Dynamics of social support: A longitudinal qualitative study on mainland Chinese immigrant women's first year of resettlement in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study challenged the current conceptualization of social support as a static process and attempted to explore how the sources and types of social support unfolded over time during mainland Chinese immigrant women's first year of resettlement in Hong Kong. A longitudinal qualitative method was used and 15 immigrant women were recruited. In-depth interviews using a semi-structured interview guide were conducted at three-monthly intervals. Results supported our view on the "stages within stage" assumption of the resettlement period of the migration-integration process. In the first quarter of resettlement, immigrant women mobilized a great deal of instrumental and information support from family members and kin to resolve survival issues such as finances, housing and childcare. However, the demand for instrumental support declined over time, and the need for emotional support appeared to peak at the second stage of the resettlement period. Fellow immigrant women were found to be the most significant provid ers of information, emotional and social companionship support to immigrant women throughout the resettlement period while the supporting roles of husbands and kin diminished. Lastly, immigrant women were less inclined to seek help from formal networks and rarely sought support from neighbors and co-workers. Socio-economic and cultural reasons were used to explain these differential support patterns during immigrants' first year of resettlement in Hong Kong, and implications for social work practices were discussed. © 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.