Sense of community belonging and self-rated general and mental health status among immigrants in Canada

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between immigrants’ sense of community belonging and self-rated general and mental health status in Canada as well as estimate how this relationship is moderated by sex differences. Design/methodology/approach This cross-sectional study used pooled data from seven cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (N = 98,011) conducted between 2005 and 2018. Data were pooled to increase the sample size of the immigrant population. The surveys covered content areas such as well-being, sociodemographic, chronic diseases, self-rated general and mental health. A binary logistic regression fitted the model. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were performed between predictor variables and immigrants’ self-rated general and mental health. Descriptive statistics and adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated. Sex differences were also assessed. Findings This study found that slightly more than half of the respondents were female (53.2%). Generally, immigrants with a weak sense of community belonging were more likely to rate their general and mental health as poor although the association is stronger in mental health. Also factors such as older age, lower educational level, those single or never married, smoking status, physical inactivity, overweight or obesity and life stress were predictors of both poor self -rated general and mental health among immigrants. Sex differences in these risk factors were also noted. Research limitations/implications This study has several limitations that should be noted. The first limitation is the fact that causality cannot be deduced due to the cross-sectional nature of our pooled data. Secondly, responses from this data are subject to recall bias given that the data were self-reported. Therefore, the interpretation of these results must be done with caution. Further, questions regarding the primary exposure variable of this study were restrictive. The definition of the local community which forms part of the one-item community belonging question did not define what is meant by local community, and as such, the question might be subject to different interpretations (i.e. urban or rural geography?). Lastly, this study’s findings did not stratify immigrants into countries or continents of origin. Immigrants from some countries or continents may be more prone to mental health than others. Originality/value This study shows a link between weak immigrants’ sense of community belonging and poor self-rated general and mental health status in Canada and provides suggestive evidence of how contextual factors influence health outcomes differently in society.