Offspring Migration and Parents' Emotional and Psychological Well‐being in Mexico

• Published date: 01 August 2018
• Date: 01 August 2018
• Author: Jenjira J. Yahirun,Erika Arenas
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12479

J J. Y University of Hawai’i at M¯

anoa

E A University of California, Santa Barbara∗

Offspring Migration and Parents’ Emotional and

Psychological Well-being in Mexico

In Mexico, offspring migration disrupts familial

norms of coresidence and geographic proxim-

ity. This article examines how an adult child’s

migration, both domestically and to the United

States, affects the emotional and psychological

well-being of parents who remain in the place

of origin. Using nationally representative lon-

gitudinal data from the Mexican Family Life

Survey (N=4,718), the authors found limited

evidence that parents whose offspring emigrated

to the United States experience worse outcomes

than parents of offspring who did not migrate.

Although they found that offspring U.S. migra-

tion was not associated with changes in par-

ents’ overall depressive syndrome,a child’s U.S.

migration increased the likelihood of experienc-

ing loneliness and led to a lower likelihood of

recovery from parental sadness over time. Chil-

dren’sdomestic migration did not affect parental

well-being. These ndings add to a growingbody

of literature that should be considered when

assessing the broader impact of migration on

family members who remain behind.

Center on the Family, Universityof Hawai’i at M ¯

anoa,

Miller Hall 103, 2515 Campus Road, Honolulu, HI 96822

(jyahirun@hawaii.edu).

∗Centro de Análisis y Bienestar Social, A.C and

Department of Sociology, Universityof California, Santa

Barbara, Social Studies and Media Science Bldg. 3123,

Santa Barbara, CA 93106.

Key Words: depression, immigrants/migrants, intergenera-

tional relationships, mental health, transnational research.

The disruption of family life is a formidable

consequence of migration. When migrants

depart, their absence affects the emotional and

psychological well-being of young children

(Dreby, 2010; Hochschild, 2002; Parreñas,

2005) and partners left behind (Kanaiaupuni,

2000; Nobles, Rubalcava, & Teruel, 2015;

De Snyder, 1993). Although an adult child’s

departure may appear less consequential, off-

spring migration presents a challenge to parents

in low- and middle-income countries where

intergenerational proximity and coresidence

are the norm and intergenerational assistance

is often based on propinquity (Angel, Vega, &

López-Ortega, 2017; De Vos, Solis, & De Oca,

2004).

This article explores how offspring migration

affects parents’ emotional and psychological

well-being in Mexico, a middle-income coun-

try where emigration is common. We extend

previous work in a number of important ways.

First, rather than treat all migrant destinations

equally, we assess how parents’ emotional and

psychological well-being varies across children

who migrate domestically versus to the United

States. Second, we include parents across the

age spectrum and ask whether a child’s migra-

tion affects older parents, who are more likely

to rely on offspring to fulll instrumental, nan-

cial, and emotional support, differently than

younger parents (Angel, Angel, López-Ortega,

Robledo, & Wallace, 2016). Third, we examine

whether mothers are more negatively impacted

by offspring migration than fathers given their

roles as kinkeepers (Diaz-Loving, 2006), their

Journal of Marriage and Family 80 (August 2018): 975–991 975

DOI:10.1111/jomf.12479

976 Journal of Marriage and Family

more limited social networks (Fuller-Iglesias &

Antonucci, 2016), and their greater reliance on

adult children for support in later life (Angel

et al., 2017). Finally, this study improves on

prior research designs that use cross-sectional

data (Antman, 2010; Silver, 2011) by includ-

ing longitudinal data on parental emotional

and psychological health before and after a

child’s migration, allowing us to examine how

migration affects change in parental well-being

over time.

B

Geographic Proximity and Parent–Child

Relationships in the Context of Migration

In Mexico, cultural norms of familism and a

historical scarcity of social services encour-

age the maintenance of strong familial ties

(Diaz-Loving, 2006). Coresidence and geo-

graphic proximity between parents and children

is common (Kanaiaupuni, 2000; Monkkonen,

2011; Ruggles & Heggeness, 2008). From the

offspring perspective, the majority of adult

children live outside of the natal home, but

in the same city as parents (Gomes, 2007).

Proximity to parents offers a reliable source

of child care, an extra set of hands during

unexpected events such as the loss of a job, or

family transitions such as the birth of a new

child (Jiménez, 2012; Partidas, 2004). Later,

the balance of transfers is tipped when adult

children provide instrumental, nancial, and

emotional support to elderly parents (Angel

et al., 2017; Grajeda & Ward, 2012). Instrumen-

tal assistance is especially important, as parents

need children close by to help with everyday

tasks. In addition, shorter distances provide

more accurate information about the well-being

of elderly parents, which helps offspring deter-

mine the types of support parents need in a

timelier manner (Dewit & Frankel, 1988). In

Mexico, 55% of individuals aged 65 and older

live with a child or grandchild (Saad, 2010), and

the vast majority of older adults live in commu-

nities with their family members (Monkkonen,

2011).

Migration disrupts the expectations of sus-

tained intergenerational ties that are based on

geographic propinquity (Angel et al., 2017;

Kanaiaupuni, 2000). Yet how migration affects

relationships between parents and children

likely depends on the type of support considered

and the destination of migrant children. On

one hand, parents are more likely to receive

instrumental support when children reside

within the same community or country com-

pared to when offspring live abroad (Quashie

& Zimmer, 2013; Zimmer, Rada, & Stoica,

2014). However, children’s migration, espe-

cially when labor related, may induce a greater

likelihood of material and nancial support to

parents than domestic migration. In Romania,

for example, nancial support is more likely

among parents with offspring who lived abroad

than those who lived in the country (Zimmer

et al., 2014). Long-distance and cross-border

caregiving becomes possible when new commu-

nication technologies allow migrant offspring to

be informed about parental needs and children

can respond by providing quick nancial or

emotional support (Baldock, 2000; Knodel &

Saengtienchai, 2007; Knodel, Kespichayawat-

tana, Saengtienchai, & Wiwatwanich, 2010;

Litwak, 1960). Migrant children may also coor-

dinate care with siblings such that those who live

closer to parents provide necessary instrumental

support, whereas migrant siblings provide nan-

cial and emotional support from afar (Miltiades,

2002; Quashie, 2015; Sun, 2012).

A growing body of research points to the

wide variation in how parents respond to chil-

dren’s migration, ranging from distress and

sadness, to ambivalence, and even pride (Abas

et al., 2009; Antman, 2010; Baldassar, Baldock,

& Wilding, 2007; Grant, Falkingham, & Evan-

drou, 2009; Guo, Aranda, & Silverstein, 2009;

Marchetti-Mercer, 2012; Miltiades, 2002; Sil-

ver, 2011; Silverstein, Cong, & Li, 2006; Sun,

2012; Zimmer et al., 2014). Because migration

signals the disruption and potential breakdown

in support for parents, a number of studies

document negative mental health outcomes

(Abas et al., 2009; Adhikari, Jampaklay, Cham-

ratrithirong, Pattaravanich, & Vapattanawong,

2014; Antman, 2010; Guo et al., 2009; Silver,

2011; Silverstein et al., 2006). In addition, par-

ents who remain behind may nd themselves

taking on new roles prompted by the child’s

absence, for example, as primary caregivers to

grandchildren, which may increase their own

stress (Dreby, 2010; Jiménez, 2012). In Mexico,

one study using data from the rst wave of the

Mexican Family Life Survey (MxFLS) found

that parents, especially mothers, with children

in the United States are more likely to be

depressed than parents with no migrant children