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Parental migration and the mental health of those who stay behind to care for children in South-East Asia

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  • Graham, Elspeth
  • Jordan, Lucy P.
  • Yeoh, Brenda S.A.

Abstract

The international migration of parents from the global south raises questions about the health impacts of family separation on those who stay behind. This paper uses data collected in 2008 and 2009 for a project on Child Health and Migrant Parents in South-East Asia (CHAMPSEA) to address a largely neglected research area by investigating the mental health of those who stay behind in Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam to care for the children of overseas migrants. A mixed-methods research design is employed to answer two questions. First, whether carers in transnational (migrant) households are more likely to suffer mental health problems than those in non-migrant households; and secondly, whether transnational family practices and characteristics of migration are associated with mental health outcomes for stay-behind carers. The Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) was completed by carers in selected communities (N = 3026) and used to identify likely cases of common mental disorders (CMD). Multivariate logistic regression and thematic analysis of qualitative interviews (N = 149) reveal a nuanced picture. All stay-behind carers in the Indonesian sample are more likely than carers in non-migrant households to suffer CMD. Across the three study countries, however, it is stay-behind mothers with husbands working overseas who are most likely to experience poor mental health. Moreover, infrequent contact with the migrant, not receiving remittances and migrant destinations in the Middle East are all positively associated with carer CMD, whereas greater educational attainment and greater wealth are protective factors. These findings add new evidence on the ‘costs’ of international labour migration and point to the role of gendered expectations and wider geopolitical structures. Governments and international policy makers need to intervene to encourage transnational family practices that are less detrimental to the mental health of those who stay behind to care for the next generation.

Suggested Citation

  • Graham, Elspeth & Jordan, Lucy P. & Yeoh, Brenda S.A., 2015. "Parental migration and the mental health of those who stay behind to care for children in South-East Asia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 225-235.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:132:y:2015:i:c:p:225-235
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.10.060
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. De Silva, Mary J. & Huttly, Sharon R. & Harpham, Trudy & Kenward, Michael G., 2007. "Social capital and mental health: A comparative analysis of four low income countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 5-20, January.
    2. Lu, Yao, 2012. "Household migration, social support, and psychosocial health: The perspective from migrant-sending areas," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 135-142.
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    2. Fu, Yao & Jordan, Lucy P. & Zhou, Xiaochen & Chow, Cheng & Fang, Lue, 2023. "Longitudinal associations between parental migration and children's psychological well-being in Southeast Asia: The roles of caregivers' mental health and caregiving quality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
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    6. Artjoms Ivlevs & Milena Nikolova & Carol Graham, 2019. "Emigration, remittances, and the subjective well-being of those staying behind," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(1), pages 113-151, January.
    7. Kathleen Ford & Aree Jampaklay & Aphichat Chamratrithirong, 2019. "Long-term civil conflict, migration, and the mental health of adults left behind in Thailand: a longitudinal study," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 64(8), pages 1193-1201, November.
    8. Arokkiaraj Heller & Archana Kaushik, 2020. "The Consequences of Husband’s International Migration on Family Left-Behind in Tamil Nadu, India," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 1149-1163, December.
    9. Nirmal Aryal & Pramod R. Regmi & Edwin van Teijlingen & Steven Trenoweth & Pratik Adhikary & Padam Simkhada, 2020. "The Impact of Spousal Migration on the Mental Health of Nepali Women: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-10, February.
    10. Ivlevs, Artjoms & King, Roswitha M., 2019. "To Europe or Not to Europe? Migration and Public Support for Joining the European Union in the Western Balkans," IZA Discussion Papers 12254, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    12. Wang, Daoyang & Wang, Haibin & Wang, Cuicui, 2021. "Substance use and subjective health in Chinese Left-behind adolescents in rural areas: The moderating role of cognitive reappraisal," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).

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