Impact of Parental Migration on Children’s

1. Social skills
2. Attachment/Relationship
3. Parenting styles
4. Emotional quotient
5. Personality traits – e.g., grit/delay gratification/conscientiousness/self-efficacy
6. Community involvement
7. Academic Performance
Factors contributing to the development of the issue: Parental Migration and Children Outcomes

Individual factors Interpersonal factors Environmental factors

 Frustration with
educational attainment
 Educational aspiration
for children
 Pressure from peer’s
success/improved
economic status
 Family pressure of
giving back/obligation
to provide for the family
 Limited employment
opportunities in country
of origin
(Financial/economic
instability)
 Collectivist culture

Aspects influenced by Parental Migration in Children

Individual level Interpersonal level Environmental level

Aggressiveness/Impulsivity
Emotionally unstable
Social skills (lack of confidence  Community
in friendships) involvement (Social
Behavioral problems isolation)
(vulnerability to vices and  Academic Performance
drinking behavior)

little is known about the extent to which parent-child separation leaves an impact on family well-being,
particularly on young children whose parents are inarguably the best caretaker (e.g. Jacobvitz, 2014;
Nanthamongkolchai et al., 2003; 2007; 2010). More research is needed to provide evidence on whether
parents’ decision to move out of their home leaves an important impact on their young children
remaining behind, who never got a chance to take part in their parents’ decision.

Research on the impact of migration of parents on their children remaining at their place of origin in
Thailand is limited. Among a few, a study by Jampaklay et al. (2012) provides results which are indicative
of both positive and negative effects. On the one hand, the research reported children’s being financially
better off after their parent(s) moved. On the other hand, children’s caretakers in households where
both parents moved are at higher risk of having psychological health problems. Moreover, children of
migrant parents reported doing worse in school, tended to report drinking alcohol more, and were less
satisfied with where they live than their counterparts. Children whose parents are migrants were also
reported as less independent and less happy.

Literature (e.g. APS, 2016) say that the bond of affection between parents and children is instrumental
for a healthy parent-child relationship which further extends to relationships between children, their
siblings, and other family members. Infants’ successful attachment to their parents builds their
confidence to explore and interact with their environment, the footing for further social, emotional, and
cognitive development. Jacobvitz (2014) states that “although it is in the best interest of the child to
have many, many caregivers within a family group, our research over many decades reveals that there
is, really, just one person who carries the extra burden of a special attachment. That person, the one
who bears ultimate responsibility for the health and wellbeing of an infant, is typically the mother. …A
young child is biologically wired to choose just one person as the primary attachment figure. We believe
this ensures that one person is ultimately responsible for meeting an infant's needs.”

3-minute script
Good day everyone! Let me share the summary of my research output on the Implication of
Parental Migration on the Left-behind Filipino children.
Background
In Asia, the Philippines is the major supplier of labor migrants to over 100 countries and
the leading female migrant-sending countries along with Indonesia (Reyes, 2008). And according
to the statistical data released by Philippine Statistics Office on June 4, 2020, the number of
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who worked abroad at any time during the period April to
September 2019 was estimated at 2.2 million. And the proportion of female OFWs (56.0%) was
higher than male OFWs (44.0%).
According to the Department for International Development, Migration is an economic,
social, and political process that affects those who move, those who stay behind, and the places
where they go. Moreover, according to Overseas Development Institute, migration is a powerful
poverty reduction tool, with the potential to substantially increase incomes for migrants and their
families.
Theoretical Framework
Relevant to my chosen topic or issue affecting family relations are the theories and concepts of
Abraham Maslow and John Bowlby.
Maslow’s needs hierarchy asserts that one should satisfy first basic biological needs, before
attempts are done to satisfy security or safety needs; after needs for security have been fulfilled,
an individual would pass through meeting his or her belongingness and esteem needs and
eventually reaching self-actualization.
Attachment theory tells us that the bond of affection between parents and children is instrumental
for a healthy parent-child relationship which further extends to relationships between children,
their siblings, and other family members. Infants’ successful attachment to their parents builds
their confidence to explore and interact with their environment, the footing for further social,
emotional, and cognitive development.

Summary of Analyses
Why do Filipino parents migrate and work abroad?
Various factors can lead to Parental migration. Primarily, it is due to limited employment
opportunities in the country of origin, which in this case the Philippines. Further, our collectivist
culture which encourage us to decide for the common good may give Filipinos decision power to
work abroad.
We Filipinos are also family-centered that’s why oftentimes we think about our families more
than ourselves. And by prioritizing our respective families, Filipinos tend to think that if fellow
Filipinos are able to improve their lives by taking the risk and giving up the security of being in
their homeland, they might tell themselves, why can’t I do the same for my family? This
supports the assertion that biological needs have a greater prepotency than the other higher-level
needs. In addition, Almendral in 2018 found that the frustration of not having a college degree is
one reason Filipino parents are pursuing their careers internationally and pushing for their
children's education in the Philippines.
How then does Parental migration influence the lives of the left-behind children?
Three aspects were considered as you may see here
Although remittances from migrant parents allow for their children’s access to education, it is
undeniable that parental migration negatively affects the well-being of the left-behind children.
According to the study of Battistela and Conaco in 1998, children of migrant parent experience
more emotional turmoil compared to children of non-migrants, since they have a great deal of
longing for their parents. This emotional instability might cause them to display behavioral
problems such as vulnerability to vices and delinquency.
Lack of parental guidance experienced by left-behind children are found exhibit a lack of
confidence in establishing friendships. According to the research of Reyes in 2008, left-behind
children have trouble relating with others may make them more vulnerable to being abused and
intimidated by their peers in school. This exacerbates the feeling of being abandoned since their
parents are not with them to protect or defend them.
And based on the research of Tarroja & Fernando, in school activities, children of migrant
mothers tend to score lower and to have poorer performance. The absence of mothers is
consistently identified as having a more pervasive influence on the lives of their children. When
the mother leaves, some children feel burdened by filling in the responsibility of nurturing and
caring for the family.
This duty affects the children’s performance in school since they tend to devote less time to
studying and allot time attending to their family’s needs. In addition, some children left behind
by their migrant parents tend to prioritize schooling less, and give lesser value to studying so that
they end up failing, dropping out, or not finishing their grades.
According to UNICEF, left-behind children can be stigmatized as different perhaps considering
that they tend to isolate themselves and to be less involved in the community. And according to
attachment theory these negative outcomes in children can be accounted for by their early bond
with their mother and mother surrogates.
Just like How Harry Harlow puts it based on his experiment on young macaques and I quote The
affection for the mother is formed between the first 3 months and a year. If the infant has not
learned to love by then he may never learn to love at all.