Does Family Matter? The Influence of Family Type and Living Arrangements on Recent Immigrants' Satisfaction with Life in Canada

Claudia Masferrer, McGill University

Family is central to many aspects of the migration experience. Immigrants are more likely to live in extended households compared to their native counterparts, especially short after arrival. Just as family can be an important source of support, it can be a source of stress. This paper explores the influence of family type and living arrangements on satisfaction with life in Canada among recent immigrants. Using the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada, I estimate cross-sectional logistic regression models of satisfaction to study the role of living arrangements six months and four years after arrival. Next, using fixed-effects logistic regression models I estimate the influence of family type on changes in satisfaction over time. Preliminary results of cross-sectional analyses indicate a positive effect of living in non-nuclear households. However, household living arrangements do not seem to be significantly associated to changes in satisfaction, once we control for time-constant characteristics.