| dc.description.abstract | In the context that family immigration has been the main reason why women have moved to Norway; this study describes the motivations, experience and expectations of Brazilian immigrant women in Norway, seeks to understand how they make sense of the migration experience and the factors that influence it. This study is based on narratives collected from semistructured interviews. Five predominant themes are presented through narrative analysis: moving for love and "for a change", marriage, the stigma of marriage migrants, marriage expectations and reality, and the pursuit for independency: Norwegian language, money, education and career. In addition, the study analyzes the women’s accounts through the lens of acculturation theory. Based on the women’s narratives, this study concludes that the women who had access to the integration apparatus offered by the Norwegian immigration system experienced a more positive social and psychological adaptation than those who did not have access. Moreover, as other studies have indicated, the cause of the psychological distress of this study’s participants are in line with those causes experienced by other immigrants in Norway. Furthermore, using narrative psychology and narrative theories, this study concluded that the meanings the women assign to the events in their immigration experience are constantly challenged and redefined during the immigration process. In this regard, the genderizing of the women’s accounts stands out. | nb_NO |
