Symptoms of depression among Caribbean women and Caribbean-Canadian women - An investigation of self-silencing and domains of meaning

This study compared an immigrant sample of Caribbean-Canadian women (n = 20 ) and a sample of women living in the Caribbean (n = 20) on the following v ariables: dominant domain of meaning (defined as that aspect of the partici pant's life from which she derives primary meaning for her sense of self); self-silencing (defined as the tendency to silence one's thoughts and feeli ngs; Jack, 1991); and symptoms of depression. Results revealed that the Car ibbean women were more likely to report relational domains of meaning as pr imary (e.g., family, friendships, intimate relationships), while the Caribb ean-Canadian women were more likely to report domains of self-nurturance as primary (e.g., career goals, spirituality). Furthermore, univariate analys is revealed that the Caribbean-Canadian women reported higher levels of sel f-silencing and depressive symptoms, and derived less meaningfulness from t heir primary domains of meaning compared to the Caribbean women. These find ings suggest that the immigrant experience may be a factor in women's emoti onal well-being.