Unquiet Minds: Agency, inclusivity, and mental health in Bangladeshi-Canadian youth

This article problematizes the worsening mental health among Muslim Bangladeshi-Canadian youth In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Scholars argue that tension or conflicts between inclusivity, sexual identity and religion negatively impact the psychological and emotional well-being of youth, resulting in social disconnection and marginalization. With an aim to inform the development of targeted interventions to support the mental well-being of this vulnerable population, this qualitative, community-driven, and youth-led research project collaborated with a community-based partner. Employing participatory visual methodology, in particular, Photovoice and cellphilming, we investigated how male, female, and gender-diverse Bangladeshi-Canadian youth in the GTA navigate - inclusivity and experiences of mental well-being to answer the following sub-questions:

1. What components of inclusion are most important to Bangladeshi-Canadian youth?
2. How does inclusion influence Bangladeshi-Canadian youths’ mental well-being?
3. How does Bangladeshi-Canadian youths’ mental well-being influence their inclusion? and,
4. How does the relationship between inclusion and experiences of mental well-being in a diasporic context settings differ among Bangladeshi-Canadian youth of a range of gender identities?

We achieved these objectives by investigating parental expectations of and relations with their youth-aged children. The initial findings facilitated understanding the underlying structural, cultural and familial contributors to worsening youth mental health, focusing on culturally specific expectations and pressures, as well as awareness of the rights and aspirations of youth in a diasporic context in areas affected by migration.