Official Language Minority Communities in Canada: Is Linguistic Minority Status a Determinant of Mental Health?

The authors note that language has been identified as a determinant of mental health. Within Canada, individuals may speak an official language and still belong within the linguistic minority (Francophones outside Quebec and Anglophones within Quebec). The objectives of their study were to compare mental health problems between minority and majority official language communities and examine the association between official language minority and mental health problems. Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey [Cycle 1.2] were used to make two comparisons: Francophones to Anglophones within Quebec, and Francophones to Anglophones outside Quebec. The authors found that mental health between minority and majority language groups was similar. Official language minority status was not a significant determinant of mental health. Self-rated mental health indices varied between groups. In some cases, minority language groups reported lower levels of life satisfaction (minority Anglophones versus majority Francophones), while in other cases more majority Anglophones reported poor life satisfaction and mental health (majority Anglophones versus minority Francophones). The authors concluded that overall, few differences were found between language groups, though variations in self-rated mental health indices were observed. To better understand the role of context in determining health outcomes, the authors suggest that future research should examine mental health problems among official language minority groups provincially to help stakeholders in directing resources and programs to populations in most need.

Canadian Journal of Public Health / Revue canadienne de santé publique

Vol. 104

no. 6 (Supplement 1)

5-11

2013

en