Introduction
In 2016, at the time of the most recent Census, immigrants represented 22% of the overall Canadian population. The April 2020 Labor Force Survey data (Statistics Canada, 2020A) showed that employment among recent immigrants (5 years or less since admission to Canada) and established immigrants (6 or more years since admission to Canada) fell more sharply from February to April (-23% and -17%, respectively) than it did for those born in Canada (-14%). Higher levels of anxiety have been reported among those who have been financially affected by COVID-19, in part due to the impact of the pandemic on their employment situation (Statistics Canada, 2020B). This article examines the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of immigrants to Canada, and is a part of series on the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of vulnerable groups [www150.statcan.gc.ca].
Recent immigrants reported fair or poor mental health more often than other Canadians
Past studies suggest that immigrants, generally, arrive in Canada with better self-perceived mental health than Canadians, but it declines after a period of time in Canada (Salami, 2017). Results from the crowdsource survey suggest the opposite; 28% of recent immigrants who participated in the crowdsourced survey reported fair or poor self-rated mental health, compared to 20% of established immigrant participants and 24% of Canadian-born participants (Chart1). The higher proportion of recent immigrants reporting fair or poor mental health could be related to the pandemic [www150.statcan.gc.ca].
Mental health of more than half of recent immigrant participants has worsened since the implementation of physical distancing
Participants were asked how their mental health has changed since the implementation of physical distancing. More than half (52%) of recent immigrant participants indicated that their mental health was either “somewhat worse” or “much worse”, compared to 44% of established immigrant participants and 53% of Canadian-born participants. On the other hand, 12% of recent immigrant and established immigrant participants reported “somewhat better” or “much better” mental health since the implementation of social distancing, compared to 9% for Canadian-born persons [www150.statcan.gc.ca].
Recent immigrant participants more likely to report symptoms of anxiety than other Canadians
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic can be experienced in many different ways, including feelings of depression, grief, fear, panic, and anxiety, which can be normal responses to situations where day-to-day routines are disrupted and circumstances are uncertain and perceived as potentially risky (Statistics Canada 2020B). Crowdsource participants were asked about their feelings related to anxiety [www150.statcan.gc.ca].
Recent immigrants were more likely to report having experienced at least one symptom of anxiety (91%) in the two weeks prior to completing the survey than established immigrant (82%) and Canadian-born (86%) participants. “Feeling nervous, anxious or on edge” (81%) was the most commonly reported symptom by recent immigrants who experienced at least one symptom of anxiety, followed by “trouble relaxing” (79%) and “becoming easily annoyed or irritable” (78%). These same symptoms were also the most prevalent among established immigrant and Canadian-born participants [www150.statcan.gc.ca].
Anxiety was measured using the GAD-7 scale, which is used in population health surveys to identify probable cases of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), as well as to measure the severity of anxiety symptoms. Recent immigrant participants reported symptoms consistent with moderate to severe generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) more often (30%) than established immigrant (21%) or Canadian-born participants (26%)[www150.statcan.gc.ca].
Mental health and well-being of recent immigrants in Canada
This section is talking about mental health and well-being of recent immigrants in Canada: Evidence from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC)[canada.ca]:
Authors:
- Anne-Marie Robert
- Planning, Advocacy and Innovation, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
- Tara Gilkinson
- Research and Evaluation Branch, Citizenship and Immigration Canada
November 2012:
Immigration is a ““profound non-normative life transition requiring extensive adaptation”” (Levitt et al. 2005, 160) and is often accompanied by a variety of stressors. Using Waves 2 and 3 of the LSIC, we investigated the mental health outcomes of recent immigrants through both descriptive and regression analyses and several key findings emerged.
Overall, about 29% of immigrants reported having emotional problems and 16% reported high levels of stress at wave 3. A slight increase was found in high stress levels from wave 2 to wave 3. Our descriptive and regression analyses suggest that sex, immigration category, region of origin, income and perceptions of the settlement process were associated with mental health and well-being outcomes for recent immigrants. Descriptive and regression results suggest that females were more likely to report experiencing emotional problems. This finding is consistent with other studies on mental health. According to Health Canada (2002) ““studies have consistently documented higher rates of depression among women than men: the female-to-male ratio averages 2:1”” (34). These differences in prevalence may be a result of differential symptoms between the sexes: ““[f]or example, men are more likely to be irritable, angry and discouraged when depressed, whereas women express the more “classical” symptoms of feelings of worthlessness and helplessness, and persistent sad moods. As a result, depression may not be as easily recognized in a man”” (Health Canada 2002, 34).
Results also suggest that immigration category is associated with the prevalence of emotional problems and stress. Refugees were significantly more likely to report experiencing emotional problems and high levels of stress compared to family class immigrants. This finding is supported by previous research on self-rated health using the LSIC (Zhao et al. 2010, Newbold 2009), and highlights the need for further research into the challenges faced by this high-risk group.
Region of origin was also found to be associated with the prevalence of emotional problems. Immigrants from South and Central America were more likely to report experiencing emotional problems, whereas immigrants from North America, United Kingdom and Western Europe were less likely to report experiencing emotional problems, compared to those from Asia and Pacific. As for high levels of stress, immigrants from North America and all Europe were less likely to rate most days as very or extremely stressful than immigrants from Asia and Pacific.
Recent immigrants in the lowest income quartile were significantly more likely to report experiencing high levels of stress and emotional problems compared to those in the highest income quartile. This finding is supported by results from Orphana et al. (2009) which suggest that lower income is associated with a higher risk of psychological distress: ““the study supports the social causation hypothesis of the income gradient in health, because lower income preceded the development of high psychological distress””(6).
Finally, evidence from the LSIC suggests that recent immigrant perceptions of the settlement process were related to emotional problems. Immigrants who were neither satisfied or dissatisfied or dissatisfied with the settlement process were more likely to report experiencing emotional problems than those who were satisfied [canada.ca].
Motivation:
Immigrants usually have these main problems in Canada:
- A significant percentage of Canadian immigrants have mental health problems
- The cost of mental health services is expensive for most immigrants
- The average Price for the face-to-face session is about $125 and 100$ for online per session
- Mental health problems of immigrants are costly for the government
- The average cost of hospital stays for mental health disorders in Canada in 2017-2018 ranges from 4331$ – 12971.
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