Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Perceptions of Autonomy and Life Satisfaction in Pakistani Married Immigrant Women in Toronto, Canada

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Sex Roles Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Immigration can have powerful effects on gender roles and family relationships. In the present study, 102 Pakistani married immigrant women in Canada completed questionnaires on recalled pre-migration, and perceptions of current post-migration, personal autonomy in their family; life satisfaction; living arrangements (i.e., whether with in-laws) in both countries; income and employment in Canada; and their expectations of, and willingness to, immigrate. The women reported significantly higher personal autonomy and life satisfaction while living in Canada relative to Pakistan. Linear regression analyses indicated that living with in-laws was associated with lower life satisfaction in Pakistan but this was fully mediated by autonomy. More autonomy was also related to higher life satisfaction in Canada, but not to living arrangements or any other measured variable. The results suggest that, for these women, immigration was associated with more personal autonomy and life satisfaction, but determinants of women’s autonomy differed in Pakistan and Canada.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abouguendia, M., & Noels, K. A. (2001). General and acculturation-related daily hassles and psychological adjustment in first- and second generation South Asian immigrants to Canada. International Journal of Psychology, 36, 163–173. doi:10.1080/741930008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acharya, D. R., Bell, J., Simkhada, P., Teijlingen, E., & Regmi, P. (2010). Women’s autonomy in household decision-making: A demographic study in Nepal. Reproductive Health, 7, 15–27. doi:10.1186/1742-4755-7-15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ali, S. M., & Haq, R. (2006). Women’s autonomy and happiness: The case of Pakistan. Pakistan Development Review, 45(1), 121–136. Retrieved from http://www.pide.org.pk/pdf/PDR/2006/Volume1/121-136.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bari, S. (2009).Ominous silence on status of women in Pakistan. Retrieved from http://southasia.oneworld.net/opinioncomment/ominous-silence-on-status-of-women-in-pakistan.

  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1173–1182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Basu, A. M. (1992). Culture, the status of women, and demographic behaviour: Illustrated with the case of India. Oxford: Clarendon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, R. (2004). Immigrant women tell their stories. Binghamton: Haworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, S., Wypij, S., & Das Gupta, M. (2001). Dimensions of women’s autonomy and the influence on maternal health care utilization in a North Indian City. Demography, 38, 67–78. doi:10.1353/dem.2001.0001.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, M., & Grieco, G. (2003). Women and migration: Incorporating gender into international migration theory. Migration Policy Institute, 106. Retrieved from http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=106.

  • Brislin, R. W. (1980). Translation and content analysis of oral and written materials. In H. Triandis & J. W. Berry (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology (pp. 389–444). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canary, H. E. (2008). Creating supportive connections: A decade of research on support for families of children with disabilities. Health Communication, 23, 413–426. doi:10.1080/10410230802342085.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chun, J. S., & Lee, J. (2006). Intergenerational solidarity in Korean immigrant families. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 4, 6–21. doi:10.1300/J194v04n02_02.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Citizenship and Immigration Canada. (2003). Immigrant occupations: Recent trends and issue. Retrieved from http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/research/papers/occupations/occupations-a.html.

  • Darvishpour, M. (2002). Immigrant women challenge the role of men: How the changing power relationship within Iranian families in Sweden intensifies family conflicts after immigration. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 33, 271–301. Retrieved from http://soci.ucalgary.ca/jcfs/.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dasgupta, S. D. (1998). Gender roles and cultural continuity in the Asian Indian immigrant community in the United States. Sex Roles, 38, 953–973. doi:10.1023/A:1018822525427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delhey, J. (2010). From materialist to post-materialist happiness? National affluence and determinants of life satisfaction in cross-national perspective. Social Indicators Research, 97, 65–84. doi:10.1007/s11205-009-9558-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dhruvaranjan, V. (1988). Religious ideology and interpersonal relationships within the family. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 19, 274–285. Retrieved from http://soci.ucalgary.ca/jcfs/.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diers, J. A., & Sathar, Z. A. (2003). Adolescent marriage in Pakistan: Process, timing and consequences for girls. Retrieved from http://paa2003.princeton.edu/abstractViewer.asp?submissionId=62844.

  • Dion, K. K., & Dion, K. L. (1993). Individualistic and collectivistic perspectives on gender and the cultural context of love and intimacy. Journal of Social Issues, 49, 53–69. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb01168.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dumont, J., Spielvogel, G., & Widmaier, S. (2010). International migrants in developed, emerging and developing countries: An extended profile. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers (no.113). Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/els/workingpapers.

  • Dyson, T., & Moore, M. (1983). On kinship structure, female autonomy, and demographic behavior in India. Population and Development Review, 9, 35–60. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/i307502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elson, D., & Keklik, H. (2002). Progress of the world’s women 2002: Gender equality and the millennium development goals. New York: The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

    Google Scholar 

  • Espiritu, Y. L. (1997). Asian American women and men: Labor, laws and love. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Espiritu, Y. L. (1999). Gender and labor in Asian immigrant families. American Behavioral Scientist, 42, 628–647. doi:10.1177/00027649921954372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Federal Bureau of Statistics (2010). 2008–2009 Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement Survey. Islamabad, Pakistan: Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. Retrieved from http://www.statpak.gov.pk/fbs/content/pakistan-social-and-living-standards-measurement-survey-pslm-2008-09-provincial-district.

  • Foner, N. (1986). Sex roles and sensibilities: Jamaican women in New York and London. In R. Simon & R. Brittell (Eds.), International migration: The female experience (pp. 133–151). Totowa: Rowmen & Allenheld.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foner, N. (1998). Benefits and burden: Immigrant women and work in New York. Gender Issues, 16, 5–24. doi:10.1007/s12147-998-0008-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galarneau, D., & Morissette, R. (2004). Immigrants settling for less. Perspectives, Autumn, 7–18. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-001-x/10604/6921-eng.htm.

  • Gaymu, J., & Springer, S. (2010). Living conditions and life satisfaction of older Europeans living alone: A gender and cross-country analysis. Ageing & Society, 30, 1153–1175. doi:10.1017/SO144686X10000231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbertson, G. (2009). Care giving across generations: Aging, state assistance, and multigenerational ties among immigrants from the Dominican Republic. In N. Foner (Ed.), Across generations: Immigrant families in America (pp. 135–159). NY: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldring, L., Berinstein, C., & Bernhard, J. (2007). Institutionalizing precarious immigration status in Canada (no. 61). CERIS Working Paper Series.

  • Grasmuck, S., & Pessar, P. (1991). Between two islands: Dominican international migration. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gu, C. (2009). Situational patriarchy: Gender relations among Taiwanese immigrants. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Hilton San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

  • Hamid, S., Johanson, E., & Rubenson, B. (2011). Security lies in obedience - voices of young women of a slum in Pakistan. BMC Public Health, 10(164). doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-164.

  • Hochschild, A. (1989). The second shift: Working sarents and the revolution at home. London: Piatkus Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hondagneu-Sotelo, P. (1994a). Gendered transitions: Mexican experiences of immigration. Los Angles: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hondagneu-Sotelo, P. (1994b). Regulating the unregulated? Domestic workers’ social networks. Social Problems, 41, 50–64. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3096841.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hyman, I. (2002). Immigrant and visible minority women. In D. E. Stewart, A. Cheung, L. Ferris, I. Hyman, M. Cohen, & I. J. Williams (Eds.), Ontario women’s health status report (pp. 338–362). Toronto: Ontario Women’s Health Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jayakar, K. (1994). Women of the Indian subcontinent. In L. Comasdiaz & B. Greene (Eds.), Women of the color (pp. 161–181). NY: Guildford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jejeebhoy, S. J. (1996). Women’s autonomy and reproductive behavior in India: Linkages and influence of socio cultural context. Paper presented for the Seminar on Comparative Perspectives on Fertility Transition in South Asia: Islamabad, Pakistan.

  • Jejeebhoy, S. J., & Sathar, Z. (2001). Women’s autonomy in India and Pakistan: The influence of religion and region. Population and Development Review, 27, 687–712. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2695183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jibeen, T., & Khalid, R. (2010). Development and preliminary validation of multidimensional acculturative stress scale for Pakistani immigrants in Toronto, Canada. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 34, 233–243. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2009.09.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T. (2006, March). Changing Gender Roles: West Indian migration to the United States and Canada. Paper presented at History, Gender and Migration Conference held at Paris, France. Retrieved from http://barthes.enssib.fr/clio/dos/genre/com/jonesta.pdf.

  • Kabeer, N. (2001). Resources, agency, achievements: Reflections on the measurement of women’s empowerment. Discussing women's empowerment: Theory and practice. Swedish International Development Agency, 17–54. Retrieved from http://www.sida.se/shared/jsp/download.jsp?f=SidaStudies+NO3.pdf&a=2080.

  • Karasz, A. (2005). Marriage, depression and illness: Socioeconomic models in a South Asian immigrant community. Psychology & Developing Societies, 17, 161–180. doi:10.1177/097133360501700205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kibria, N. (1993). Family tightrope: The changing lives of Vietnamese Americans. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kosic, A. (2004). Acculturation strategies, coping process and acculturative stress. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 45, 269–278. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9450.2004.00405.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lamphere, L. (1987). From working daughters to working mothers: Migrant women in a New England community. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liang, H. (1998). Fighting for a new life: Social and patriotic activism of Chinese American women in New York City, 1900 to 1945. Journal of American Ethnic History, 17, 22–38. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27502268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Llacer, A., Zunzunegui, M., Amo, J., & Bolumar, F. (2007). The contribution of a gender perspective to the understanding of migrants’ health. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 61, 4–10. doi:10.1136/jech.2007.061770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maciel, J. A., Putten, V. Z., & Knudson-Martin, C. (2009). Gendered power in cultural contexts: Part I. Immigrant couples. Family Process, 48, 9–23. doi:10.1111/j.15455300.2009.01264.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magna, C. G., & Hovey, J. D. (2003). Psychosocial stressors associated with Mexican migrant farm workers in the Midwest United States. Journal of Immigrant Health, 5, 75–86. doi:10.1023/A:1022955825650.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahoney, A. R., & Knudson-Martin, C. (2009). The social context of gendered power. In C. Knudson-Martin & A. R. Mahoney (Eds.), Couples, gender and power: Creating change in intimate relationships (pp. 17–30). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, S. (2007, June). Transatlantic perspectives on migration: Women, migration and development (policy brief #1). Institute for the Study of International Migration, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.

  • Mason, K. O. (1984). The status of women: A review of its relationship to fertility and mortality. New York: Rockefeller Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, K. O. (1986). The status of women: Conceptual and methodological issues in demographic studies. Sociological Forum, 1, 284–300. doi:10.1007/BF01115740.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, K. O. (1997). How family position influences married women’s autonomy and power in five Asian countries: Women and families. In M. E. Cosio-Zavala (Ed.), Evolution of the status of women as factor and consequence of changes in family dynamics (pp. 353–370). Paris: CICRED.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meadows, L. M., Thurston, W. E., & Melton, C. (2001). Immigrant women’s health. Social Science and Medicine, 52, 1451–1458. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00251-3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Menjivar, C. (1999). The intersection of work and gender: Central American immigrant women and employment in California. American Behavioral Scientist, 42, 601–627. doi:10.1177/00027649921954381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moghadam, V. M. (1993). Patriarchy and the Politics of gender in modernizing societies: Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, 13, 122–1333. doi:07323867-1/07323867-13-1_and_2-122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naidoo, J. (2003). South Asian Canadian women: A contemporary portrait. Psychology & Developing Societies, 15, 51–67. doi:10.1177/097133360301500104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naz, R. (2001). Report on the state of women in urban local government: Pakistan United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP). Retrieved from http://www.unescap.org/huset/women/reports/pakistan.pdf.

  • Oyserman, D., Coon, H. M., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 3–72. doi:10.1037//0033-2909.128.1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pessar, P. (1999). The role of gender, households, and social networks in the migration process: A review and appraisal. In J. DeWind, C. Hirschman, & P. Kasinitz (Eds.), The handbook of international migration: The American experience (pp. 53–70). New York: Russell Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pessar, P. (2003). Engendering migration studies: The case of new migrants in the United States. In P. Hondagneu-Sotelo (Ed.), Gender and U.S. immigration: Contemporary trends (pp. 20–42). Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Remennick, L. (2004). Providers, caregivers, and sluts: Women with a Russian accent in Israel. Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies & Gender Issues, 8, 87–114. doi:10.1353/nsh.2004.0077.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rolls, C., & Chamberlain, M. (2004). From east to west: Nepalese women’s experiences. International Nursing Review, 51, 176–184. doi:10.1111/j.1466-7657.2004.00236.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sathar, Z. A., & Kazi, S. (2000). Women’s autonomy in the context of rural Pakistan. The Pakistan Development Review, 39, 89–110. Retrieved from http://www.pide.org.pk/pdf/PDR/2000/Volume2/89-110.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sathar, Z., & Kazi. S. (1996, May). Women’s autonomy and the onset of fertility change in rural Pakistan: The significance of gender inequality across communities. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, New Orleans, LA.

  • Sathar, Z. A., Haque, M., Faizunnissa, A., Sultana, M., Lylod, C., & Diers, J. (2001–2002). Adolescent and youth in Pakistan: A nationally representative survey. Retrieved from http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/ayp0102.pdf.

  • Sigal, J., & Nally, M. (2004). Cultural perspectives on gender. In M. Paludi (Ed.), The Praeger guide to the psychology of gender (pp. 27–40). Westport: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, R. (1992). Sociology and immigrant women. In D. Gabaccia (Ed.), Seeking common ground (pp. 159–184). Westport: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, J. A., Campbell, B., & Berscheid, E. (1986). The association between romantic love and marriage. Personality and Social Personality Bulletin, 12, 363–372. doi:10.1177/0146167286123011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talbot, I. (1998). Pakistan, a modern history. New York: St. Martin’s.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teelucksingh, C., & Galabuzi, G. E. (2005). Working Precariously: The impact of race and immigrants status on employment opportunities and outcomes in Canada. Toronto: Centre for Social Justice and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, D. (2001). Evolving family living arrangements of Canada’s immigrants. Canadian Social Trends, 61, 16–22. Ottawa, Canada: Statistics Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thurston, W. E., & Vissandjee, B. (2005). An ecological model for understanding culture as adeterminant of women’s health. Critical Public Health, 15, 229–242. doi:10.1080/09581590500372121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UN Population Division. (2005). Trends in total migrant stock: The 2005 revision. New York: UN Population Division.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2006). 2004 World survey on the role of women in development: Women and international migration. New York. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/public/WorldSurvey2004-Women&Migration.pdf

  • Van de Vijver, F., & Leung, K. (1997). Methods and data analysis for cross-cultural research. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Varghese, A., & Jenkins, S. R. (2009). Parental over protection, culture values conflict, and psychological adaptation among Asian Indian women in America. Sex Roles, 61, 235–251. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9620-x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vega, W. A. (1990). Hispanic families in the 1980s: A decade of research. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 1015–1024. doi:10.2307/353316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wenden, C. W. (2003). Young Muslim women in France: Cultural and psychological adjustments. Political Psychology, 19, 133–146. doi:10.1111/0162-895X.00096.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yodanis, C. (2005). Divorce culture and marital gender equality. Gender & Society, 19, 644–659. doi:10.1177/0891243205278166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zentgraf, K. M. (2002). Immigration and women’s empowerment. Gender & Society, 16, 625–646. doi:10.1177/089124302236989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, M. (2009). Conflict, coping, and reconciliation: Intergenerational relations in Chinese immigrant families. In N. Foner (Ed.), Across generations: Immigrant families in America (pp. 21–46). NY: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zietsma, D. (2010). Immigrants working in regulated occupations. Perspectives on Labor and Income, 22, 51–59. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-001-x/2010102/pdf/11121-eng.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Dr. Irene Frieze and three anonymous reviewers for their very helpful feedback on earlier drafts of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore, Pakistan

    Tahira Jibeen

  2. York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Michaela Hynie

Authors
  1. Tahira Jibeen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michaela Hynie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tahira Jibeen.

Appendix

Appendix

Instructions

Please read each statement carefully and indicate the answer that best represents your current situation. Remember that your identity will be anonymous as your name is not on this questionnaire.

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

figure afigure a

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jibeen, T., Hynie, M. Perceptions of Autonomy and Life Satisfaction in Pakistani Married Immigrant Women in Toronto, Canada. Sex Roles 67, 1–16 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-012-0130-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-012-0130-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation