Community, Work and Family
Volume 12, Issue 1, 2009, Pages 91-103

The impact of migration on the well-being of transnational families: New data from sending communities in Mexico (Article)

Heymann J.* , Flores-Macias F. , Hayes J.A. , Kennedy M. , Lahaie C. , Earle A.
  • a Institute for Health and Social Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
  • b Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
  • c Institute for Health and Social Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
  • d Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
  • e Institute for Health and Social Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
  • f Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States

Abstract

We present results from a new study of the effects of migration to the USA on the well-being of transnational families in high emigration communities within Mexico. Our survey measured the well-being of family members in a variety of domains: economic, health, education, and child development for a representative sample drawn from high migration municipalities. Compared to those with no recent emigrants to the USA, Mexican households sending non-caregivers to the USA appear to gain economically without contributing to problems faced by children. However, when family caregivers migrate to the USA, the remaining members in Mexico struggle to meet the family's needs and children are more vulnerable to educational, emotional, and health problems. Children in households where a caregiver migrated were more likely to have frequent illnesses (10% vs. 3%, p0.0001), chronic illness (7% vs. 3%, p=0.011), emotional problems (10% vs. 4%, p=0.006), and behavioral problems (17% vs. 10%, p=0.018) compared with children in households where the migrant was not a caregiver. Research, policy, and program implications of these findings are discussed.

Author Keywords

Transnational families Migration caregiving Family well-being Binational families Children's health

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-60649114481&doi=10.1080%2f13668800802155704&partnerID=40&md5=570371070a490e4ddcb7da3a2b6b08da
DOI: 10.1080/13668800802155704
ISSN: 13668803
Cited by: 42
Original Language: English