A LITERATURE REVIEW ON LEFT-BEHIND CHILDREN: 10.24250/jpe/1/2021/AC (original) (raw)
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Psychological Impacts of Maternal Migration on Left-behind Children: A Cross-cultural Review
Frontiers in Psychology, 2025
In the pursuit of a brighter future for their children, many female migrant workers leave their home countries to seek employment abroad, often as caregivers for families in wealthier nations. This decision necessitates prolonged separation from their own children, depriving them of the opportunity to witness and participate in crucial stages of their children's development. The absence of these mothers, combined with inconsistent caregiving in their stead, significantly increases the vulnerability of left-behind children to mental health challenges, such as depression, anxiety, and difficulties in forming emotional bonds with others. Moreover, even after the migrant mother's eventual return, the disruptions in attachment often result in long-term consequences, including strained and distant relationships with their children. This article explores the complex impact of maternal migration on the mental well-being of left-behind children across various cultural contexts. It highlights key findings, such as the role of communal caregiving practices in mitigating adverse effects in some societies, while noting that these practices are not a complete solution. The study underscores the need for culturally sensitive mental health interventions and policy measures to support the well-being of children affected by maternal migration globally.
Impacts of Parental Migration on Children Left Behind
Cognition
Globally, migration has been a common phenomenon. Migration has impacts on global, regional, national, local and household’s level. Migration has both positive and negative effectives, and it depends upon government policies, culture of community and household’s behavior. This article aims to describe the impacts of parental migration on children left behind and it is based on secondary sources of information. Remittances has contributed to improve education and health status of children left behind but at the same time loneliness, and physiological problems are being common negative impacts to children left behind of migrant family. Both positive and negative impacts to children left behind are briefly discussed based on available literature.
The Impact of Parental Migration on the Mental Health of Children Left Behind
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2013
This study aims to examine the impact of parental international migration on the mental health of children left behind. Data for this paper were taken from the ''Child Health and Migrant Parents in South-East Asia, Thailand, 2008'' project. A total of 1,030 children (519 from emigrant parents and 511 from non-migrant parents) were covered. Data were collected from the caregivers of children using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Multivariate analyses were performed to determine the association between parental migration and the mental health status of children left behind. Several factors were significantly associated with children's mental health. Our study did not find any association between current parental migration status and mental health status of the children left behind. The study found, however, that mother's earlier migration history had a significant, independent association with mental health problems of the children left behind. Therefore, effective strategies to prevent such mental health problems among children are warranted.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
Labour migration is a challenge for the globalised world due to its long-term effects such as the formation of transnational families. These families, where family members of migrant workers are “left-behind”, are becoming a common phenomenon in many low- and middle-income countries. Our systematic literature review investigated the effects of international parental labour migration on the mental health and well-being of left-behind children. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we performed searches in PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar, resulting in 30 finally included studies. We found that mental health and well-being outcomes of left-behind children differed across and sometimes even within regions. However, only studies conducted in the Americas and South Asia observed purely negative effects. Overall, left-behind children show abnormal Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scores and report higher levels of depression and loneliness than chi...
2022
The migration of parents is believed to be for the sake of children and families left behind. However, its impact on children left behind has been overlooked in Southern Wollo, Ethioipia. The impact of parental migration on the education and behavioral outcomes of children left behind has to be investigated in the migration-prone area. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of the migration of parent(s) on the education and behavioral outcomes of children left behind. A total of 622 children of migrating parents and children living with both parents were selected for this study. Data were gathered by using a strength and difficulty questionnaire (SDQ) from children of non-migrating parents and children whose either one or both parents migrated abroad in two weredas of southern Wollo, Ethiopia through the use of a stratified sampling method. Morover18 teachers were selected for an interview and focus group discussion to explore their perception of the influence of migration on the education and literacy of children. The results found that the mean score of LBC with parental migration was 15.86 (SD= 3.18) as compared to children living with intact families with a mean score of 12.06 (SD=3.20). The results of the study demonstrated that a significant mean difference was found between children of migrating parents and children living with both parents (F(1,620)= 219.25, p<.01). Interview and FGD results also demonstrated that children experienced isolation, longing, sadness, and lack of motivation in schooling following their parents’ migration. To mitigate the problem families, government, and non-government organizations that have a stake in children well-being and education that can be affected by migration should discharge their responsibilities accordingly. It is necessary to look at the hidden costs of parental migration on children left behind.
Impacts of international labor migration on the mental health and well-being of left-behind children
European Journal of Public Health, 2020
Background Labor migration is a challenge for the globalised world due to its long-term effects such as the formation of transnational families with the particularly vulnerable groups of left-behind children (LBC). These families, where family members of migrant workers are 'left-behind' are becoming common practice in many developing countries. In this systematic literature review, we aimed to investigate the impacts of parental labor migration on the mental health and well-being of their LBC. Methods Following the PRISMA guidelines, we performed a systematic literature search in English using PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar for studies, investigating mental health and well-being among LBC who live in transnational families. Case-reports, qualitative studies as well as opinion papers were excluded. We summarized the evidence and additionally compared quantitative results. Results 25 studies were selected for the final analysis. We foun...
School problems among left-behind children of labor migrant parents: a study in Vietnam
Health Psychology Report, 2022
health psychology report • original article background Many studies have shown the effects of parental migration on the psychological and daily life of left-behind children (LBC) of labor migrant parents, but the results on schoolrelated problems of LBC remain inconsistent. Additionally, there is a dearth of research on the factors affecting school problems among LBC, especially in the socio-cultural context of Vietnam. The purpose of this study was to confirm the school problems encountered by LBC in comparison with non-left-behind children (non-LBC). The study also aimed to examine variables of bonding of caregivers with children and resilience of children affecting school problems of LBC. participants and procedure The convenient sampling approach was used in the study. The study sample included 792 Vietnamese school students (M age = 12.65, SD = 1.60), with 439 children of labor migrant parents and a control group of 353 children of non-migrant parents. The School Problem Questionnaire, Parental Bonding Instrument and the Resilience Scale were employed in this study. results There was no difference in school problems between the LBC and non-LBC groups. Resilience by goal planning (RGP), resilience by affect control (RAC), and resilience by family support (RFS) were identified as protective variables for children to overcome difficulties encountered in schools, with regression coefficients of-.21,-.33 and-.20, respectively. Meanwhile, bonding of caregivers with children by control (BCCo), and resilience by positive thinking (RPT) were found to be factors that increase school problems among LBC with the same regression coefficient of .12. conclusions Activities to support LBC should pay attention to improving resilience, namely affect control, goal planning, and promoting the role of caregivers for LBC.
2018
Background Globally, a growing number of children and adolescents are left behind when parents migrate. We investigated the effect of parental migration on the health of left behind-children and adolescents in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods For this systematic review and meta-analysis we searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PsychINFO, Global Index Medicus, Scopus, and Popline from inception to April 27, 2017, without language restrictions, for observational studies investigating the effects of parental migration on nutrition, mental health, unintentional injuries, infectious disease, substance use, unprotected sex, early pregnancy, and abuse in left-behind children (aged 0–19 years) in LMICs. We excluded studies in which less than 50% of participants were aged 0–19 years, the mean or median age of participants was more than 19 years, fewer than 50% of parents had migrated for more than 6 months, or the mean or median duration of migration was less than 6 months. We screened studies using systematic review software and extracted summary estimates from published reports independently. The main outcomes were risk and prevalence of health outcomes, including nutrition (stunting, wasting, underweight, overweight and obesity, low birthweight, and anaemia), mental health (depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, conduct disorders, self-harm, and suicide), unintentional injuries, substance use, abuse, and infectious disease. We calculated pooled risk ratios (RRs) and standardised mean differences (SMDs) using random-effects models. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42017064871. Findings Our search identified 10284 records, of which 111 studies were included for analysis, including a total of 264967 children (n=106167 left-behind children and adolescents; n=158800 children and adolescents of non-migrant parents). 91 studies were done in China and focused on effects of internal labour migration. Compared with children of non-migrants, left-behind children had increased risk of depression and higher depression scores (RR 1·52 [95% CI 1·27–1·82]; SMD 0·16 [0·10–0·21]), anxiety (RR 1·85 [1·36–2·53]; SMD 0·18 [0·11–0·26]), suicidal ideation (RR 1·70 [1·28–2·26]), conduct disorder (SMD 0·16 [0·04–0·28]), substance use (RR 1·24 [1·00–1·52]), wasting (RR 1·13 [1·02–1·24]) and stunting (RR 1·12 [1·00–1·26]). No differences were identified between left-behind children and children of non-migrants for other nutrition outcomes, unintentional injury, abuse, or diarrhoea. No studies reported outcomes for other infectious diseases, self-harm, unprotected sex, or early pregnancy. Study quality varied across the included studies, with 43% of studies at high or unclear risk of bias across five or more domains. Interpretation Parental migration is detrimental to the health of left-behind children and adolescents, with no evidence of any benefit. Policy makers and health-care professionals need to take action to improve the health of these young people.
Children Left Behind in Romania: Anxiety and Predictor Variables 1
Psychological Reports, 2015
Summary.-Children left behind while their parents immigrate or travel for employment are becoming a widespread phenomenon for economic reasons, creating potentially stressful and inadequate developmental support for a substantial portion of some countries' working class populations. This study assessed the emotional status and coping skills of two matched samples of 163 Romanian children left behind and 163 comparable children living with their parents. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, the Anger Expression Scale for Children, the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, and the Children's Coping Strategies Checklist were utilized. Higher anxiety and depression were observed in left-behind children compared to the control group living with parents. Hierarchical multiple regression supported the relevance of coping strategies, controlled for sociodemographic characteristics, to help explain anxiety in left-behind children. Strategies to promote psychological health and general well being are discussed.