Immigration, Visible-Minority Status, Gender, and Depression

This study examines if the association between length of residence and mental health—as measured by depression—of immigrants post-arrival in the host country is altered by visible-minority status and gender among a sample of immigrants to Toronto, Canada, as compared to the native-born. The analytic sample excluded refugees. Of the 1,911 adults included, 23 percent were foreign-born. Adjusted multivariate results indicate a significant and positive association between depression and length of residence in the host country—but only among visible-minority immigrant men as compared to Canadian-born men. The positive association between depression and length of residence among visible-minority immigrant men is found to be due to a parallel rise in perceived discrimination and the experience of anger with tenure in the host country.