Vulnerabilities and strengths in parent-adolescent relationships in Bangladeshi immigrant families in Alberta
Abstract
Notes
Location
- Edmonton
- Calgary
- Alberta
Key recommendations
- Creation of workshops in relation to immigrant parents and adolescents to help their integration into Canadian society
- Development of counseling for immigrant youth and parents
- Informing educational personnel on how to help immigrant adolescents integrate into their school better, preventing bullying
Key populations
- Bangladeshi
- female adolescents
- immigrant parents
Key findings
- Immigrants in their adolescence may feel conflict between parental expectations and friends groups/fitting in
- All adolescents had difficulties integrating after immigration, and resulted in potential strains in relationships with parents
- Adolescents immigrating may experience feelings of isolation from peers due to cultural and language barriers, as well as feeling different from peers due to accents, ethnicity, and some participants feared wearing Hijab or practicing religious beliefs (i.e. fasting for Ramadan; all participants are Muslim) due to bullying
- Parents of participants worried about their children losing touch with their culture, due to bullying, and preference for the mainstream culture (i.e. Christmas holidays but no Eid holidays)
- Parent-youth relationships may be further strained due to differing beliefs, resulting in differing restrictions for children compared to their peers
- Different treatment of male and female children may produce more resentment between children and parents
- Parents face career and economic challenges, and difficulty in parenting
- Resilience of immigrant parents and adolescents were sourced from optimism about the future, spiritual beliefs, openness and parental encouragement
Integration timeline
At least one year in Canada
Gaps identified
- Lack of studies examining the influence of immigration on parent-adolescent children relationships
- This study may not be applicable to immigrant families outside of the range of 1-8 years of residence in Canada
- Participants likely have connections in the community
- Participants were highly educated, and were not refugees
- Only female adolescents were selected
- More South Asian Communities could be identified
Community organizations
None
Open-access-No