From Migrant to Transnational Families’ Mental Health: An Ethnography of Five Mexican Families Participating in Agricultural Labour in Canada
This focused critical ethnography aimed to deepen our understanding of the impact of participating in a temporary, cyclical, low-wage migration program on the mental and emotional health (MEH) of Mexican women and their non-migrating family members. Except for global care chains research, the field...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-09-01
|
| Series: | Social Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/9/523 |
| _version_ | 1797576840416591872 |
|---|---|
| author | Astrid Escrig-Pinol Denise Gastaldo Andrea A. Cortinois Janet McLaughlin |
| author_facet | Astrid Escrig-Pinol Denise Gastaldo Andrea A. Cortinois Janet McLaughlin |
| author_sort | Astrid Escrig-Pinol |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This focused critical ethnography aimed to deepen our understanding of the impact of participating in a temporary, cyclical, low-wage migration program on the mental and emotional health (MEH) of Mexican women and their non-migrating family members. Except for global care chains research, the field of migrant mental health has paid limited attention to the importance of transnational family dynamics and the MEH of relatives beyond the workers’ children. The current study broadens this framework to examine how family-level changes brought about by migration affect the MEH not only the migrant and her children, but also extended family members. Participants included five women employed in the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and an average of five non-migrating members of their families in Mexico. The study combined four data generation methods: participant observation, ‘emojional’ calendars, semi-structured interviews, and sociodemographic questionnaires. Study participants’ MEH was significantly influenced by gendered selection processes and the cyclical pattern of migration. Similar impacts were observed within and across four groups of participants (workers, their children, the children’s caregivers, and extended family members) during their periods apart and together. There were significant effects of their relative’s migration on the MEH of extended family members, a population group commonly overlooked in the literature. Findings from this study suggest that public health research, programs, and policies using a transnational approach are best suited to effectively address the impacts of migration on the MEH of migrants and their non-migrating families. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:00:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7810336b5c6a4b2185be0ace7677f2ce |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:00:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-7810336b5c6a4b2185be0ace7677f2ce2023-11-19T12:59:30ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602023-09-0112952310.3390/socsci12090523From Migrant to Transnational Families’ Mental Health: An Ethnography of Five Mexican Families Participating in Agricultural Labour in CanadaAstrid Escrig-Pinol0Denise Gastaldo1Andrea A. Cortinois2Janet McLaughlin3ESIMar (Mar Nursing School), Parc de Salut Mar, Universitat Pompeu Fabra-Affiliated, 08003 Barcelona, SpainLawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, CanadaGloMHI—Global Migration and Health Initiative, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, CanadaHealth Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Brantford, ON N3T 2W2, CanadaThis focused critical ethnography aimed to deepen our understanding of the impact of participating in a temporary, cyclical, low-wage migration program on the mental and emotional health (MEH) of Mexican women and their non-migrating family members. Except for global care chains research, the field of migrant mental health has paid limited attention to the importance of transnational family dynamics and the MEH of relatives beyond the workers’ children. The current study broadens this framework to examine how family-level changes brought about by migration affect the MEH not only the migrant and her children, but also extended family members. Participants included five women employed in the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and an average of five non-migrating members of their families in Mexico. The study combined four data generation methods: participant observation, ‘emojional’ calendars, semi-structured interviews, and sociodemographic questionnaires. Study participants’ MEH was significantly influenced by gendered selection processes and the cyclical pattern of migration. Similar impacts were observed within and across four groups of participants (workers, their children, the children’s caregivers, and extended family members) during their periods apart and together. There were significant effects of their relative’s migration on the MEH of extended family members, a population group commonly overlooked in the literature. Findings from this study suggest that public health research, programs, and policies using a transnational approach are best suited to effectively address the impacts of migration on the MEH of migrants and their non-migrating families.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/9/523mental healthemotional healthtransnational familiesinternational labour migrationagriculturecritical ethnography |
| spellingShingle | Astrid Escrig-Pinol Denise Gastaldo Andrea A. Cortinois Janet McLaughlin From Migrant to Transnational Families’ Mental Health: An Ethnography of Five Mexican Families Participating in Agricultural Labour in Canada Social Sciences mental health emotional health transnational families international labour migration agriculture critical ethnography |
| title | From Migrant to Transnational Families’ Mental Health: An Ethnography of Five Mexican Families Participating in Agricultural Labour in Canada |
| title_full | From Migrant to Transnational Families’ Mental Health: An Ethnography of Five Mexican Families Participating in Agricultural Labour in Canada |
| title_fullStr | From Migrant to Transnational Families’ Mental Health: An Ethnography of Five Mexican Families Participating in Agricultural Labour in Canada |
| title_full_unstemmed | From Migrant to Transnational Families’ Mental Health: An Ethnography of Five Mexican Families Participating in Agricultural Labour in Canada |
| title_short | From Migrant to Transnational Families’ Mental Health: An Ethnography of Five Mexican Families Participating in Agricultural Labour in Canada |
| title_sort | from migrant to transnational families mental health an ethnography of five mexican families participating in agricultural labour in canada |
| topic | mental health emotional health transnational families international labour migration agriculture critical ethnography |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/9/523 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT astridescrigpinol frommigranttotransnationalfamiliesmentalhealthanethnographyoffivemexicanfamiliesparticipatinginagriculturallabourincanada AT denisegastaldo frommigranttotransnationalfamiliesmentalhealthanethnographyoffivemexicanfamiliesparticipatinginagriculturallabourincanada AT andreaacortinois frommigranttotransnationalfamiliesmentalhealthanethnographyoffivemexicanfamiliesparticipatinginagriculturallabourincanada AT janetmclaughlin frommigranttotransnationalfamiliesmentalhealthanethnographyoffivemexicanfamiliesparticipatinginagriculturallabourincanada |