Overview

Abstract (English)

The existing literature has largely focused on how immigrants’ pre/post-migration experiences affect their health in destination societies. Hence, little is known about the extent to which immigrants’ choice to maintain transnational ties to their family and friends abroad influences their health. This study makes a theoretical and empirical contribution to the sociology of health literature by examining how immigrants’ pecuniary remittance behaviour affects their emotional health using data from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC). Our logistic regression analyses demonstrate that sending remittances within the first six months of arrival predisposes immigrants to emotional health problems. In detailing the gender dynamics of our results, it becomes apparent that female immigrants who do not remit have higher odds of experiencing emotional health problems compared to their male counterparts. However, remitting after six months of arrival provides an “emotional advantage” for immigrants, but this advantage is greater for female immigrants compared to their male counterparts. This study underscores the importance of including transnational theory in the conceptual toolbox for explaining immigrants’ health transitions. From a policy perspective, our analysis re-echoes the importance of facilitating the economic integration of immigrants, especially females, in order to enhance their ability to fulfill their remittance expectation since failure to do so has repercussions on their emotional wellbeing.

Abstract (French)

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