PERSPECTIVES IN ADAPTIVE COPING: THE RETRAINING EXPERIENCES OF IMMIGRANT PROFESSIONALS IN CANADA

This study examined the retraining experiences of immigrant professionalâ s in Canada. Using a qualitative research methodology, specifically a constructivist grounded theory approach, the individual narratives of 20 highly educated and professionally seasoned immigrant professionals were explored. In an effort to optimize life-career success, all of the participants completed formal retraining in Canada. Therefore, the results of this study are especially relevant to the broader context of immigrant professionals retraining experiences in Canada. The majority of immigration literature to date has focused on the challenges and barriers of life-career transition. This study aimed to expand present literature through the empirical investigation of the positive side of immigration. Namely, the personal, subjective accounts of the psychological, behavioural, and contextual ingredients of successful life-career transition were explored. To do so, a semi-structured interview format was employed to elicit from participants the individual and contextual processes that facilitated adaptive coping in response to the well-documented challenges and barriers of transition. The results of this study revealed that life-career outcome, within the broader retraining context, is largely mediated by several individual and contextual factors of influence. The research proposes the adaptive coping model of immigrant life-career transition. The model highlights that life-career outcomes involve dynamic and reciprocal interactions between the individually based constructs of agency and resilience, and psychological and action-oriented coping behaviours with several contextually driven supports and resources. The theoretical and practical implications, and the limitations of the study are discussed, and recommendations for future research are proposed.Ph.D