Parental Role Changes in Romanian Transnational Families: Consequences of Migration.

Aniela Matei,Elen-Silvana Bobârnat

doi:10.3390/ijerph182412960

Abstract

Even if there are consistent studies on the issue of transnational families, research is still needed to address the parental role changes in these families. The aim of this article was to identify the main changes in the parental roles of Romanian transnational families as a result of the parents’ labor migration. We used interviewing as the research method and directed content analysis to analyze the data. Purposive sampling was conducted in order to identify the interviewees. The results captured important role changes regarding the income provider role of the parent, but especially the role of emotional support provider that the parent should take on for the children. These findings highlight the need to develop specific measures to address the possible negative effects that affect these transnational families.

Highlights

In the specialized literature [1], transnational families are defined as those families in which family members live separately most of the time but who share a feeling of collective welfare and unity, namely, familyhood, even across national borders
Transnational families are the effect of transnational migration, which is characterized by the fact that migrant people do not sever ties with their country of origin in order to integrate into the culture of the host country but maintain and develop permanent social relations beyond national borders, with family members and others, and identify, through their spatial mobility, with several countries and communities [2]
We aimed to answer the following four research questions: RQ1—What emotional and behavioral changes were identified in children by the child carer after the children’s parent(s) migrated? RQ2—How did the migrating parents perform in their parental roles of income and emotional support provider after their migration? RQ3—Were the emotional and behavioral states of the children related to the performance of the income and emotional support provider roles, and how are they related?

Summary

Introduction

Parental Role Changes in RomanianIn the specialized literature [1], transnational families are defined as those families in which family members live separately most of the time but who share a feeling of collective welfare and unity, namely, familyhood, even across national borders. The term “transnationalism”, which has led to an important debate in the recent literature on migration, was first used by anthropologists Shiller et al [3] and referred to the social fields that were built by emigrants. The literature in this field [1,4,5] indicates that the use of the transnational approach in the conceptualization of the family, and in the research methodologies that are used to study transnational families, is recent.

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Discussion

Conclusion