Interviews were conducted with eight Spanish-speaking women from Latin America living in Toronto. All eight women were physically and psychologically abused by their partners in the past. Using a qualitative grounded-theoretical method of analysis, a hierarchical structure of categories was developed. This methodology generated the core category of Immobilization which, in turn, was characterized by four distinct phases: Denial, Socialization, Ignorance, and Social Isolation. These intra-psychic and social factors all converge, developmentally, to provide a new moral domain for these women. Two competing moral premises are then engaged: the moral mandate that “good women provide a strong family base for their children,” and the conflicting mandate that “people should not harm those they love.” The “Turning Point” is a point in this convergence when the women begin to privilege the second moral premise: namely, that self-respect and self-care are the moral right of every women. During this developmental process, a key point of awareness is the availability of social support systems.

Limited by cultural and language barriers, many Chinese immigrant women from Hong Kong experience great difficulties in integrating with the Canadian culture. Through the implementation of a pilot project and a qualitative study, the author explored whether volunteer work in Canadian organizations could be a means of fostering positive settlement experience. Analysis with the grounded theory approach showed that participants had new observations of Canadian culture, language, and community resources and they were able to apply these in their daily life. The volunteer experience also helped to generate positive feelings of being recognized which became sources of growing confidence for further interaction with the mainstream society.

Cet article vise à rendre compte des dimensions socio-économiques et politiques influant sur le développement des services aux immigrants et aux réfugiés. Un bref regard sur les grands traits de la problématique de la santé mentale des réfugiés à travers la littérature débouchera sur une analyse de quel-ques-unes des politiques adoptées au cours des dernieres années par les gouvernements fédéral et provincial et de la question des rapports État/Organismes non gouvernementaux (ONG); il s'agit de montrer les significations, voire les contradictions, entre le discours sur la prise en charge et le partenariat et les différentes stratégies mises en place par l'État. Un examen des différents programmes de soutien aux organismes non gouvernementaux offerts par le gouvernement du Québec permettra ensuite de dégager les lignes de force des politiques de financement des ONG et de préciser les balises à l'intérieur desquelles ces derniers doivent s'orienter. Pour les fins de notre recherche, nous n'avions retenu que les programmes du ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux et du ministère des Communautés culturelles et de l'Immigration du Québec; à eux seuls, ces deux ministères octroient le plus grand nombre de subventions aux ONG qui interviennent avec les immigrants et les réfugiés.

Based on studies conducted in Ontario and experience from Alberta, this paper describes the politics of bureaucratic disentitlement with respect to the delivery of social services to new Canadians. Interorganizational theory is applied to explain the dynamics that sustain service delivery strategies which have been consistently recognized as inappropriate. This discussion provides a base for rejecting strategies that delegate service delivery to specialized organizational units or to ethno-specific agencies. An approach that acknowledges both technical and political aspects of making social services responsive to the change in Canada's ethnic mix is outlined. The essence of this approach is to mandate networks of newcomer-serving agencies to negotiate and monitor appropriate adjustments by mainstream organizations to address the needs of culturally diversified communities.

Recent empirical research with immigrant and refugee children is reviewed to identify issues related to the adaptive experiences of these populations. While all migrating children experience stresses associated with change and their adjustment to a new country, the expectation that these stresses invariably lead to higher rates of emotional problems and maladaptive behaviours cannot be supported. Instead, research indicates that a variety of adaptive experiences are encountered, with outcomes determined by a combination of risk and protective factors. Risk and protective factors residing in three interacting systems, the child, the family, and the larger community, are discussed in relation to prevention and intervention.

Les programmes d'intervention et de recherche dans le domaine de la santé mentale s'adressent de plus en plus fréquemment à des milieux constitués de communautés culturelles diverses. Intervenants et chercheurs doivent déveloper de nouvelles habiletés pour saisir la complexité de ces nouveaux contextes de pratique. Le travail avec les populations concernées, caractérisées par une forte proportion d'immigrants et de réfugiés et une représentation ethnique diversifiée exige une implication accrue des populations cibles. L'objectif de cet article est de proposer des jalons pour une démarche de recherche qui permettrait de tenir compte de ces paramètres. Cette démarche utilise de façon complémentaire l'approche orientée vers les groupes d'intérét, la recherche participative et l'ethnographic. Dans une première partie, cet article décrit les orientations générales d'une telle démarche. La deuxième partie propose quelques stratégies pour guider le travail sur le terrain en milieu multi-ethnique.

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to contribute to the understanding of risk and protective factors involved in the adaptation of immigrants and refugees. Second, to report on a collaborative, community-driven, action-research project. Both goals were incorporated into a conceptual framework aimed at integrating general knowledge on the topic with the unique experiences of a group of refugees, for the purpose of generating action. The study began addressing three weaknesses of the literature: (a) the lack of investigations on the adaptation of immigrant and refugee children, (b) the need to explore protective mechanisms within refugee families, and (c) the paucity of unity between research and practice.

Acculturation occurs when culturally diverse groups of people come into continuous first-hand contact inducing changes in the original cultural patterns of either or both groups (Redfield, Linton, & Herskovits, 1936). Following immigration, individuals of various acculturating groups can adapt in various ways (Berry, 1984): They can integrate, assimilate, or separate themselves, or they can become marginalized. Sometimes migration can be associated with mental health breakdown depending on factors related to the migrating group (e.g., language fluency) and/or the host society (e.g., discrimination). Marginalization has often been found to be associated with such breakdown. The present study had three goals: (a) to compare the level of acculturative stress in first- and second-generation Greek-Canadians, (b) to evaluate whether marginalization is associated with higher levels of stress, and (c) to compare the level of depression in both generations. Results showed stress and depression levels were not significantly different between the two generations, and marginalization was associated with more stress and depression in both generations.