Southeast Asian refugees' perceptions of racial discrimination in Canada.

Beiser, Morton ; Noh, Samuel ; Hou, Feng 等

ABSTRACT/RESUME

This report examines levels and types of racist experiences reported by a large sample of Southeast Asians refugees resettling in Canada, the determinants of their perceptions, and methods they employed to cope with these experiences. Twenty-six per cent reported at least one racist experience, more often subtle than overt. Loyalty to the heritage culture, receiving at least some education in Canada, and extensive use of Canadian media were each associated with an increased likelihood of reporting experiences of discrimination. Context and community size affected perceptions of racism. Chinese living in ethnically dense neighbourhoods were particularly likely to perceive racially based discrimination; however, ethnic enclosure appeared to protect Vietnamese and Laotians from these experiences. Faced with racism, the refugees were more likely to react by forbearance, rather than confrontation. Acculturation level and ethnic commitment were both directly related to the tendency to cope through confrontation rat her than forbearance.

Ce rapport examine les degres et les types d'experiences racistes rapportees par unimportant echantillon de refugies du sud-est de l'Asie venus s' installer au Canada, ainsi que les facteurs determinants de leurs perceptions et les mecanismes d'adaptation. Vingt-six pour cent des refugies interviewes ont signale avoir eu une experience raciste, le plus souvent subtile plutot que flagrante. La fidelite a la culture patrimoniale, le fait de recevoir au moms une partie de leur education au Canada et le vaste recours a la presse canadienne etaient tous des facteurs lies a une plus grande probabilite de signaler les experiences de discrimination. Le contexte et la taille de la collectivite ont eu un effet sur les perceptions de racisme. Les Chinois qui vivaient dans des quartiers ethniques particulierement denses etaient davantage portes a percevoir une discrimination raciale; il semble toutefois que l'enclave ethnique a protege les Vietnamiens et les Laotiens de ces experiences. Confrontes au racisme, les refugie s etaient plutot portes a reagir par abstention que par confrontation. Le degre d'acculturation et d'engagement ethnique etaient tous deux directement lies a la tendance d'y faire face par la confrontation plutot que l'abstention.

INTRODUCTION

Visible minority immigrants and refugees are an increasingly significant presence in North America. As recently as 1981, Canada was 95 percent white. However, if current immigration, fertility and mortality trends persist, visible minorities will. by the year 2016, constitute 20 percent of the country's adult population and 25 percent of the child population (Kelly, 1995). Demographic trends are also altering the complexion of the United States: according to Bureau of the Census (1992) forecasts, non-whites will numerically surpass whites in the United States by the year 2050.

Diversity can threaten inter-group harmony. To combat divisiveness resulting from ethnoculturally based discrimination (Avery, 1979; Thompson, 1996; Lieberson, 1982), Canada has adopted the goal of a culturally tolerant society. This vision is embedded, for example, in the country's Multiculturalism Policy dating back to 1971, as well as in more recent legislation such as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms of 1982, and the Multiculturalism Act of 1988. Although conceptual and methodological flaws limit its interpretability, a national survey (Palmer, 1997) does at least suggest that Canadians consider themselves to be a tolerant people, accepting of diversity. It would be comforting to think that a combination of good will, policy, and legislation have wiped Canada clean of racism. In some ways, however, Canada is a bit like Dorian Gray, the eponymous protagonist of Oscar Wilde's famous novel. Although the blemishes of overt racism are disappearing from the country's public face, a truer, meaner por trait hangs in the Canadian attic (Angus Reid, 1991; Head, 1975; Henry, Tator, Mattis, & Rees, 1995).

Discrimination is one of the major challenges facing new settlers (Canadian Task Force on Mental Health Issues Affecting Immigrants and Refugees [CTF], 1988). Although discrimination jeopardizes mental health, most immigrants and refugees who resettle in Canada do not become mental health casualties. When they perceive themselves to be targets of racism, individuals adopt coping strategies, some of which are more effective than others An elucidation of coping responses and their relative effectiveness could potentially be used to help individuals who encounter discrimination develop trenchant strategies for dealing with this particular resettlement stress.

Using data from the University of Toronto/Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Refugee Resettlement Project (RRP), a ten-year investigation of the resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees in Canada, this paper examines three aspects of the perception of discrimination: first, the extent and nature of perceived discrimination; second, factors determining the perception of discrimination; and third, methods used to cope with perceived discrimination.

The Perception of Racism

Since discrimination on the basis of race militates against successful resettlement for both immigrants and refugees (CTF, 1988; Lieberson, 1982; Portes, 1984), it is important to document encounters with racism by the new settlers of today, most of whom are members of visible minority groups (Statistics Canada, 1997).

Whether hidden, and therefore difficult to apprehend, or overt, and experienced directly, racism affects the lives of visible minority immigrants and refugees. Concealed racism can affect the probability of finding jobs (Henry, et al., 1995; Jansen, Plaza, & James, 1999; Li, 1988a,b), equitable pay (Li, 1996, 2000), and adequate housing (Henry, 1989; Henry, et al., 1995), each of which is a formidable challenge faced by new settlers (CTF, 1988). Aside from erecting instrumental barriers to success, racism may have psychological consequences, such as depression (Noh, Beiser, Kaspar, Hou, & Rummens, 1999), and loss of self-esteem (CTF, 1988). Logic dictates that perception must be a prerequisite for psychological effects: it is difficult to imagine how discrimination could exert a direct effect on self-esteem if the object of discrimination were unaware of it.

Although it has long been recognized that newcomers vary in their ability or in their willingness to perceive racism in the receiving society (Portes, 1984; Aguire, Sanez, & Hwang, 1989), the determinants of this variability remain unclear.

Rubrics such as "racism" and "visible minority" are misleading because they imply a homogeneity of experience with, and uniformity in reaction to racially based discrimination. For example, in a study conducted in Toronto, Blacks were not only more likely than Whites or Chinese to perceive the justice system as biassed and unfair, but, in comparison with Chinese males, black men reported twice as many incidents of being stopped by police while driving a car, walking on the street, or idling in a shopping mall (Wortely, 1996).

Although the Toronto study's results suggest some correspondence between the experience of injustice and its perception, other authors (Roberts, 1988) argue that the accordance between racism sent and racism received or perceived is far from perfect. Although investigators have tended to overlook the topic, the determinants of perceived racism constitute an important area of study.

Choice of resettlement strategy can moderate the perception of racism. During the course of resettlement, newcomers almost invariably take on some of the characteristics of the receiving society, such as its language, its manner of dress and some of its customs, a process referred to as acculturation (CTF, 1988). Research attempting to link resettlement strategy to perceived discrimination has focussed on two possible reactions to the forces of acculturation: assimilation and ethnic resilience (Portes, 1984; Aguire, et al., 1989).

Assimilation, "a process of boundary reduction that can occur when members of two or more societies or of smaller cultural groups meet" (Yinger, 1981, p. 249), is one possible outcome of the acculturative process. Although it is not explicit in Yinger's definition, most theories of acculturation and assimilation assume that power differentials shape the assimilative balance. For example, immigrants and refugees accommodate more to the societies that receive them than the dominant society does to the newcomers that join it (CTF, 1988). According to the assimilation framework, the more successful newcomers are in overcoming barriers to participation in the dominant society, the less central their ethnic consciousness becomes, and the less likely they are to perceive themselves as victims of discrimination (Gordon, 1964). The results of a 1979 survey of Mexican ancestry residents of the US supports this perspective: variables such as good education and high contact with Anglos on the job and in informal network s were each inversely related to perceptions of discrimination (Aguirre, et al., 1989). A more recent Canadian investigation of modes of acculturation reported findings consistent with the assimilation framework: in that Montreal-based study, researchers found that, in comparison with Lebanese immigrants who were adopting an ethnocentric or integration mode of adaptation, immigrants choosing assimilation perceived less discrimination in the larger society (Sayegh & Lasry, 1993).

Other empirical investigations have, however, produced results inconsistent with the assimilation perspective. For example, one might expect that the longer immigrants remain in a resettlement country, the greater the tendency to assimilate. If this is true, perceptions of discrimination should decrease with increasing length of resettlement. However, a study by Portes and his colleagues (Portes, Parker, & Cobas, 1980) demonstrated the opposite effect. One year after their arrival in the US, fewer than 5 percent of a sample of Cuban refugees reported experiences with discrimination. Three years later, this proportion rose to 26 percent. At a final follow-up, six years after the refugees' initial arrival, 26 percent once again said they had experienced discrimination. A study of Somali women, their length of residence in Canada, and their perceptions of discrimination yielded similar results (Young, 1996).

The ethnic assimilation perspective on perceiving racism is rooted in the assumption that, if given the choice, immigrants will abandon their heritage culture in order to participate in the dominant culture, and to become as much like its members as possible. However, authors such as Greeley (1971) and Glazer (1954) have pointed out that immigrants do not invariably favour assimilation. Despite the enticements of the majority culture, the culture of origin retains a potent hold on the lives and imaginations of many immigrants, a phenomenon referred to as ethnic resilience. If ethnic resilience is strong, individuals may adopt a life pattern of ethnic enclosure, living in ethnically segregated neighbourhoods and working in ethnically controlled occupational settings. According to the enclosure hypothesis, ethnically segregated environments can wall people off from prejudicial attitudes in the larger society (Hannan, 1979; Despres, 1975; Olzak, 1983). Although the hypothesis is attractive, it seems incomplete. For one thing, community size almost certainly affects the ethnic enclosure option. Sizeable ethnocultural communities may be able to create conditions approximating what Breton (1964, 1978, 1981) has called "institutional completeness," thus making ethnic segregation a real possibility. However, small and recently established communities can probably offer only a limited version of ethnic enclosure. Ethnic community size and prominence can also affect the occurrence of racism. Dominant society fears that the growth of ethnic communities will threaten existing power balances can stoke discriminatory fires.

Ethnic resilience need not manifest itself only in ethnic enclosure. Many immigrants who remain heavily invested in their heritage cultures may not choose to live in ethnically segregated communities, or, depending on the locus of their resettlement, they may not have the option of living in neighbourhoods heavily populated by like-ethnics. They move into heterogeneous neighbourhoods, participate to varying degrees in the educational, occupational and social structures of the receiving society, and, nonetheless, guard their ethnocultural loyalties. This form of ethnic resilience can give rise to what some theoreticians have called ethnic competition. According to the ethnic competition framework, familiarity with the dominant society does not increase its attractiveness, but instead reveals its inequities (Portes, et. al., 1980; Portes, 1984).

In comparison with the assimilation perspective, the ethnic resilience framework offers a more complex as well as contradictory explanation for perceptions of discrimination. One sub-category of the ethnically resilient, those who opt for ethnic enclosure, are either incapable of assimilating or are unwilling to do so; as a result, they are unlikely to encounter racism, or, if they do, to detect it. Other ethnically resilient people, those who do integrate with, and compete in mainstream society, encounter racism and are sensitive to it. Tools such as language fluency not only facilitate competition, but enable newcomers to perceive the often subtle forms of racism practised by the dominant society. As Portes (1984) states, the ethnic competition hypothesis "... identifies as predictors (of perceptions of discrimination) precisely the same variables associated with the assimilation hypothesis, but reverses the sign of the predicted effects (p 384)."

Pitting assimilation against ethnic resilience as competing explanations of perceptions of racism implies a zero-sum game. However, acculturation does not invariably lead to assimilation, nor does it automatically translate into abandonment of one's ethnic heritage. Conversely, ethnic allegiance does not preclude acculturation. Instead, as Berry (1984) has pointed out, individual adaptation strategies consist of a balance between the opposing pulls of acculturation and cultural retention.

The current study examines the independent effects of acculturation and of ethnocultural allegiance on perceptions of discrimination. It also investigates the ethnic enclosure hypothesis, using community size as a conditional contextual variable which shapes the relationship between ethnic residential patterns and perceptions of discrimination.

Coping with Racial Discrimination

Individual coping responses determine whether a social stressor such as perceived discrimination can be successfully managed, or whether it will pose a threat to internal peace and well-being (Pearlin & Schooler, 1978; Pearlin, 1989; Thoits, 1995). A study of coping and blood pressure supports the concept of a link between styles of reacting to stressors and health status. According to the study results, individuals who responded passively to experiences of racial discrimination experienced a greater risk of elevated blood pressure than others who responded with approaches such as talking to confidants or taking direct action (Krieger, 1990; Williams, 1994).

The few empirical investigations of the effects of culture on coping suggest that ethnoracial minority groups choose a passive mode of reacting to discrimination, and are often reluctant to respond by direct confrontation or through recourse to formal procedures: Asian-born residents of both Canada and the US overwhelmingly endorse forbearance, or passive coping, as the preferred response to racially based discrimination (Kuo, 1995; Noh, Beiser, Hou, & Kaspar, 1998; Reynolds, 1976, as cited by Aldwin, 1994; Tietjen, 1989; Triandis, 1994). Buchignani (1982), has suggested that Asians may avoid confrontation because such behaviour would be out of keeping with cultural values.

Other explanations take context rather than culture as a point of departure. For example, the belief that regulatory bodies such as Human Rights Commissions are ineffective in carrying out their mandates, or that filing a complaint has a negative rebound effect on the plaintiff discourages recourse to formal process (Frideres & Reeves, 1992; Head, 1975; Muszynski, 1983; Henry, et al., 1995). The availability of personal and social resources may affect stylistic differences in dealing with discriminatory encounters. For example, according to the results of one study, black women were more likely than their white counterparts to adopt a passive response to experiences of gender discrimination, possibly because black women perceived less possibility of controlling the situation (Williams, 1994).

Using data from the final wave of the Refugee Resettlement Project, the current study examines the effects of acculturation and ethnic enclosure on perceptions of discrimination, as well as preferred methods for coping with perceived discrimination.

THE REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROJECT: BACKGROUND

The RRP was a ten-year investigation of the psychological, economic and social adaptation of Southeast Asian refugees who came to Canada between 1979 and 1981, the height of the "Boat People" crisis. After the fall of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1975, large numbers of Vietnamese fled the advancing Communist armies. The United States was the principal country of refuge. After this large-scale exodus, the Hanoi government sealed Vietnam's borders. However, in the late 1970s, Hanoi retaliated against what it interpreted as border incursions by China by forcibly expelling ethnic Chinese living in Vietnam. Ethnic Vietnamese who objected to living under the new communist regime escaped together with the Chinese. More or less at the same time that these forced and voluntary exiles were taking place, the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia destroyed Pol Pot's hold on that country and made it possible for many of his victims to escape, and a civil war in Laos created still more refugees. These movements culminated i n the mass exodus from the Southeast Asian peninsula in the late 1970s, now usually remembered as the Boat People crisis.

As a signatory to an international agreement to relieve the crisis, Canada agreed to admit 60,000 Southeast Asian refugees between 1979 and 1981. Unlike the refugees from Vietnam in Roberts' (1988) study whose presence in the US prompted resentment, the "Boat People" of the late 1 970s and early 1 980s rode into Canada on a wave of generosity and good will unprecedented in the country's history (Beiser, 1999). The refugees were resettled in different regions of the country, the number of refugees more or less proportional to the region's population vis-a-vis the country as a whole.

The RRP began in Vancouver, British Columbia, the destination of approximately 5,000 of the Southeast Asian refugees. Their numbers included ethnic Chinese who had been living in Vietnam and Cambodia, ethnic Vietnamese, and Laotians. The three groups differed with respect to both migration and reception conditions. Whereas Chinese and Laotians usually fled their homes as family groups, it was more typical among the Vietnamese for a single person, usually a male, to leave home in the hope of finding haven in a country of permanent asylum, and then to earn enough money to send for the rest of the family. Arrival and resettlement conditions also differed. In 1979, when the refugees first arrived, Vancouver could already boast one of the largest Chinese communities in North America, a fact that offered some initial, if small, employment advantages for the Chinese refugees, and a considerable mental health advantage (Beiser, et al., 1989; Beiser, 1999; CTF, 1988). During the ten years following the arrival of the Southeast Asian refugees, Hong Kong and Taiwan became Canada's two principal immigrant-sending countries, with Vancouver the destination of choice for the majority. By 1991, the time of the RRP's final ten-year follow-up, the Chinese were not only a large community, but a prominent economic and political force in Vancouver. Although the Vietnamese and Laotian communities had also grown, neither approached the Chinese in local prominence or in sheer numbers (Statistics Canada, 1994).

STUDY METHODS

Sample

The 1,348 individuals making up the RRP group constituted a one in three probability sample of refugees, 18 years and over, who resettled in and around the Vancouver metropolitan area. Details of the multi-wave probability sampling procedures have been reported elsewhere (Beiser, 1999; Beiser & Fleming, 1986).

After receiving a complete explanation of the study objectives and procedures, each respondent signed a written informed consent form. Following standard translation and back-translation guidelines, research staff prepared Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Laotian versions of an interview schedule designed to obtain socio-demographic information as well as data about exposure to stressors, availability of social resources, coping strategies and mental health symptoms. Trained bilingual interviewers, most of them refugees themselves, conducted the interviews. The completion rate was 97 percent. Two years later, 1,169 persons (86.7 per cent of the original sample) participated in the first follow-up survey.

Data for the current study derive from the third survey, conducted in 1991-92. Sample retention for the ten-year follow-up proved difficult. During the years following the second survey in 1983, 1,289 of the 1,348 baseline sample moved their households at least once. To update participant names and addresses for the ten-year follow-up, the study team used voters' lists, telephone directories, city directories, community directories, and contacts with ethnocultural organizations as well as community leaders.

For the 1991-92 resurvey, the research team was able to locate 842 (62.5 per cent) of the 1,348 baseline participants interviewed in 1981. Of this group, 666 respondents completed follow-up interviews, 21 were deceased or too ill to participate, and 155 refused, either directly or through evasion. Nineteen of the 666 completed interviews had to be dropped because it could not be ascertained with absolute certainty that the respondents had taken part in both the baseline and first follow-up studies. The 647 remaining respondents constitute a 48.0 per cent sub-group of the original 1981 sample.

The retention rates compare favourably with other longitudinal studies of Southeast Asian refugees, who are a very mobile population (Burwell & Van Wicklin, 1986; Lewis, Fraser, & Pecora, 1988). A long list of analyses comparing "dropouts" with retained members of the sample revealed no gender, age, or Time 1 employment status differences between the two groups. The results (available on request) suggest relatively little attrition bias. (1)

Measuring Perceived Discrimination

A screening question introduced the discrimination measure: "Some people have experienced discrimination, for example, being looked down upon, insults about one's race, being passed over for a promotion, because they belong to a particular racial group rather than because of their lack of English or other skills. In Canada, have you been discriminated against because of your race ?" Respondents answering "Yes" were then asked about the forms it had assumed, and their reactions to it.

a) Individual Experiences of Discrimination

Respondents who said they had been discriminated against in Canada were asked how often (Often, Sometimes, or Never) the discrimination had occurred in each of twelve different forms: i) physical abuse; ii) insulting remarks about one's race; iii) rudeness; iv) being looked down upon; v) unfair treatment; vi) resentment; vii) threats; viii) racial graffiti on personal property; ix) racial graffiti on buildings or fences in the ethnic community; x) racial graffiti in public places; xi) vandalism directed at personal property, and xii) vandalism directed at the ethno-racial community in general.

b) Predictors of Perceived Discrimination

Because the research literature suggests that men and women may experience discrimination differently, and that the young may perceive instances of racism differently than their elders (Crosby, 1984; Head, 1981; Ubale, 1977), the analyses included gender and age at the time of entry to Canada. Marital status was included as an analytic variable because marriage may serve to isolate women at home, and thus protect them from experiences of discrimination. Other demographic variables included ethnicity (Chinese, Vietnamese, or Laotian) and education obtained prior to immigration.

Acculturation variables included whether or not the respondent had received any formal education in Canada, employment history, English language ability, speaking English outside the home, and the use of Canadian media. According to the ethnic competition hypothesis, the higher the level of education received in Canada, the greater the experience of working in Canada, the better the command of English, and the greater the use of Canadian media, the more likely people should be to report experiences of discrimination. As Portes (1984) points out, the assimilation perspective directs attention to the same set of variables, but predicts an inverse relationship between them and perceived discrimination.

Indicators of ethnic enclosure include frequency of participation in ethnic gatherings, participation in ethnic organizations, the proportion of the respondents' neighbourhood made up of persons from the same ethnic background, and the use of mother tongue at home. Since context may shape the relationship between ethnic enclosure and perceptions of discrimination, interaction terms that include the ethnicity variable are included in the analyses.

c) Coping

Following an opening question, "Overall, how did you react to these experiences?", respondents were asked to respond "Yes" or "No" to each of the following seven possibilities: i) took it as a fact of life; ii) did not react; iii) reasoned with the offender; iv) protested verbally; v) reported to appropriate authority; vi) discussed it with others; vii) returned in kind.

RESULTS

Characteristics of the Sample

Of the 647 refugee adults who participated in the ten year follow-up survey, 281 (43.4%) were Chinese, 220 (34.0%) Vietnamese, and 146 (22.6%) Laotian. Males accounted for 57 percent of the sample. About 40 percent of the refugees were younger than 35, and 80 percent of the sample were married.

By Canadian standards, the refugees were, on the whole, poorly educated: fewer than 30 percent had completed 12 or more years of formal schooling. Only 8.5 percent had received formal education since coming to Canada. Unemployment was low: 71.4 percent of the sample had worked full-time during the five years prior to the follow-up interview, and an additional 20 percent had worked for some portion of that time. Ninety-two per cent of those eligible for work were gainfully employed at the time of the final survey, in 1991.

Extent and Forms of Perceived Discrimination

One hundred and sixty-eight refugees, 26 percent of the total sample, reported that they had experienced discrimination since coming to Canada.

In order to simplify the data concerning the nature of discrimination, the 12 measurement variables were subjected to a principal components factor analysis. Three factors emerged, accounting for 66.3 per cent of common variance. The 3 factors included: subtle discrimination directed against individuals, overt discrimination directed at individuals, and discrimination directed against the community. As illustrated in Table 1, the discrimination experiences were overwhelmingly subtle and elusive (such as being looked down upon or treated rudely), rather than overt (threats or physical abuse) or as experienced through acts against the community (graffiti and vandalism). All respondents who reported some experience with racial discrimination stated that at least one of the forms in which it appeared was subtle discrimination. Thirty-seven persons (22 percent) in the discriminated against sub-sample felt that, in addition to discrimination in its subtle form, they had also experienced either overt or community-d irected discrimination. Thirteen people (8 percent) reported that they had experienced all three forms of discrimination.

Correlates of Perceived Discrimination

Tables 2, 3, and 4 in this section describe, respectively, bivariate associations between reports of discrimination and demographic, acculturation and enclosure variables.

As demonstrated in Table 2, Chinese refugees were the most likely to report having experienced some form of racial discrimination, followed, in descending order, by Vietnamese and Laotians. Associations between perceived discrimination and other demographic variables were statistically non-significant at the <.05 level.

Table 3 describes associations between the acculturation variables and perceptions of discrimination. Persons who had received some education in Canada were more likely than those who had received none to report experiences with discrimination, and persons who spoke English or both English and their mother tongues outside the home were less likely to report such experiences than those who conversed only in their mother tongues. There was a direct association between frequency of use of Canadian media and perceptions of discrimination. Neither employment history nor English language ability were related to perceptions of discrimination.

Table 4 examines relationships between perceptions of racial discrimination and indicators of ethnic enclosure. Respondents who spoke only their mother tongue at home were much more likely to perceive discrimination than their counterparts who either spoke only English or both English and mother tongue. The number of like-ethnic neighbours, participation in ethnic gatherings, and frequency of contact with ethnic organizations were not associated with perceptions of discrimination.

Multivariate Analyses

Responses to the screening question (Yes or No) about experiences with discrimination were next regressed on the variables listed in Tables 2,3, and 4. Model I in Table 5 examines the relationships between perceived discrimination and demographic, acculturation, and ethnic enclosure variables. Ethnicity was entered as a dummy variable, with Chinese as the reference group; thus, although the Chinese category does not appear in the table, it is the category against which the relative influence of Vietnamese and Laotian categories are assessed. According to the results, both Laotians and Vietnamese were less likely than Chinese to report experiences with racism, with the Laotians as the least likely of the three groups. There were no statistically significant associations with other demographic variables. Among the acculturation variables, Canadian education and frequency of use of Canadian media were both directly related to the level of perceived discrimination. Among the variables included in the ethnic encl osure category, use of mother tongue at home displayed the only statistically significant relationship with perceived discrimination.

In order to examine the proposition that community size conditions the effects of ethnic enclosure on experiences with racism, Model 2 in Table 5 introduces interaction terms linking ethnic group with each of the four ethnic enclosure variables. Because the Chinese community was large and visible during the time of the study, and the Laotian and Vietnamese relatively small, the comparisons used for the interaction terms were Laotian versus Chinese and Vietnamese versus Chinese. Inclusion of the interactions in the equation did not significantly alter the effect of Canadian education, or of using Canadian media. The interaction between Vietnamese ethnicity and speaking mother tongue at home was positive and significant, suggesting that Vietnamese who spoke their mother tongue at home were more likely to perceive racism than Chinese who spoke their mother tongue at home. Under the conditions of Model 2, the main effect of number of ethnic neighbours became significant, and each of the interaction terms involvi ng ethnicity and like-ethnic neighbourhood density was statistically significant.

Figure 1 was prepared in order to examine the complex associations between ethnicity, ethnic density of neighbourhood, and the likelihood of perceiving discrimination. To prepare this figure, we used the logistic regression coefficients to calculate the probability of reporting experiences with racism for each ethnic group in ethnically concentrated verus integrated neighbourhoods, assuming the value of all other variables to be equal to their respective means. The probability that Chinese respondents would report some experience with racism rose from 0.22 for those living in neighbourhoods with no other Chinese, to 0.44 for those living in ethnically dense areas. For Vietnamese, the probability of having experienced racism fell from 0.26 for those living in residentially integrated areas to 0.12 for those living in like-ethnic neighbourhoods; the comparable figures for Laotians were 0.14 and 0.07. According to these results, Vietnamese and Laotians living in highly ethnically concentrated neighbourhoods were less likely than their more residentially integrated counterparts to have perceived racially based discrimination, whereas Chinese living in ethnically dense neighbourhoods were more likely than Chinese in more integrated areas to have experienced racism.

Coping With Perceived Racism

The seven coping responses endorsed by the study subjects were subjected to a principal components factor analysis. The two solution accounted for 50.5 percent of common variance. As illustrated in Table 6, the first factor described passive acceptance or forbearance, the second an active or problem-focussed response (confrontation). Most refugees reacted to racism as a fact of life, and/or chose not to react to it: for example, 77.9 percent of all the refugees who experienced a racist incident chose to pass it off as a part of life. Discussing the problem with others was the most popular of the problem-focussed choices. Very few of the refugees reported racist incidents to an authority.

Since the literature (Kuo, 1995; Noh, et al., 1998; Triandis, 1994) suggests that culture affects choice of coping style, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize that both assimilation level and ethnic enclosure might affect the use of forbearance and confrontation. Scale scores for each of these coping strategies were regressed on the assimilation and ethnic enclosure variables, while simultaneously controlling for the effects of demographic characteristics. As described in Table 7, the use of forbearance as a coping strategy was related to a history of steady employment. Frequent use of Canadian media and use of mother tongue at home increased the likelihood of employing confrontation.

DISCUSSION

Roughly one quarter (26 percent) of the RRP sample respondents reported one or more experiences with discrimination. Statistical analyses suggest that it would be difficult to attribute the results to biassed reporting based on sample attrition. Furthermore, other studies focussing on Asian experiences of racism in Canada have produced roughly comparable rates (Breton, 1978; Chan & Helly, 1987; Head, 1975; 1981; Ramcharan, 1974).

The rate is slightly lower than the 33 percent figure emanating from the most comparable US study, an investigation of racism experienced by Vietnamese refugees in California and the US Gulfstates (Roberts, 1988). Although methodological differences make direct comparison between the RRP and Robert's (1988) US study results difficult, it is tempting to speculate that sociopolitical context helps account for these discrepant research findings. Roberts suggests that the negative experiences of Vietnamese refugees in the US may have stemmed in part from their association with a bitter and humiliating period in the country's history. By contrast, Canada's response to the Boat People has become a source of national pride. Canada received the United Nations Nansen medal for its humanitarianism during the Southeast Asian crisis, an event that helped catapult the county into its current position of international leadership in refugee affairs. It is also possible that a quarter of a century of official ideological co mmitment to multiculturalism helped account for Canada's relatively tolerant reception of the Southeast Asians.

The discrimination experiences described by the respondents in this study were predominantly subtle, a finding consistent with the conclusions of many authorities who propose that discrimination in contemporary Europe and North America is more likely to be covert than obvious (Pitman, 1977; Henry, 1978; 1989; Henry, et al., 1995; Head, 1975; Barker, 1984; Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995; Hamberger & Hewstone, 1997; Meertens & Pettigrew, 1997). In contrast to overt discrimination, which is "... hot, close, and direct," the subtle form is "... cool, distant, and indirect" (Meertens & Pettigrew, 1997, p. 54). The ubiquitousness of experiences such as "being looked down upon" or "unfair treatment" has led some authorities to question their validity as markers of prejudice (Sniderman & Tetlock, 1986; Tetlock, 1994). The most pivotal claim of this critique is that subtle discrimination is "... confounded by political conservatism, and indicts conservatives as racists" (Meertens & Pettigrew, 1997, p. 54). However, Meert ens and Pettigrew's (1997) recent analysis of the European Community's Eurobarometer 30 survey data suggests that subtle discrimination is not simply a catalogue of conservative attitudes reconstructed as racism. If this were the case, one would expect to find a relationship between conservatism and subtle expressions of discrimination. However, according to Meertens and Pettigrew, the opposite holds true: in their study, political conservatism was more strongly related to the practice of overt, than to subtle, discrimination. These two investigators also found that overt and subtle forms of discrimination were each associated with a different set of social and behavioural determinants.

The rates of perceived discrimination reported by the Southeast Asians in the RRP sample are lower than those typically reported by other racial minority groups, notably Blacks. Although variations in cultural style may help account for such differences, the findings probably also reflect a social reality. For example, Wortley's (1996) study findings demonstrate that Blacks not only perceive more racial discrimination than Asians, but that they are more likely to be its targets. An earlier study by Breton (1978), also revealed inter-ethnic variation in perceptions of discrimination. Breton found that 75 percent of Caribbean origin immigrants living in Toronto reported experiences of job-related discrimination, whereas the corresponding statistic among Chinese was only 29 percent. The rates of discrimination perceived by Asians in Breton's study approximate those reported by Kuo (1995), who studied Asians living in Seattle in 1982. Fifteen percent of the respondents in Kuo's study said that they had experienc ed discrimination when looking for housing, and 30 percent when looking for work.

Like Wortley's study, Roberts' (1988) investigations of perceived discrimination among Southeast Asians in the US emphasizes the role of social context. According to Roberts' data, Vietnamese refugees settling in the Gulf States perceived more racism than those settling in California. Roberts suggests that, because of an enduring strain of bedrock fundamentalism, Gulf States residents probably provided a less tolerant reception for visible minorities than their counterparts in Northern California.

Both Wortley's and Roberts' studies suggest a relationship between racism sent and racism received. However, Roberts' study also demonstrates that the match between discriminatory societal attitudes and perceived discrimination is weak, a fact which directs attention to the need to understand other determinants of the perception of prejudice.

When asked about discrimination directed to their group as a whole, members of visible minorities report higher levels of societal racism than when they are asked about personal experiences (Crosby, 1984; Taylor, Wright, Moghaddam, & Lalonde, 1990; Ruggiero & Taylor, 1997). What might account for this discrepancy? Do members of minority groups tend to over-estimate the amount of discrimination in society, or do they tend to minimize their own personal experiences? Commenting on a series of research findings, Crocker, Major, and their colleagues suggest an explanation consistent with the over-estimation argument (Crocker, Cornwell, & Major, 1993; Crocker & Major, 1989; Crocker, Voelkl, Testa, & Major, 1991). These researchers posit that, under conditions of attributional ambiguity -- such as those created by the existence of racism -- members of visible minority groups may seek to avoid loss of face occasioned by personal failure through attributing such failure to the social stigma of minority group membershi p. An experimental study (Ruggiero & Taylor, 1997) supports the seemingly opposite proposition, that minority group members may more readily and more accurately perceive instances of discrimination directed toward their ethnic group than in their own personal experiences. Although the argument seems counter-intuitive, Ruggiero and Taylor's data suggest that denying that one is a victim of discrimination may help minority group members maintain a sense of mastery and self-esteem. According to these researchers, "... the consequences of minimizing discrimination are more psychologically beneficial than the consequences of being vigilant in the perception of discrimination. By minimizing the perception that one is a victim of discrimination, minorities maintain a strong sense of mastery and positive self-esteem" (Ruggiero & Taylor, 1997, p. 387).

According to the current study results, both ethnic allegiance and acculturation predict sensitivity to racism. The decision to speak one's mother tongue at home probably reflects a commitment to one's ethnic background. Viewed in this light, the results suggest that the more strongly invested the refugees were in their heritage culture, the more likely they were to experience ethnoracially-based discrimination. On the other hand, if prejudice in North America is more likely to be subtle than overt in expression and form, the refugees who benefited from a Canadian education were probably better able than their less acculturated peers to identify subtle "loaded" behaviours and comments reflecting discriminatory intent (Chan & Helly, 1987). Informed perusal of newspapers, radio and television media may reveal discriminatory attitudes in the larger society that stay hidden if one cannot comprehend the media's powerful and sometimes insidious messages. In addition, because Canadian education facilitates entry int o spheres in the labour market that bring new settlers into direct competition with host country residents, the refugees who benefited from a Canadian education may have actually confronted discrimination more often than their less educated counterparts (Castles, Booth, & Wallace, 1984).

Group size apparently modified the potentially protective effect of ethnic enclosure against perceived racism. The ethnic enclosure hypothesis was supported only by the Vietnamese and Laotian data, but apparently refuted by the Chinese. According to Canadian Census data, Chinese accounted for 15 percent of the population of Vancouver in 1996. The rapid increase in this community's size, economic power, and political influence have fuelled resentment among some segments of the larger society (Robson & Breems, 1985). It is possible that Chinese living near other Chinese interact with each other, and that bad behaviour on the part of the non-Chinese majority, reported in the Chinese media as well as at public gatherings, may be a frequent topic of conversation (see also Roberts 1988). Apparently, if a community becomes a prominent target of social opprobrium, the walls erected by ethnic enclosure may fail to protect individuals against racist encounters. Ethnic enclosure is more likely to be protective against experiences with racism when the community is relatively small and inconspicuous.

Faced with discrimination, the Southeast Asians in the RRP sample were more likely to cope through forbearance than through confrontation. Consistent with a cultural interpretation, the results reinforce the portrayal of Asians as moving ahead by working hard instead of using militant protests to obtain their rights (Kuo, 1995), and of Asian culture dictating that the maintenance of the collective through preservation of interpersonal relationships is a higher priority than individual self-assertion (Triandis, 1980).

Although culturally based proclivity may help explain the choice of emotion-focussed over problem-focussed coping, context and acculturation may also play significant roles. Social context affects the choice of emotion-focussed coping. Studies showing that forbearance is not unique to Asian minorities, but is also the preferred coping strategy of other visible minorities (Feagin, 1991; Henry, 1978), suggest that the use of emotion-focussed coping may be more a product of situation than cultural disposition. An encounter with discrimination often places a minority group member in a no-win situation. Combatting it by confrontation or by reporting and winning the case may result in being labelled a trouble-maker. Choosing combat and losing brings the risk of being perceived as morally and/or physically weak. Employers avoid both trouble makers and losers, a fact that may help explain the association between avoidance coping and good job history. The association found in the current study between passive avoidan ce and good job history is compatible with the idea that, regardless of what other effects forbearance may have on wellbeing, staying out of trouble is a good strategy for holding on to a job.

Education and the use of Canadian media were associated with a tendency to use problem-focussed coping. Perhaps, as people become more acculturated, that is, more "Canadian," they become both more invested in the idea that active confrontation is a "good" response to aggression and more comfortable about using it.

For countries such as Canada, in which national values dictate that no level of discrimination is tolerable, the fact that slightly more than one quarter of the Southeast Asians reported such experiences is morally discomforting. Perceptions of racially based discrimination also threaten social cohesion (Ignatieff, 1993). Reversion to tribalism is an admittedly extreme, but far from implausible, consequence of doubts about the nation state's ability to protect all its inhabitants. In this respect, the fact that 26 percent of a group of new citizens of Canada feel that they have been victims of racially based discrimination can be viewed as a threat to social cohesion. Furthermore, the suggestion that, the more they learn about their adopted society, the more likely ethnoracial minority groups are to perceive discrimination directed toward them because of their visible minority status, is profoundly unsettling. Racism is a social blight that inhibits the resettlement of Canada's new settlers, of whom much is e xpected. Its eradication is, thus, not only morally important, but pragmatic. However, since racism is unlikely to disappear in the foreseeable future, investigations of its effects upon the individual targets of discrimination, as well as contextual factors and personal coping strategies which modify these effects, should be an important part of the immigration and settlement research agenda.

[Graph omitted] Table 1 Forms of Perceived Discrimination: Exploratory Factor Anlysis (a) and Frequencies Factors and Items Factor Item Frequency Loading Frequency % Discriminated Subtle Discrimination (CVE (b) = 39.8%) Looked down upon .881 140 83.3 Unfair treatment .846 125 74.4 Rudeness .839 94 60.0 Resentment .835 84 50.0 Insulting remarks .548 67 39.9 Discrimination against Community (CVE (b) = 16.8%) Vandalism directed at ethnic community .689 18 10.7 Graffiti in public place .867 18 10.7 Racial graffiti in ethnic community .821 16 9.5 Overt Discrimination (CVE (b)= 9.7%) Threats .771 8 4.8 Racial graffiti on personal property .736 8 4.8 Physical abuse, rough handling .451 7 4.2 (a)Principal component analysis with varimax rotation. (b)Proportion of common variance explained by the factor. Table 2 Rates of Perceived Racial Discrimination by Demographic Characteristics Racial Discrimination Demographic Variable No Yes % Yes Female 0 = Male 266 105 28.3 1 = Female 212 63 22.9 Age at 0 = 25 or younger 218 77 26.1 immigration: 1 = Older than 25 261 91 28.3 Married: 0 = Not married 91 36 28.3 1 = Married 388 132 25.4 Ethnicity: 0 = Chinese 196 85 30.2 1 = Vietnamese 163 57 25.9 2 = Laotian 120 26 17.8 Years of 0 = 7 years or less 178 64 26.4 schooling 1 = 8 - 11 years 162 54 25.0 on arrival 2 = 12 years or more 136 50 26.9 Statistical Test Demographic Variable [X.sup.2] p Female 0 = Male 1 = Female 2.39 .122 Age at 0 = 25 or younger immigration: 1 = Older than 25 .01 .942 Married: 0 = Not married 1 = Married .47 .497 Ethnicity: 0 = Chinese 1 = Vietnamese 7.74 .020 2 = Laotian Years of 0 = 7 years of less schooling 1 = 8 - 11 years on arrival 2 = 12 years or more .21 .900 p = Probability of estimated statistic (chi-square, [X.sup.2]). Table 3 Rates of Racial Discrimination by Acculturation Variables Racial Discrimination Acculturation Variable No Yes % Yes Canadian 0 = None 448 144 24.3 education: 1 = Some 31 24 43.6 Employments (a) 0 = None 45 11 19.6 history: 1 = Some 93 36 27.9 2 = Always 341 121 26.2 English 0 = Poor (none) 34 13 27.7 ability 1 = Average (a little) 357 121 25.3 2 = Good (well) 84 34 28.8 Speak English 0 = No 94 47 33.3 outside home: 1 = Yes 365 110 23.2 Use Canadian 0 = Rarely 142 34 19.3 media: 1 = Sometimes 206 73 26.2 2 = Often 101 51 33.6 Statistical Test Acculturation Variable [X.sup.2] p Canadian 0 = None education: 1 = Some 9.76 .002 Employments (a) 0 = None history: 1 = Some 2 = Always 1.43 .489 English 0 = Poor (none) ability 1 = Average (a little) 2 = Good (well) .662 .718 Speak English 0 = No outside home: 1 = Yes 5.92 .015 Use Canadian 0 = Rarely media: 1 = Sometimes 8.59 .014 2 = Often (a)p = Probability of estimated statistic (chi-square, [X.sup.2]). (b)Employment history during the five years preceding the 1991 interviews. Table 4 Rates of Racial Discrimination by Ethnic Enclosure Variables Racial Discrimination Ethnic Enclosure Variable No Yes % Yes Like-ethnic 0 = None 103 42 29.0 members in 1 = One or two 221 61 21.6 neighborhood: 2 = More than two 150 63 29.6 Attend ethnic 0 = Often 126 53 29.6 gatherings: 1 = Seldom 257 90 25.9 2 = Never 72 21 22.6 Contact with ethnic 0 = Often 306 103 25.2 organizations: 1 = Seldom 106 39 26.9 2 = Never 67 26 28.0 Speak mother 0 = No 259 59 18.6 tongue at home: 1 = Yes 207 103 33.2 Statistical Test Ethnic Enclosure Variable [X.sup.2] p Like-ethnic 0 = None members in 1 = One or two neighborhood: 2 = More than two 4.88 .087 Attend ethnic 0 = Often gatherings: 1 = Seldom 2 = Never 1.67 .432 Contact with ethnic 0 = Often organizations: 1 = Seldom 2 = Never .38 .824 Speak mother 0 = No tongue at home: 1 = Yes 17.66 .000 p = Probability of estimated statistic (chi-square, [X.sup.2]). Table 5 Logistic Regression of Racial Discrimination on Socio-demographic, Acculturation, and Ethnic Enclosure Indicators Model 1 B (se) Exp(B) p-value Demographic Variables Female (vs. Male) .18 (.24) 1.20 .442 Age at immigration (*) -.001 (.01) .99 .897 Married (vs. Others) .38 (.30) 1.46 .199 Vietnamese (vs. Chinese) -.47 (.27) .63 .083 Laotian (vs. Chinese) -1.41 (.35) .24 .000 Level of education on arrival (*) -.05 (.04) .95 .197 Acculturation Variables Speak English outside home (vs. Not) .50 (.29) 1.65 .086 Canadian education (vs. No) 1.05 (.38) 2.86 .005 Employment history (*) .14 (.10) 1.15 .163 English ability (*) .07 (.27) 1.07 .800 Using Canadian media (*) .17 (.05) 1.19 .000 Ethnic Enclosure Variables Mother tongue at home (vs. Not) .96 (.23) 2.62 .000 Ethnic neighbours (*) .07 (.12) 1.08 .524 Ethnic gathering (*) -.04 (.14) .96 .775 Contact ethnic organizations (*) .13 (.15) 1.14 .380 Interaction Terms Vietnamese (*) ethnic neighbours Vietnamese (*) ethnic gathering Vietnamese (*) ethnic organizations Vietnamese (*) home mother tongue Laotian (*) ethnic neighbors Laotian (*) ethnic gathering Laotian (*) ethnic organizations Laotian (*) home mother tongue Constant -3.4 (1.2) .003 N 563 Model [chi square] (df) 61.4 (15) [R.sup.2.sub.L] .10 Model 2 B (se) Exp(B) Demographic Variables Female (vs. Male) .18 (.24) 1.19 Age at immigration (*) .002 (.01) 1.00 Married (vs. Others) .47 (.31) 1.60 Vietnamese (vs. Chinese) -.70 (.32) .50 Laotian (vs. Chinese) -1.26 (.38) .28 Level of education on arrival (*) -.06 (.04) .94 Acculturation Variables Speak English outside home (vs. Not) -.55 (.30) .57 Canadian education (vs. No) 1.16 (.40) 3.19 Employment history (*) .14 (.10) 1.16 English ability (*) .07 (.28) 1.07 Using Canadian media (*) .18 (.05) 1.19 Ethnic Enclosure Variables Mother tongue at home (vs. Not) .43 (.34) 1.54 Ethnic neighbours (*) .35 (.16) 1.42 Ethnic gathering (*) -.18 (.20) .84 Contact ethnic organizations (*) .15 (.30) 1.16 Interaction Terms Vietnamese (*) ethnic neighbours -.65 (.31) .52 Vietnamese (*) ethnic gathering .57 (.33) 1.78 Vietnamese (*) ethnic organizations .13 (.39) 1.14 Vietnamese (*) home mother tongue 1.22 (.54) 3.38 Laotian (*) ethnic neighbors -.62 (.28) .54 Laotian (*) ethnic gathering -.22 (.39) .80 Laotian (*) ethnic organizations -.03 (.39) .97 Laotian (*) home mother tongue .71 (.63) 2.04 Constant -3.03 (1.2) N 563 Model [chi square] (df) 79.2 (23) (**) [R.sup.2.sub.L] .13 Model 2 p-value Demographic Variables Female (vs. Male) .466 Age at immigration (*) .885 Married (vs. Others) .128 Vietnamese (vs. Chinese) .031 Laotian (vs. Chinese) .001 Level of education on arrival (*) .165 Acculturation Variables Speak English outside home (vs. Not) .065 Canadian education (vs. No) .003 Employment history (*) .153 English ability (*) .789 Using Canadian media (*) .000 Ethnic Enclosure Variables Mother tongue at home (vs. Not) .205 Ethnic neighbours (*) .028 Ethnic gathering (*) .384 Contact ethnic organizations (*) .622 Interaction Terms Vietnamese (*) ethnic neighbours .037 Vietnamese (*) ethnic gathering .082 Vietnamese (*) ethnic organizations .742 Vietnamese (*) home mother tongue .024 Laotian (*) ethnic neighbors .026 Laotian (*) ethnic gathering .584 Laotian (*) ethnic organizations .942 Laotian (*) home mother tongue .258 Constant .002 N Model [chi square] (df) [R.sup.2.sub.L] B = logistic regression coefficients; SE = standard errors; Exp(B) = odds ratio; P-values are based on two tailed tests; (*)=variable used as continuous; (**)=p<.001 Table 6 Coping with Perceived Discrimination: Exploratory Factor Anlysis (a) and Frequencies Factor Item Frequency Factors and Items Loading Frequency % Discriminated Avoidance coping (CVE (b) = 31.5%) Took it as a fact of life .758 131 77.9 Did not react .741 102 60.7 Did not return in kind .542 11 6.5 Confrontation (CVE (b) = 19.0%) Discussed with others .564 99 58.9 Verbal protest .790 63 37.5 Reasoned with the offender .842 53 31.5 Reported to authority .518 24 14.3 (a)Principal component analysis with varimax rotation. (b)Proportion of common variance explained by the factor. Table 7 Regression of Coping Responses to Perceived Discrimination Emotion-focussed Coping B (se) p-value Demographic Variables Female (vs. male) -.04 (.15) .798 Age at immigration (*) .01 (.01) .133 Married (vs. others) .25 (.17) .141 Vietnamese (vs. Chinese) .34 (.19) .194 Laotian (vs. Chinese) -.17 (.23) .440 Level of education on arrival (*) -.01 (.02) .616 Acculturation Variables Canadian education (vs. No) -.04 (.21) .841 Employment history (*) .17 (.06) .006 English ability (*) .04 (.27) .156 Speak English outside home (vs. Not) .01 (.20) .941 Using Canadian media -.05 (.03) .092 Ethnic Enclosure Variables Ethnic neighbors (*) -.12 (.07) .108 Ethnic gathering (*) -.11 (.09) .225 Contact ethnic organizations (*) -.09 (.09) .320 Mother tongue at home (vs. Not) -.10 (.16) .526 Constant 1.89 (.72) .009 N 149 Adjusted [R.sup.2] .135 Problem-focussed Coping B (se) p-value Demographic Variables Female (vs. male) -.14 (.24) .558 Age at immigration (*) -.002 (.01) .375 Married (vs. others) -.02 (.25) .843 Vietnamese (vs. Chinese) -.12 (.30) .694 Laotian (vs. Chinese) -.08 (.36) .830 Level of education on arrival (*) .07 (.04) .096 Acculturation Variables Canadian education (vs. No) -.21 (.13) .097 Employment history (*) -.08 (.09) .410 English ability (*) .23 (.25) .357 Speak English outside home (vs. Not) .03 (.30) .916 Using Canadian media .17 (.05) .001 Ethnic Enclosure Variables Ethnic neighbors (*) -.01 (.12) .926 Ethnic gathering (*) .10 (.15) .490 Contact ethnic organizations (*) -.001 (.14) .922 Mother tongue at home (vs. Not) .58 (.25) .023 Constant -.61 (1.17) .601 N 149 Adjusted [R.sup.2] .157 B = regression coefficients; SE - standard errors; P-values are based on two tailed tests; (*)- variable used as continuous

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 55th Annual Convention of the International Council of Psychologists - Psychologists Facing the Challenge of a Global Culture with Human Rights and Mental Health, Graz, Austria, July, 1997. Data for this study were collected for the Refugee Resettlement Project, supported by a grant from Health Canada, National Health Research Directorate Program (NHRDP) to Dr. Beiser and to Dr. Phyllis Johnson, and by a National Health Scientist Award from NHRDP to Dr. Beiser. We thank the project coordinator, Mr. Daniel Roshi, for his help in ensuring the project's success. Correspondence should be addressed to: Culture, Community, and Health Studies, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Clarke Division, 250 College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5T 1R8

NOTE

(1.) We adopted a two-stage estimation procedure proposed by Heckman (1979) to examine possible selection bias due to sample attrition. In stage one, a probit model was constructed to estimate the propensity to remain in the follow-up survey. The probit model considered gender, age at immigration, marital status, ethnicity, educational level, English ability, employment status, and use of Canadian media at Wave 1. These variables are important factors affecting SEA refugees' cultural, economic, and psychological adaptation (Beiser, 1999). The results of the probit models indicated that at Wave 2, only being married was significantly associated with lower probabilities of attrition. At Wave 3, younger age at immigration, being married, and higher levels of initial English proficiency were significantly associated with lower probabilities of attrition. In stage two, a correction factor, the hazard rate (the inverse Mill's ratio), was computed for each observation based on the probit estimates. The hazard rate w as then entered as an explanatory variable in multivariate models for selected outcome variables. The results indicated that the correction factor was not significant and had no substantial influence on the parameter estimates of other variables in the models.

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Morton Beiser is the David Crombie Professor of Cultural Pluralism and Health at the University of Toronto and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Dr. Beiser is also the Director of the Toronto Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement (CERIS). Publications include more than 150 publications for scientific journals, Strangers at the Gate: The "Boat People's" First Ten Years in Canada, the Task Force report, After the Door Has Been Opened, and a 12-part series examining immigration and settlement in Canada, Strangers Becoming Us, which was broadcast on public radio in Ontario and Alberta. Current research projects include a national study of the health and development of immigrant and refugee children, a study of mental health and health-care seeking among the Ethiopian and Tamil communities in Toronto, and an investigation of factors contributing to immigrant and refugee risk for contracting tuberculosis.

Feng Hou is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and an analyst with the Business and Labour Market Analysis Division, Statistics Canada. His research interests include socioeconomic and psychological adjustments of immigrants, residential patterns of visible minorities and low-income families, as well as statistical methods in social and bio-medical studies.

Violet Kasper is assistant professor with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, and research scientist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health-Clarke Site (Culture, Community and Health Studies). She is a developmental psychologist, and her research examines the health and development of immigrants and minorities.

Samuel Noh is Associate Professor at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Toronto and Senior Research Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. He also serves the Toronto Centre of Excellence of the Metropolis Project, Centre of Excellence for Research in Immigration and Settlement (CERIS) as the Leader of Health Domain Research. His current research examines ethnic and cultural variations in the stress and coping, settlement experiences and immigrant health, and racial and ethnic disparities in social stress and health.

Joanna (Anneke) Rummens is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Scientist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and Research Associate of the Joint Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement (CERIS) in Toronto. Dr. Rummens is a cultural anthropologist and sociologist whose areas of interest include: identity, race/ethnic/minority relations, cultural pluralism, immigration issues, medical anthropology and sociology, Third World development, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Balkans, and Canada. Her current research focuses on identity formation and negotiation among newcomer immigrant and refugee youth, as well as on the mental health and wellbeing of immigrant youth.