Transnational Migratory Labor and Filipino Fathers

Abstract

Transnational migratory labor remains a primary method many Filipinos use in an effort to gain financial security for their families. Based on data collected from an urban Southern Visayan province during the summer of 2007, this study examined a sample of 116 OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) families and a sample of 99 traditional two-parent households. Comparative analyses revealed that mothers from OFW families demonstrated lower levels of warmth when compared with mothers from two-parent homes. Children from OFW families were reported to demonstrate greater internalizing and externalizing problems when compared with children from homes in which both parents lived in the home. Subsequent regression analyses showed that fathers who worked abroad may contribute to mother behaviors and child outcomes in certain direct and indirect paths.