title: International parental migration and the psychological well-being of children in Ghana, Nigeria, and Angola.
abstract: When parents migrate, leaving their children in the origin country, transnational families are formed. Transnational family studies on children who are "left behind" indicate that children suffer psychologically from parental migration. Many of the factors identified as affecting children's responses to parental migration however are not considered in child psychology and family sociology studies. This study aims to bridge these areas of knowledge by quantitatively investigating the association between transnational families and children's psychological well-being. It analyzes a survey conducted in three African countries in 2010-11 (Ghana N = 2760; Angola N = 2243; Nigeria N = 2168) amongst pupils of secondary schools. The study compares children in transnational families to those living with their parents in their country of origin. Children's psychological well-being is measured through the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses reveal that children in transnational families fare worse than their counterparts living with both parents but not in Ghana where living conditions mediate this relationship. This paper also looks at four characteristics of transnational families and finds that specific characteristics of transnational families and country contexts matter: (1) changing caregivers is associated with poorer well-being in all countries; (2) which parent migrates does not make a difference in Ghana, when mothers migrate and fathers are caregivers results in poorer well-being in Nigeria, and both mother's and father's migration result in worse outcomes in Angola; (3) the kin relationship of the caregiver is not associated with poorer well-being in Ghana and Nigeria but is in Angola; (4) children with parents who migrate internationally do not show different results than children whose parents migrate nationally in Ghana and Nigeria but in Angola international parental migration is associated with poorer psychological well-being. The study shows that broader characteristics in the population rather than parental migration per se are associated with decreased levels of well-being.
authors.affiliation: Department of Technology and Society Studies, Maastricht University, Grote Gracht 90-92, 6211SZ Maastricht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: v.mazzucato@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mazzucato
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population, Poverty and Public Policy Studies, Avenue de la Fonte 3, 4364 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, Maastricht University, Keizer Karelplein 19, 6211TC Maastricht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: victor.cebotari@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cebotari
authors.affiliation: School of Applied Psychology, North Mall, University College Cork, Ireland. Electronic address: a.veale@ucc.ie.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Veale
authors.affiliation: College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, University College Cork, Ireland. Electronic address: allen.white@ucc.ie.
authors.forename: Allen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal. Electronic address: marzia.grassi@ics.ul.pt.
authors.forename: Marzia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grassi
authors.affiliation: University Bordeaux Montaigne, LAM, France. Electronic address: jeanne.vivet@u-bordeaux-montaigne.fr.
authors.forename: Jeanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vivet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000810:Angola / Q000208:ethnology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D000067576:Child Health; D002675:Child, Preschool; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria / Q000208:ethnology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011594:Psychometrics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Angola; Child well-being; Ghana; Nigeria; Psychological health; School children; Transnational families