CTV covers FIFSW research on Canadian Refugees and depression
Categories: Esme Fuller-Thomson, Faculty, StudentsA new study of Canadians aged 45-85 has found that refugees were 70% more likely to suffer from depression than those born in Canada when age, sex and marital status were taken into account — even decades after immigration.
The research was led by FIFSW doctoral student Shen (Lamson) Lin. Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson was senior author. Master of Social Work student Simran R. Arora was a co-author, along with Karen Kobayashi, a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Victoria and Hongmei Tong, Assistant Professor of Social Work at MacEwan University in Edmonton.
“While our data did not capture reasons for the high levels of depression among refugees, we believe it may be influenced by exposure to pre-migration traumas such as genocide, forced displacement, human trafficking, sexual assault, famine, and separation from family,” says Lin.
The study has been profiled by a variety of media, including CTV News.