvishpour, 2002;Fisher, 2013;Guruge et al, 2010). Although the example of one male refugee refusing to do housework he perceived as "women's work" illustrates the potential for upheaval as partners navigate new roles, this experience is not completely unique to refugees during resettlement; in many ways, this parallels patriarchal gender roles and a "second shift" for women in the broader U.S. culture identified in feminist research, with women sharing a disproportional amount of housework even when they are the breadwinners or employed full time like their husbands in heterosexual relationships (e.g., Hoschild, 1989;Kamp Dush et al, 2018).…”

“…This is significant because intimate partners can be a primary source of support during stressful periods (see Cutrona, 1996), especially if the stressor is related to marginalization and shared by both partners (e.g., LeBlanc et al, 2015). Empirical research on refugees and acculturative stress supports the notion that during the acculturation process, social problems can appear with contextual, attitudinal, and behavioral shifts (Guruge et al, 2010). These changes could create added stress and considerable relationship upheaval.…”

The Role of Religion and Religious Leaders in Marital Conflict Resolution: A Perspective of Congolese Migrants’ Families Living in Durban, South Africa

“…Numerous studies have demonstrated that there is close relationship between migration and marital conflict. Guruge et al, (2010) argue that migration to a new country creates a major life change that can probably directly and indirectly affect the relationships of a given couple. However, there are two contradictory opinions.…”