A psychoanalytic and qualitative research on immigrants' “left‐behind” children: “I understand why they left, but why did they leave?”

Abstract

AbstractBackground and PurposeThe psychoanalytic literature on migration has extensively explored the psychic impact of the migration process on the people who migrate, whereas the predicament of the immigrants' children that were left behind in the country of origin has been largely overlooked. This paper has a twofold aim. Firstly, it sets out to explore the experience of being left behind as a child by parents who emigrated to another country for economic reasons, and secondly, it aspires to present a valid combination of psychoanalytic thinking and qualitative design.MethodsFourteen adult men and women who as children were left behind in Greece when their parents emigrated were interviewed about their current perspectives on their childhood experiences. Their narratives were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, a qualitative research method that can offer material suitable for psychodynamic understanding.ResultsThe analysis of the interviews yielded the overarching theme “Trauma” and four superordinate themes, “Intense emotions,” “Effects on parent–child relationship,” “Defenses,” and “Psychopathology.” The discussion of the results focuses on the psychoanalytic exploration of the trauma induced by the early and prolonged parent–child separation and its psychic sequelae.ConclusionBeing left in the country of origin by parents who emigrated to another country for economic reasons was a traumatic experience for the “left‐behind” children. The complexities of this situation may be depicted through the combination of qualitative research methods and psychoanalytic understanding.