Parent-Child Separation: Children and Family Adjustment in the Context of Parental Migration, Deployment, and Incarceration

Abstract

There are many reasons for parent–child separation. The chapters in this volume highlight the influences on children and their families of parent–child separation due to three increasingly common contexts: parental migration and deportation, parental military deployment, and parental incarceration. This conclusion chapter reviews the major themes presented in this volume, including the effect of parent–child separation on family members’ individual outcomes and larger family processes; multiple adversities among families experiencing parental separation; and resilience in the contexts of parent–child separation. In general, parent–child separation can negatively influence children’s and caregivers’ individual adjustment and family functioning. However, the effects of parent–child separation are heterogeneous, and a variety of risk and resilience factors may buffer or exacerbate the effects of parent–child separation. We summarize the limitations in previous research and conclude the chapter with suggestions for future research, policy, and interventions, including new approaches for research design and data collection, family-based interventions, and policies that promote child and family well-being.KeywordsParent–child separationParental migrationParental military deploymentParental incarcerationParental separation