Jampaklay Aree, Vapattanawong Patama
Mahidol University.
Asian Pac Migr J. 2013 Dec 1;22(3):377-400. doi: 10.1177/011719681302200304.
To date, research that includes children's views on parental migration has been insufficient. Based on the children's assessment of well-being, we use a case study of Thailand to ask whether children of overseas migrant parents are less or more resilient compared to children of non-migrant parents. We make use of data from the Child Health and Migrant Parents in South-East Asia (CHAMPSEA) Project, one of the few studies that provide space for children, both of migrant and non-migrant parents, to voice their views. Our sample includes 496 children aged 9 to 11 years old. The outcome variable captures children's subjective well-being as an indicator of whether they are a resilient child. Our multivariate analysis controls for other potential contributing factors, including the children's individual attributes, carer's mental health, parents' education, family functioning as reported by the children, and household economic status in order to investigate the effects of parental migration. Qualitative information from in-depth interviews with selected carers and group interviews with community leaders are also used to explain the results. Our findings highlight the importance of taking into account children's own perceptions. Compared to children of non-migrant parents, those of migrant parents are more likely to give a positive assessment of their own well-being. The other contributing factors include whether the child sees their family as functioning well. In Thailand, international migration is predominantly undertaken by fathers while childcare remains the responsibility of mothers, and public attitudes towards overseas migration, especially paternal migration, is generally favorable. This may help explain the positive perception of children of migrants towards themselves.
迄今为止，包含儿童对父母移民看法的研究还不够充分。基于儿童对幸福感的评估，我们以泰国为例进行研究，探讨海外移民父母的子女与非移民父母的子女相比，其恢复力是更低还是更高。我们利用了东南亚儿童健康与移民父母（CHAMPSEA）项目的数据，该项目是为数不多的为移民和非移民父母的子女提供表达观点空间的研究之一。我们的样本包括496名9至11岁的儿童。结果变量捕捉儿童的主观幸福感，以此作为他们是否具有恢复力的指标。我们的多变量分析控制了其他潜在的影响因素，包括儿童的个人特质、照顾者的心理健康、父母的教育程度、儿童报告的家庭功能以及家庭经济状况，以便研究父母移民的影响。来自对选定照顾者的深入访谈以及与社区领袖的小组访谈的定性信息也被用于解释研究结果。我们的研究结果凸显了考虑儿童自身看法的重要性。与非移民父母的子女相比，移民父母的子女更有可能对自己的幸福感给出积极评价。其他影响因素包括孩子是否认为自己的家庭功能良好。在泰国，国际移民主要由父亲进行，而照顾孩子仍然是母亲的责任，并且公众对海外移民，尤其是父亲移民的态度普遍较为积极。这可能有助于解释移民子女对自己的积极看法。
