Social support, social conflict, and immigrant women's mental health in a Canadian context: a scoping review

Abstract

Researchers have documented the protective role of social support and the harmful consequences of social conflict on physical and mental health. However, consolidated information about social support, social conflict, and mental health of immigrant women in Canada is not available. This scoping review examined literature from the last 24 years to understand how social support and social conflict affect the mental health of immigrant women in Canada. We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Healthstar, and EMBASE for peer-reviewed publications focusing on mental health among immigrant women in Canada. Thirty-four articles that met our inclusion criteria were reviewed, and are summarized under the following four headings: settlement challenges and the need for social support; social support and mental health outcomes; social conflict and reciprocity; and social support, social conflict, and mental health service use. The results revealed that social support can have a positive effect on immigrant women's mental health and well-being, and facilitate social inclusion and the use of health services. When social support is lacking or social networks act as a source of conflict, it can have negative effects on immigrant women's mental health. The results also highlighted the need for health services to be linguistically-appropriate and culturally-safe, and provide appropriate types of care and support in a timely manner in order to be helpful to immigrant women.

Black Students and High School Completion in Quebec and Ontario: A Multivariate Analysis

“…Black single mothers who are immigrants face the daunting task of having to juggle paid work and taking care of children without the social support systems they depended on in their home countries (Guruge et al. ; Whitley and Green ).…”

“…It is also because of these combined forces that we find more black women heading households on their own. Black single mothers who are immigrants face the daunting task of having to juggle paid work and taking care of children without the social support systems they depended on in their home countries (Guruge et al 2015;Whitley and Green 2008).…”

Las redes de apoyo social online y offline en los inmigrantes de Málaga (España)

“…Desde inicios del siglo XXI el estudio de la construcción de la red social, incluyendo las implicaciones de las redes sociales online, y más recientemente sus repercusiones en la adaptación y bienestar de las personas se ha convertido en una cuestión de vital importancia (Llopis, 2005). La migración conlleva un debilitamiento de las redes sociales, actuando generalmente como un potente estresor que tiene consecuencias importantes en la calidad de vida y en la inclusión social de los inmigrantes (Garcini et al, 2016;Guruge, Thomson, George y Chaze, 2015). La red social de la persona inmigrante en sentido amplio es el medio por el que se trasmite y recibe apoyo social, con independencia de si la interacción es presencial o virtual, por lo que estos son dos conceptos fuertemente relacionados.…”

“Growing Old is not for the Weak of Heart”: Social isolation and loneliness in Muslim immigrant older adults in Canada

“…Immigrants’ ageing experiences have not been extensively looked at in Canada despite continued evidence that immigrants are more prone to limited social support, economic exclusion and negative health outcomes in older age (Vang, Sigouin, Flenon, & Gagnon, ). Specifically, social isolation and loneliness are major concerns for Canadian immigrant older adults, especially women and non‐European minorities (De Jong Gierveld, Van der Pas, & Keating, ; Guruge, Thomson, George, & Chaze, ; Wu & Penning, ). Although, Muslims living in Western nations differ in migration histories, countries of origin, ethnicity, education and socioeconomic status, current research points to experiences of social isolation and loneliness in this populations as well (Ahmad & Khan, ; Ajrouch & Fakhoury, ; Salma, Keating, Ogilvie, & Hunter, ; Senzai & Bazian, ).…”