Sense of belonging to local community in small-to-medium sized Canadian urban areas: a comparison of immigrant and Canadian-born residents

Abstract

BackgroundSense of belonging is recognized as an important determinant of psychological and physical well-being. Research in Canada has shown that sense of belonging has increased in recent years although important variations exist between regions and among certain ethnic groups.MethodsThe objective of this paper is to examine differences in sense of belonging to local community between Canadian-born and immigrant residents in three small-to-medium sized urban areas using primary data collected in: 1) Charlottetown, PEI; 2) Hamilton, Ontario, and 3) Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A mixed method approach is used in the analysis. First, a household telephone survey (n = 1529) asked respondents to rate their sense of belonging. This data was analyzed by way of summary statistics and ordered logistic regression. Second, a series of focus groups with immigrants in the three cities included questions on belonging and well-being (n = 11).ResultsThe research found that sense of belonging is very high in the overall sample and in the three study sites, particularly in Charlottetown, and that there are no significant differences in levels of belonging between Canadian-born and immigrant respondents. However, among immigrants, sense of belonging was significantly lower for those living in Canada for 5 years or less. Consistent with the literature, positive mental health was found to be strongly associated with a positive sense of belonging for both Canadian-born and immigrant respondents. For immigrants, positive sense of belonging was associated with full-time work and home-ownership, two factors not associated with the Canadian-born population. The paper also revealed that immigrants placed greater importance on knowing their neighbours on a first name basis and generally trusting people as determinants of a positive sense of belonging. Finally, the focus groups revealed that in addition to displaying a sense of belonging to their city of residence, immigrants also maintain strong feelings of belonging to their ethnic group.ConclusionsThe paper concludes by offering several public health recommendations on how belonging can be enhanced among recent immigrants in smaller Canadian cities; these include improved coordination of services in order to contribute to a less overwhelming settlement process for immigrants.

Rooting mediates the effect of stress by acculturation on the psychological well-being of immigrants living in Chile

“…In simple terms, it would be equivalent to the expression "To throw roots" -from Spanish echar raices -. Thus, when applying this definition to the context of immigration, it would refer to the link formed with the location of reception; thereby constituting an important element in enhancing psychological well-being [17], becoming an important consideration for determining physical and psychological well-being [18].…”

Inequalities in depressive symptoms between natives and immigrants in Europe: the mediating role of social exclusion

“…When controlling for the level of sense of belonging (Model IV), and the level of political participation (Model V), the associations remained significant with a very slightly attenuation in values. Previous studies found that low sense of belonging is a risk factor for suicidal ideation among immigrants in Spain 47 ; high sense of belonging was associated with positive mental health among immigrants in Canada 48 . The slight mediation effect that these factors have in isolation may be explained considering that only immigrants residing for 1-10 years were more likely to report low levels of sense of belonging and political participation; immigrants residing for > 20 years had higher levels than natives (step 2 of mediation).…”

Ethnic density of regions and psychiatric disorders among ethnic minority individuals

“…Several decades ago, a ‘fit hypothesis’ was postulated whereby individuals with little in common with their surrounding community would be at higher risk of mental illness due to social marginalization and stigma tied to poor ‘fit’ (Wechsler & Pugh, 1967). Supporting such theory, a sense of belonging to one’s community has been found to have protective associations with multiple mental health problems (Fisher, Overholser, Ridley, Braden, & Rosoff, 2015; Kitchen, Williams, & Gallina, 2015; Romans, Cohen, & Forte, 2011; Sargent, Williams, Hagerty, Lynch-Sauer, & Hoyle, 2002). Moreover, some theorize that the shared cultural practices, values and sense of belonging associated with living in a community of ethno-culturally similar individuals may help protect ethnic minorities’ mental health (Shaw et al, 2012; Vang & Elo, 2013).…”