Immigration’s Effects On Children
Photo by Unknown
In “Contextual Influences on Children’s Mental Health and School Performance: The Moderating Effects of Family Immigrant Status,” Georgiades et al. discuss the effects immigration has on first-generation/second-generation children’s behavior and academic performance as well as the family processes that may explain these relationships. After gathering research data on 13,470 children aged 4-11 years old in Canada, the authors assert that children of immigrants had less emotional/behavioral issues and higher academic performances compared to the nonimmigrant youth in the study (Georgiades et al. 1582). Through other studies, the authors noted that children exposed to more family poverty and neighborhood disadvantage have had negative effects on their mental health. But, compared to nonimmigrant youth, immigrant youth were less negatively affected overall (Georgiades et al. 1584). Data for this study was collected for up to four kids per household through a computer-assisted interview with the PMK, the person most knowledgeable about the child (parent and/or teacher). A series of ANOVAs (analysis of variance) and chi-square tests were computed to quantify the areas of study. The study sample of immigrant youth was made up of mostly Canadian-born children of immigrant parents (i.e., second-generation children) and about 5% of children were born outside of Canada (first-generation) (Georgiades et al. 1578).
Overall, I agree that the combination of environment and family processes (morals) leads to immigrant youth performing better in school. However, because the PMKs are reporting this study on behalf of their kids, I’m not sure how accurate the claim for lack of behavioral issues could be. The term, behavioral issues, is not well defined in this article. If the term refers to violent outbursts and dangerous behavior, the inferences stand true. However, if the authors include mental health in the term, I will have to disagree with their findings. While they report obvious issues regarding violence and irritability, the PMK cannot measure the mental health of the child with total accuracy. According to this study, I would be considered second-generation and I don’t think my mental health was stellar but I know my parents thought it was normal because I was a well-behaved child. The effects that immigration has on the parent’s and children’s mental health are often overlooked by immigrant parents because of how taboo mental health is considered, which may be a hole in the study. In my experience, I’ve noticed most foreign parents have never learned about depression or anxiety in an unbiased way. They may not be able to acknowledge that they and/or their children have possibly struggled at some point; this would vary from individual to individual. The authors acknowledged that language barriers and the inability to make causal inferences were study limitations (Georgiades et al. 1588). The aspect that answering mental health questions may have been unreliable should be considered a possible study limitation as well.
Despite the possible flaw with the mental health measurement, this study highlights a prominent aspect of immigration: resilience. The authors state that because familial dysfunctionality may be high, immigrant youth display more resilience due to parenting processes that are supportive of emotional and academic life (Georgiades et al. 1587). More recent immigrant families (defined as less than fifteen years in Canada) have more resilience meanwhile resilience seems to decrease with long-term immigrant families (more than fifteen years in Canada) (Georgiades et al.1574). I’ve seen this in my life. From my own experience, and through conversations with very recent immigrant families, the desire to achieve is very apparent, and high goals are set.
Research findings in this article suggest that as more years pass from immigration, more behavioral issues may develop. The authors suggest this divergence can occur when the children and the parent are adapting to the new country at different rates (Georgiades et al. 1587). There can be a discrepancy when the children adapt more to the new country while the parents hold on to more traditions from the original country. That discrepancy can create an unspoken dilemma that may lead to more hostile parenting and other problems (Georgiades et al. 1587). I support these claims that the authors made because of my own experience. I was born in America and even though my parents weren’t, they had a desire to assimilate. That desire only goes so far because some key values and traditions they grew up with shall always remain. This leaves it to the second-generation, me in this instance, to accept as much tradition while balancing it with life in America. Also leaving the first-generation, my parents, to try and accept new values while passing down traditions to the next generation . This study shows that years of residency in the new country and the previously mentioned dilemma are positively correlated. As years of residency increase so does the dilemma of culture clash.
All in all, the authors of “Contextual Influences on Children’s Mental Health and School Performance: The Moderating Effects of Family Immigrant Status” correctly identified that recent immigrant families had children with higher school performances and lower behavioral issues. While mental health on the survey collection may have been subjective, the overall findings of this study make sense. This article provides evidence that immigrant children thrive despite economic disadvantages because of the resilience seen in immigrant families. The family processes serve immigrant children well here because parents are very emotionally bonded with their kids, thus guiding them away from behavioral risk problems. I was glad to read an extensive study that focused on the well-being of children affected by immigration. The authors collected this data to present that immigrant children are, overall, resilient despite the obstacles they encounter. It details how there are financial and cultural hurdles, yet immigrant youth are relatively unaffected and persevere. This study provided me with a sense of validation and a new understanding of my life. As a second-generation child, I feel represented by this article.
References
Georgiades, Katholiki, et al. “Contextual Influences on Children’s Mental Health and School
Performance: The Moderating Effects of Family Immigrant Status.” Child Development 78.5 (2007): 1572-1591. Print.