Doctoral Dissertation Research: Citizenship, Ethnic Identity and Health

Linda K.GeorgeTrenita B.Childers杜克大学这项研究建议通过融合关键的社会学观点--压力过程和认同理论，为移民健康悖论的文献做出理论贡献。关于这一主题的既定趋势很好地说明了移民身份和健康是如何相关的。然而，这个项目将完成一项定性分析，以提供关于特定社会因素影响心理健康的关键机制的更细微的信息。现有关于移民健康和健康状况的文献主要基于美国的结果。这项研究研究了美国以外的背景，增加了我们对社会因素如何影响移民健康的理解的更深层次。具体地说，这项研究将在发展中国家的背景下审查移民，目的是澄清现有移民健康理论关系的强度和概括性。这项研究将包括无证人员，这可能会进一步扩大目前对身份如何作为心理健康保护因素的理解。本论文研究将使用原始的定性数据，考察居住在多米尼加共和国(D.R.)的海地民族在心理健康方面的移民地位差异。多米尼加共和国拥有独特的种族结构、历史和文件立法，这为筛选影响心理健康的社会因素之间的关系创造了一个理想的地方。该项目强调三个主要主题：感知到的歧视、文件地位和族裔认同的突出。研究问题有两个方面：1)移民身份如何影响生活在刚果民主共和国的海地族裔的心理健康？2)感觉到的歧视、证件身份和身份状况如何影响移民身份和心理健康之间的关系？本论文考察了社会因素在特定背景下对心理健康的影响。虽然该项目的所有参与者都是海地人，但主要的比较对象是在刚果民主共和国出生的人和在海地出生的人。这种比较至关重要，因为许多出生在刚果民主共和国的海地裔人被剥夺了多米尼加公民身份，使他们实际上成为无国籍人。数据主要来自两个来源：对刚果民主共和国一个海地社区进行的为期十个月的人种学调查和对居民的60次深入访谈。二次数据收集战略涉及在一家为该地区海地裔人提供服务的诊所采访主要线人。更广泛的影响这项研究有可能产生重大的更广泛的影响。首先，移民人口的非政府组织和服务提供者可能会更深入地了解移民的经历。在刚果民主共和国，就像在美国一样，各组织为旨在改善移民健康和福祉的干预措施提供资金。来到美国的墨西哥移民是一个移民群体的例子，他们也面临着围绕歧视、身份证明和种族认同的问题。鉴于这些相似之处，这项研究很好地促进了美国社会学家、心理学家、移民和人权学者以及全球卫生学者之间的讨论。最后，该项目将与多米尼加学者建立伙伴关系，包括在刚果民主共和国从事类似研究的教职员工和研究生。这将加强未来合作研究和教育的基础设施。结果将吸引多个受众参与关于社会政治因素对心理健康的影响的批判性对话。

Linda K. GeorgeTrenita B. ChildersDuke UniversityThe research proposes to make a theoretical contribution to the literature on the immigrant health paradox by incorporating key sociological perspectives-stress processes and identity theory. The established trends on the topic provide a good picture of how immigrant status and health are related. This project, however, will complete a qualitative analysis to provide more nuanced information about the key mechanisms by which specific social factors impact mental health. Existing literature on immigrant health and health status is largely based on results from the U.S. This research studies a non-U.S. context, adding greater depth to our understanding of how social factors influence immigrant health. Specifically, the research will examine immigrants within a developing country context with the goal to clarify the strength and generalizability of existing theoretical relationships of immigrant health . The study will include undocumented persons which could potentially further expand current understandings of how identity serves as a protective factor for mental health.Using original qualitative data, this dissertation research will examine immigrant status differences in mental health among ethnic Haitians living in the Dominican Republic (D.R.). The Dominican Republic has a unique racial structure, history, and documentation legislation, which create an ideal place to sift through relationships among social factors that influence mental health. This project emphasizes three primary themes: perceived discrimination, documentation status, and ethnic identity salience. The research question is two-fold: 1) How does immigrant status impact the mental health of ethnic Haitians living in the D.R.?, and 2) How do perceived discrimination, documentation status, and identity condition the relationship between immigrant status and mental health? This dissertation examines the ways that social factors influence mental health in a particular context. While all participants for this project are ethnic Haitians, the primary point of comparison is between those born in the D.R. and those born in Haiti. This comparison is critical because many people of Haitian descent who were born in the D.R. have been stripped of Dominican citizenship rendering them effectively stateless. Data are derived from two primary sources: a ten-month ethnographic investigation of a Haitian community in the D.R. and 60 in-depth interviews with residents. The secondary data collection strategy involves interviews with key informants at a clinic that serves people of Haitian descent in the region. Broader ImpactsThis study has the potential for a significant broader impact. First, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and service providers for immigrant populations will possibly gain greater insight into the immigrant experience. In the D.R., as in the U.S., organizations fund interventions aimed at improving immigrants' health and well-being. Mexican immigrants to the U.S. are an example of an immigrant group that also confronts issues surrounding perceived discrimination, documentation status, and ethnic identity salience. Given these similarities, this research is well-positioned to facilitate discussion in in the U.S. among sociologists, psychologists, migration and human rights scholars, and global health scholars. Finally, this project will establish partnerships with Dominican scholars including faculty and graduate students in the D.R. who are engaged in similar research. This will enhance the infrastructure for future collaborative research and education. Results will engage multiple audiences in the critical conversation about the impact of sociopolitical factors on mental health.