First-generation working-class Chinese immigrants in New Orleans
Description
Current academic research has not yet examined the experiences and struggles of the latest wave of Chinese immigrants in the 21st century. This exploratory study thus inquiries into the stressors encountered, the social buffer system utilized, and the subsequent health outcomes of first-generation working-class Chinese immigrants in New Orleans through the qualitative method of semi-constructed interviews. The results summarize nine common stressors, with financial stress being the most prevalent and exhausting. The findings also suggest that social support continues to serve as a protective buffer within the Chinese immigrant community, along with other cultural-specific coping methods. It is worth pointing out that forms of social support have adapted to technological development and expanded virtually to bring Chinese immigrants closer. Therefore, the adverse effects that result from the absence of an ethnic enclave (e.g., Chinatown) in New Orleans have become minimal. This preliminary research also indicates that despite the Chinese immigrants’ disproportionate exposure to stress, they continue to stand in good physical and mental health, and no negative coping behavior as found in prior literature is observed. Implications related to sample size and data measurement are examined at the end of the thesis, in addition to future research suggestions and policy proposals.