The Stress of Immigration and the Daily Lived Experiences of Jordanian Immigrant Women in the United States

Abstract

Literature specifically focused on women as immigrants and on the nature and quality of the immigrant experience is limited. Similarly, in spite of early Arab immigration to the different regions of the world, there is a limited knowledge base regarding the dynamics and problems involved in their integration into their new society. In this article we describe the lived experiences of Jordanian women who immigrated to the United States and the focus is on providing an in-depth account of their perceived stressors as related to their immigration experience. Thirty Jordanian American women, all wives and mothers with a mean age of 45, were interviewed. Three major themes of the sources and contexts of stress emerged from the narrative and qualitative data analyses of their responses. Women experienced many challenges and stressors surrounding their work in the daily living of settling in, in their quest for ethnic continuity, and in their attempts to re-create familiarity. Social and health support resources cannot be created without careful attention to these themes.