A comparison of levels and predictors of emotional problems among preadolescent Ethiopians in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Toronto, Canada

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2394914
AutoresMorton Beiser (Toronto Metropolitan University, autor de correspondencia), Busha Taa (Toronto Metropolitan University), Haile Fenta-Wube (Ontario HIV Treatment Network), Yonas Baheretibeb (Addis Ababa University), Clare Pain (0000-0003-4965-3259, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto), Mesfin Araya (0000-0003-3411-7461, St Paul’s Millennium Medical College)
Año2012
Volumen49
Número5
Páginas651-677
Fecha de publicación2012-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaTranscultural Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1363-4615 • E-ISSN: 1461-7471
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1363461512457155
PMID23015641
OpenAlexW2137833161
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas10
Referencias citadas76

According to a literature of theory and advocacy, immigration and resettlement jeopardize the mental health of children and youth, largely because of factors such as intergenerational tensions arising from conflicts about the retention of traditional values, and experiences of prejudice and discrimination. The current study examines the specificity of these putative mental health risks to the immigration experience. The level and predictors of emotional problems among preadolescent Ethiopians living in immigrant families in Toronto, Canada, were compared with a matched sample of Ethiopian youngsters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Data came from structured interviews with the person most knowledgeable about the family (usually a parent), as well as from the children themselves. Youth reported higher levels of emotional problems (EP) than their parents. Predictors differed for parent and child ratings. In both the Toronto and Addis Ababa samples, parental mental health predicted parent-rated, but not self-rated EP. Contrary to immigration stress theory, parental perceptions of prejudice predicted EP in Addis Ababa, but not Toronto, and parent-child discordance regarding ethnic adherence were predictors of self-rated emotional problems in Ethiopia, but not in Canada. Perceived discrimination was a significant predictor of self-rated emotional problems in both settings. Implications for theory and further research are discussed

Developmental psychology · Ethnic group · Geography · Immigration · Mental health · Perception · Political science · Psychiatry · Clinical Psychology · Family Support in Illness · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Social Psychology