University of Lethbridge
"Loneliness is killing me" : life stories and resilience of Canadian immigrant women
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and life-stories of recent Canadian immigrant women and their resilience in every day life. A qualitative methodology involving repeated in-depth person-centered interviewing (two to three interviews for each participant) focused on a holistic and in-depth understanding of resilience. Five immigrant women volunteered to participate in the study. Snowball sampling and ‘word of mouth’ were used to recruit participants. Narrative analysis (first level) and thematic analysis (second level) were used to explore. In addition to the life stories, three major themes emerged from the data: Life before Canada; A Journey of Compound Stressors; and Resilience in Everyday Life. Loneliness surfaced as a dominant stressor among the participants as a consequence of immigration. The absence of friendships within the context of immigration was a new finding emerging from this study. Findings further our understanding of recent Canadian immigrant women’s life experiences and concomitantly their resilience. Suggestions for future research are addressed in this study.
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Authors
-
- Rashid, Ruksana
- University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Health Sciences
Subjects
dc:subject × 4Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Identifier
- hdl:10133/3067
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/3067