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The Well-Being of Immigrant Children and Parents in Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Peter Burton
  • Shelley Phipps

    (Department of Economics, Dalhousie University)

Abstract

In this paper, we use microdata from the Canada Community Health Survey (CCHS) to document the fact that both immigrant children and immigrant parents have lower self-reported life satisfaction and are less likely to feel a strong sense of „belonging‟ to their local communities than their Canadian-born peers. A novel aspect of our work is that we provide direct comparisons of both levels and correlates of well-being for parents and children, since our data asks children (aged 12 to 17) and adults the same survey questions. We find, first, that immigrant status has a larger, negative, association with well-being for parents than for children. And, although income is an important correlate of life satisfaction for both parents and children, the association is larger for parents. A troubling finding is that there is no apparent improvement in life satisfaction for immigrant parents or children who have lived longer in Canada. Given European experiences with alienation among immigrant youth, we also examine „belonging to the community‟ as another aspect of well-being; lower levels of belonging are reported by immigrant youth, especially girls, than by their Canadian peers. Indeed, for girls, immigrant status is one of the largest (negative) correlates of belonging identified. The same is true for parents, but the size of the association is smaller and appears to decline over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Burton & Shelley Phipps, 2010. "The Well-Being of Immigrant Children and Parents in Canada," Working Papers daleconwp2010-09, Dalhousie University, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:dal:wpaper:daleconwp2010-09
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter Burton & Shelley Phipps, 2008. "The Prince and the Pauper: Movement of Children Up and Down the Canadian Income Distribution, 1994-2004," Working Papers daleconwp2008-03, Dalhousie University, Department of Economics.
    2. Micklewright, John, 2002. "Social exclusion and children: a European view for a US debate," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6430, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Amanda Nickerson & Richard Nagle, 2004. "The Influence of Parent and Peer Attachments on Life Satisfaction in Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 66(1), pages 35-60, April.
    4. D'Ambrosio, Conchita & Frick, Joachim R., 2004. "Subjective Well-Being and Relative Deprivation: An Empirical Link," IZA Discussion Papers 1351, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Peter Burton & Shelley Phipps, 2011. "Families, Time, and Well-Being in Canada," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 37(3), pages 395-423, September.
    6. Helliwell, John F., 2003. "How's life? Combining individual and national variables to explain subjective well-being," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 331-360, March.
    7. Conchita D'Ambrosio & Joachim R. Frick, 2012. "Individual Wellbeing in a Dynamic Perspective," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 79(314), pages 284-302, April.
    8. Picot, Garnett & Sweetman, Arthur, 2005. "The Deteriorating Economic Welfare of Immigrants and Possible Causes: Update 2005," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2005262e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    9. Micklewright, John, 2002. "Social exclusion and children: a European view for a US debate," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6430, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Peter Burton & Shelley Phipps, 2010. "From a Young Teen‟s Perspective: Income and the Happiness of Canadian 12 to 15 Year-Olds," Working Papers daleconwp2010-10, Dalhousie University, Department of Economics.
    11. Asher Ben-Arieh, 2005. "Where are the Children? Children’s Role in Measuring and Monitoring Their Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 573-596, December.
    12. Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh & John F. Helliwell, 2008. "Empathy and Emulation: Life Satisfaction and the Urban Geography of Comparison Groups," NBER Working Papers 14593, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Alan S. Blinder, 1973. "Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 8(4), pages 436-455.
    14. Ferran Casas & Cristina Figuer & Mònica González & Sara Malo & Carles Alsinet & Sandra Subarroca, 2007. "The Well-Being of 12 - to 16-Year-Old Adolescents and their Parents: Results from 1999 to 2003 Spanish Samples," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 83(1), pages 87-115, August.
    15. Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada, 2005. "Income and well-being: an empirical analysis of the comparison income effect," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(5-6), pages 997-1019, June.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sarah Jewell & Uma Kambhampati, 2012. "The Role of Personality in Adult Life Satisfaction," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2012-02, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    3. repec:rdg:wpaper:em-dp2012-02 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Sarah Jewell & Uma Kambhampati, 2015. "Are Happy Youth Also Satisfied Adults? An Analysis of the Impact of Childhood Factors on Adult Life Satisfaction," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 543-567, April.
    5. C. P. Barrington-Leigh & Katja Lemermeyer, 2023. "A Public, Open, and Independently-Curated Database of Happiness Coefficients," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1505-1531, April.

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