An age and gender stratified interview on emotional experiences and coping of Chinese migrants in Canada amidst the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on psychological wellbeing. The current study aims to identify common emotional experiences and coping strategies among Chinese migrants in Canada based on a semi-structured interview with a purposive sample of 20 young (aged 21-34), 21 middle-aged (aged 42-57), and 20 older adults (aged 65-85). Each age group was approximately split in half by gender. The qualitative analysis of the data identified some common positive (e.g., self-oriented, other-oriented and situational) and negative emotional experiences (e.g., sadness, loneliness, fear, and anger) towards the pandemic. Coping strategies were categorized into three themes: behavioural (e.g., exercise, relaxation), social (e.g., social support), and cognitive (e.g., reappraisal). The supplementary quantitative analysis showed that women reported more negative than positive experiences, while older adults (women particularly) endorsed differentially more behavioural coping. This suggests that women are likely to be emotionally vulnerable and aging is likely to be associated with more adaptive coping among this population in the context of the pandemic.