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Negotiating new lives and new lands: elderly Punjabi women in British Columbia
Abstract
The objectives of this thesis are twofold: first, it aims to elucidate the experience of immigrant Punjabi women sponsored in their later years by sons and daughters already living in British Columbia, Canada; second, it examines the impact of immigration legislation on that experience. Family Class immigration legislation provides for the sponsorship of elderly parents on the condition that the sponsors support them for up to ten years. This stipulation, which enforces financial dependency, is examined in light of Indian cultural norms pertaining to filial duty towards aging parents and the changes that occur within the Punjabi family in the Canadian context.
The sample of sixty-two is stratified among five subsets comprised of (1) twelve elderly Punjabi Sikh women, (2) fourteen elderly Punjabi Sikh men, (3) twelve younger Punjabi Sikh women, (4) eight South Asian community leaders, and (5) sixteen South Asian service providers. All participants are currently residents of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Data were collected by myself in the form of open-ended interviews.
The information collected covers a broad range of topics so as to reflect the entirety of the elderly woman's experience in her new home. The application of Nancy Foner's interpretation of the Age Stratification Model, as set out in her ethnological work, Ages in Conflict: A Cross-Cultural Perspective of Inequality Between Old and Young (1984), facilitates the extraction of some prevailing trends from within this rather complex mosaic. Nonetheless, Foner does not lose sight of the multifactoral nature of relationships between individuals of different age strata. While the health and social services available to elderly Punjabi women in Canada far exceed those they might expect in India, many suffer considerable social losses once they join their children in this country. This is especially evident in the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Oftentimes, the daughter-in-law who sponsors and houses her husband's mother assumes the upper hand. In India, it is usually the young bride who occupies the most subservient position in her husband's home. In their efforts to secure some degree of respect in the sponsor's home, many elderly parents go out to work as farm labourers. Consistent with cultural mores which mandate that parents support, rather than extract from a daughter, elderly couples sponsored by daughters often feel they should establish some degree of independence as soon as they are able. Immigration legislation stipulating long-term dependency of the elderly couple on their sponsors further shapes their experience in this country, and may ultimately contribute to the incidence of elder abuse in this population. The term abuse is used here in its broadest sense to indicate not only physical manipulation, but also more insidious expressions such as neglect, forced confinement, or financial manipulation, for example. Several policy recommendations emerge from the study, not least of which is the suggestion that the dependency period be reduced to a maximum of five years or less.
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Department of Anthropology. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Victoria, 1993. Includes bibliographical references. Microfiche.
... Only a few studies have looked at older Punjabi women living in Canada. Research from the 1990s indicated that they felt culturally isolated like they were prisoners in their children's homes (Koehn, 1993). If they had problems, they often turned to religion and prayer instead of health care practitioners because they feared bringing shame to their families. ...
... If they had problems, they often turned to religion and prayer instead of health care practitioners because they feared bringing shame to their families. Some older Punjabi women noted that it was part of their kismet -or destiny -to feel depressed because of their karma (Koehn, 1993). Several Masters theses and PhD dissertations (Agarwal-Narale, 2005;Jhangiani, 2011;Koehn, 1993) have studied immigrant Punjabi women living in Canada, but these studies have not been published. ...
... Some older Punjabi women noted that it was part of their kismet -or destiny -to feel depressed because of their karma (Koehn, 1993). Several Masters theses and PhD dissertations (Agarwal-Narale, 2005;Jhangiani, 2011;Koehn, 1993) have studied immigrant Punjabi women living in Canada, but these studies have not been published. Moreover, the studies focused on younger women (e.g., Agarwal-Narale, [2005] studied South Asian immigrant women aged 25-45) living in metropolitan cities in British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario. ...
With the increase of South Asian immigrants in Canada, the relationship between older immigrant Punjabi women’s sociocultural relationships and their mental health and well-being needs to be understood. Guided by the social determinants of health and intersectional feminist frameworks, five Punjabi women living in Nova Scotia, Canada were interviewed. Three themes were identified: (a) having freedom yet being dependent on families, (b) conflating having a happy family with having good mental health, and (c) needing ways to connect with other older Punjabi women. These findings articulate how Punjabi relationships affect women’s views on mental health and well-being.
... The ideal of filial piety, whereby adult children are obliged to look after their elderly parents until death, may also become a barrier to seeking care (Ahmad, 1996;Cook, 1990;Koehn, 1993). Many ethnic minority seniors were raised in cultures where filial piety is the norm. ...
... Family Class immigrants who are seniors sponsored by adult children or grandchildren, and refugees are especially vulnerable by virtue of their immigrant status. The combination of late-in-life migration to an unfamiliar environment and the reduced entitlements and enforcement of dependency associated with sponsorship typically entail role reversals between the younger and older generations, and hence a dramatic drop in status for the elderly (Koehn, 1993;Sadavoy et al., 2004;McLaren, 2006). Dependent on their children for information, transportation and interpretation at medical appointments, and aware of the busy lives that their children lead, seniors are unwilling to ask them for assistance in seeking medical help unless they feel strongly that the ailment warrants medical attention. ...
... The decision to seek out or accept an offer of care is not always in the senior's hands. Sometimes the whole family makes the decision; at times, the senior is not even party to the process, depending on cultural mores, the senior's control over family resources, gender norms, and the senior's degree of frailty and/or cognitive impairment (Koehn, 1993(Koehn, , 2006Nandal, Khatri and Kadian, 1987;Punia and Sharma, 1987). For example, Chinese-Canadian seniors questioned about their views on end-of-life care rejected advance planning in favour of a consensual family approach to decision-making (Bowman and Singer, 2001). ...
Canada is experiencing two dramatic changes in its population profile: (a) an increase in the proportion of Canadians 65 years of age and older and (b) a rapid increase in the ethnic diversification of its population of seniors. These trends are particularly significant in British Columbia, where the proportion of ethnic minority seniors is higher than the rest of Canada. Ethnic minority seniors face unique challenges navigating the interface between their communities and the health care system.
In acknowledgment of this phenomenon, Fraser Health Authority in collaboration with the BC Home and Community Care Research Network (HCCRN) held a symposium on Access to Health Care for Ethnic Minority Seniors in April 2007. This two-day event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to share information and identify gaps in our knowledge around this important topic. The stated objectives of the symposium were to:
• Learn about current research on access to health care for ethnic minority seniors,
• Explore issues around barriers to access for ethnic minority seniors, and
• Facilitate knowledge translation and further collaborative research on this topic
... The same can be said when Indian families migrate to countries like Canada. Increasingly these educated women in India and Canada are working outside of the home, and this in turn shifts the dynamic between these women (Koehn 1993;Koehn 1999;Dhillon 2017). ...
... Whether they are married, or widowed, older Punjabi women typically assume the bulk of childcare responsibilities. These women, particularly widows, who-as we have seen already-are most susceptible to losing power within the family, often become isolated by their caregiving obligations (Koehn 1993;Koehn, Habib, and Bukhari 2016). ...
Older Punjabi Sikh women are central to their families and communities, but their own needs are often overlooked. Probing the intersections of gender, ethnicity and age and interlocking experiences of sexism, racism and ageism within and beyond their own communities can deepen our understanding of why this happens and what we can do about it. Vertical hierarchies of women that develop in response to male domination, the gendered nature of women’s work and leisure activities, migration patterns that result in generational role reversals, unmet childcare needs, and sponsorship policies that engender dependency and promote isolation of older adults all play a role. These disparate threads are integrated through application of the intersectional life course lens, which recognises the importance of structural influences and oppressions on life course transitions over time and space.
... Importantly, this model has since been expanded to better account for the social determinants of health, or factors that influence chronic conditions and their care that fall outside the purview of the health system, as reflected in Figure 1, below. 67 Research by Koehn 58,[76][77][78][79] and others 80,81 with Punjabi-speaking seniors has also documented the intersecting and deleterious effects of living in isolation due to language issues, transportation difficulties, lack of knowledge of local resources, and child-minding responsibilities on their access to health and social services and community programs. Oppressions experienced throughout the life course also influence their social capital which may be further diminished in the face of role reversal and loss of status, as well as discrimination experienced postmigration. ...
... Whereas some families will encourage older parents and grandparents to take advantage of opportunities for self-care, such as that provided by the S 4 AC program, others will discourage such engagement for fear that it will limit the senior's availability to perform household and childcare duties. 77,78 The provision of childcare is key to the participation of many older South Asian grandparents in the S 4 AC program. During the temporary withdrawal of this service at the Bear Creek site, our interviewees told us that many of their friends were now unable to attend, as did those in the Bear Creek focus group who no longer participated in the program. ...
Older immigrants from South Asia experience higher morbidities of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. They also have lower physical activity rates and higher barriers to accessing knowledge about chronic conditions and the care they need to live well with these conditions. Current models for self-management education and interventions do not take these disadvantages into account. DIVERSEcity Community Services Society and the City of Surrey have collaborated since 2008 to deliver the Seniors Support Services for South Asian Community Project. The project has employed many creative strategies to address barriers to participation in health promoting activities and build community capacity. Our qualitative research study explored if and how the various components of this project have facilitated meaningful linkages between individual, family, community and healthcare systems so as to support the capacity of immigrant South Asian senior participants to live well with their chronic conditions. Findings suggest that the program addresses many of the components deemed central to existing SM interventions. More importantly, however, we identified elements of the program that arguably have a profound influence on the participants’ capacity to live well with chronic conditions that are typically not integral to the most widely promoted SM programs available. Only with the inclusion of these missing elements will SM interventions be accessible and meaningful to barriered populations such as the South Asian older adults in our study.
... Whereas some families will encourage older parents and grandparents to take advantage of opportunities for self-care, such as that provided by the S 4 AC program, others will discourage such engagement for fear that it will limit the senior's availability to perform household and childcare duties. 8,9 The provision of childcare is thus essential to ensure the participation of many older South Asian grandparents in the S 4 AC program. During the temporary withdrawal of this service at the Bear Creek site, our interviewees told us that many of their friends were now unable to attend, as did those in the Bear Creek focus group who no longer participated in the program. ...
The Seniors Support Services for South Asian Community (S4AC) project was developed in response to a problem in the community: although South Asian seniors were especially numerous in the Newton area of Surrey, they were not using recreation and seniors’ facilities in this neighbourhood. Addressing the problem required the collaboration of the Parks, Recreation and Culture Department of the City of Surrey, and DIVERSEcity, a registered non-profit agency offering a wide range of services and programs to immigrant and refugee communities. Through creative outreach, reduction of language and cultural barriers, provision of childcare for grandchildren, and by taking programs to where seniors naturally gather (e.g., parks, temples), the project has succeeded, since 2008, in engaging 100 Punjabi seniors annually in diverse exercise activities, facilitating the development of peer networks and close friendships among participants, and empowering the seniors to utilize existing community resources (pool, seniors centre, etc.), initiate activities on their own and socialize with other communities. The project also offers educational workshops on various topics, including health and self-care, and counseling is provided as needed.
... This distinction is important, however, since in some cultures, e.g. among elderly Punjabi women in Canada, close relationships with non-relatives is quite rare (Koehn 1993). ...
A study of 830 Chinese seniors currently residing in Greater Vancouver and Greater Victoria (Chapell & Lai 1996) found that health service utilization by this group was similar to that found among other groups of seniors in British Columbia and Canada as a whole. Predictors of service use were likewise parallel to that of other populations. Nonetheless, cultural factors were seen to be relevant insofar as traditional health care use was concerned. In order to explore these cultural facets of health care in greater depth, the Centre on Aging (out of which the original study was conducted) commissioned a much smaller qualitative study with an English-speaking subgroup of Chinese seniors from the same metropolitan areas. This report details the findings of this in-depth study.
... For example, daughters-in-law who grew up in Canada, speak English and are able to drive are much more self-assured and independent and hence have a very different relationship with their husband's parents than do those who arrive from India with little education subsequent to the inlaw's immigration. 54,67 The quality of these relationships can be expected to influence the care that these younger women provide to ailing in-laws in RLTC. Moreover, in the absence of the extended family and community supports in which the ideal of familism took root, the familial obligations that women juggle with work in the immigrant context are difficult to fulfill 68 and can have negative physical and mental health outcomes. ...
Objectives: The care provided by a majority of ‘mainstream’ Residential Long-Term Care (RLTC) facilities is incompatible with the needs of immigrant older adults. In British Columbia (BC), Canada, Chinese-origin older adults are a substantial and growing minority and research indicates that RLTC facilities not targeted at this population need direction to assist them in providing culturally competent care. Accordingly, our study seeks to identify which features of RLTC have the greatest impact on the quality of life of this subpopulation. Methods: A qualitative pilot study conducted in BC included 9 in-depth one-to-one interviews in two RLTC facilities with Chinese-origin residents and 11 family members who regularly visit such residents. We captured perspectives on residents’ quality of life (QoL) using an adapted version of an interview protocol established as trustworthy among diverse older adults in the U.K. This framework, developed by the National Centre for Social Research, understands the QoL of older adults to be contingent on their capability to pursue five conceptual attributes: attachment, role, enjoyment, security and control. Results: Participants perceived that the capability of residents to pursue the following dimensions of QoL was influenced by the organizational, social and/or physical features of the facilities in which they resided: Attachment (especially connection to the outside world), Control (especially decision-making), Enjoyment and Safety/Security. Conclusions: Findings concerning both positive and negative influences on older immigrant QoL that the facility can modify will provide direction and highlight priorities for RLTC administrators and policy makers.
... Traditional Ayurvedic medicine is an ancient tradition that has its roots in herbal medicine, and many Ayurvedic remedies are associated with the consumption of certain foods which have the capacity to cure if prepared and spiced appropriately (See Kahar, 1982). Although Ayurvedic practitioners are found in all major Canadian urban areas, much of this knowledge is also kept by women and practiced as household medicine (Koehn, 1993). Wherever possible, the inclusion of Ayurvedic medicines can be considered in treatment of Hindu and Sikh patients. ...
... Finally, we heard that culturally, the senior generation was expected to provide assistance with childcare and the seniors anticipated that they would do so. Some commented on a sense of obligation to their children for sponsoring their immigration to Canada (see also Koehn, 1993). For older women, in particular, taking care of grandchildren provided an important role in their families. ...
Grandparents have always played an important role in family life, but over the last two decades, many have increased responsibility for their grandchildren due to changes in families and society.
The presence in Canada of substantial minorities of Oriental race interests us both as citizens and as social scientists. Even those who believe that the task of good citizenship has been made harder by immigration from Asia must recognize that the interest of Canada to the social scientist has been enhanced.
The racial minorities are three in number and are very unequal in importance. There are about 25,000 persons of Japanese race in Canada, of whom 23,000 live in the province of British Columbia. The Chinese are somewhat more numerous in Canada, although there are only 21,769 in British Columbia. There are very few East Indians and it is significant that the Special Committee on Orientals in British Columbia which reported in December, 1940, treated “Orientals” and “Persons of Japanese and Chinese racial origins” as interchangeable terms.
The figures cited concern race (as determined by paternal descent) and do not indicate nationality or culture. Of the 23,000 persons of Japanese race in Canada approximately 2,400 are naturalized Canadians, and 13,400 Canadians by birth. This leaves an alien group of 7,200 but it must not be overlooked that many of those who are Canadians by birth may claim Japanese nationality by descent, or may have Japanese nationality imposed upon them because their parents have registered their births at the consulates. It is probable that almost all the Canadian-born are more Canadian than Japanese in culture, and this is true of some of the immigrants from Japan who entered Canada at early ages. Not many Chinese are Canadian either by birth or naturalization. For the former the figure is 900, for the latter 200. Of the East Indians probably none are aliens.
Generational analysis has developed rapidly in recent years. Three progressive stages of theory and research can be traced: (a) a “classic” period during which competing perspectives were developed regarding the impact of youth groups on social structure (Mannheim, Parsons and Eisenstadt, Davis and others); (b) a phase focused on interpretations of the youth protest movement or on processes in old age, and characterized by the development of new conceptual and methodological tools to examine change over time; (c) a period of consolidation and reformulation, with more precise specification of competing theoretical frameworks and the analysis of a growing body of empirical data. From this effort five issues emerge which summarize the perspective of generational analysis: (a) definition and dimensions of “generation” as a construct; (b) assessment of continuity or discontinuity between age groups; (c) exploration of the persistence of generation units over time; (d) analysis of within‐generation solidarity; (e) articulation between generations and other dimensions of social structure. A feedback model appears useful in assessing the relationship between generations and social stability or change. 1974 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
