The Impact of Parental Migration on the Mental Health of Children Left Behind

Ramesh Adhikari, Aree Jampaklay, Aphichat Chamratrithirong, Kerry Richter, Umaporn Pattaravanich, Patama Vapattanawong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

59 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)781-789
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume16
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2014

Keywords

  • Children left behind
  • Mental health
  • Migration

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