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The emotional toll of out‐migration on mothers and fathers left behind in Mexico
Author(s) -
Fuller Heather R.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international migration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.681
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1468-2435
pISSN - 0020-7985
DOI - 10.1111/imig.12324
Subject(s) - transnationalism , toll , worry , sadness , developmental psychology , perception , psychology , focus group , qualitative research , gender studies , sociology , social psychology , political science , medicine , anger , anxiety , neuroscience , psychiatry , politics , law , immunology , social science , anthropology
A growing body of research examines how families are affected by international migration; yet, implications for family members who remain behind are less well understood. Recent studies highlight implications for wives and young children when Mexican men migrate to the US , but have not yet adequately addressed the unique perspectives across the intergenerational family system, including the impact on parents when their adult children migrate. The current qualitative study explores the perceptions of transnational family ties among five focus groups (N=28) consisting of mothers and fathers of migrants in Mexico. An inductive, comparative method was used to identify emerging themes related to the emotional toll that parents of migrants experience. Salient themes included sadness, longing, guilt, and worry. The perceptions and expression of these emotions varied between mothers and fathers. Findings highlight the unique impact and distinct policy implications of Mexican familial transnationalism on parents who remain behind.