Impacts of international labor migration on the mental health and well-being of left-behind children

Abstract Background Labor migration is a challenge for the globalised world due to its long-term effects such as the formation of transnational families with the particularly vulnerable groups of left-behind children (LBC). These families, where family members of migrant workers are 'left-behind' are becoming common practice in many developing countries. In this systematic literature review, we aimed to investigate the impacts of parental labor migration on the mental health and well-being of their LBC. Methods Following the PRISMA guidelines, we performed a systematic literature search in English using PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar for studies, investigating mental health and well-being among LBC who live in transnational families. Case-reports, qualitative studies as well as opinion papers were excluded. We summarized the evidence and additionally compared quantitative results. Results 25 studies were selected for the final analysis. We found that mental health and well-being outcomes of LBC differ across regions and sometimes even within regions. Only studies conducted in South America and South Asia observed purely negative effects. Overall, LBC show abnormal SDQ (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) scores and report higher levels of depression and loneliness, than children who do not live in transnational families. Evidence suggests that gender of migrant parent, culture and other transnational family characteristics such as family arrangement, the role of the mother and the role of the father contribute to the well-being and psychological health of LBC. Conclusions International migration of parents has more negative than positive effects (e.g. through remittances) on the mental health and well-being of LBC. However, the effects strongly depend on family arrangements and care giving practices in migrants' sending countries. Key messages Further research utilizing longitudinal data is needed to better explore the complex and long-term effects of parental migration on LBC. Multidimensional family characteristics are crucial and should be better explored when examining the impacts of migratory separation on left-behind children.

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Effects of International Labour Migration on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Left-Behind Children: A Systematic Literature Review

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17124335 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (12) ◽

pp. 4335 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Khatia Antia ◽

Johannes Boucsein ◽

Andreas Deckert ◽

Peter Dambach ◽

Justina Račaitė ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Literature Review ◽

Systematic Literature Review ◽

Well Being ◽

Family Characteristics ◽

Labour Migration ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Transnational Families ◽

Left Behind ◽

Health And Well Being

Labour migration is a challenge for the globalised world due to its long-term effects such as the formation of transnational families. These families, where family members of migrant workers are “left-behind”, are becoming a common phenomenon in many low- and middle-income countries. Our systematic literature review investigated the effects of international parental labour migration on the mental health and well-being of left-behind children. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we performed searches in PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar, resulting in 30 finally included studies. We found that mental health and well-being outcomes of left-behind children differed across and sometimes even within regions. However, only studies conducted in the Americas and South Asia observed purely negative effects. Overall, left-behind children show abnormal Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scores and report higher levels of depression and loneliness than children who do not live in transnational families. Evidence from the studies suggests that gender of the migrant parent, culture and other transnational family characteristics contribute to the well-being and mental health of left-behind children. Further research utilising longitudinal data is needed to better understand the complex and lasting effects on left-behind children.

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Sub-acute and long-term effects of ayahuasca on mental health and well-being in healthy ceremony attendants: A replication study

Journal of Psychedelic Studies ◽

10.1556/2054.2021.00174 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kim I. van Oorsouw ◽

Malin V. Uthaug ◽

Natasha L. Mason ◽

Nick J. Broers ◽

Johannes G. Ramaekers

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Therapeutic Potential ◽

Well Being ◽

Altered States Of Consciousness ◽

Altered States ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

States Of Consciousness ◽

First Time ◽

Health And Well Being

Abstract Background and aims There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that the psychedelic plant tea, ayahuasca, holds therapeutic potential. Uthaug et al. (2018) demonstrated that a single dose of ayahuasca improved mental health sub-acutely and 4-weeks post-ceremony in healthy participants. The present study aimed to replicate and extend these findings. A first objective was to assess the sub-acute and long-term effects of ayahuasca on mental health and well-being in first-time and experienced users. A second aim was to extend the assessment of altered states of consciousness and how they relate to changes in mental health. Method Ayahuasca ceremony attendants (N = 73) were assessed before, the day after, and four weeks following the ceremony. Results We replicated the reduction in self-reported stress 4-weeks post ceremony, but, in contrast, found no reduction in depression. Also, increased satisfaction with life and awareness the day after the ceremony, and its return to baseline 4 weeks later, were replicated. New findings were: reduced ratings of anxiety and somatization, and increased levels of non-judging 4-weeks post-ceremony. We replicated the relation between altered states of consciousness (e.g., experienced ego dissolution during the ceremony) and mental health outcomes sub-acutely. The effects of ayahuasca did not differ between experienced and first-time users. Conclusion Partly in line with previous findings, ayahuasca produces long-term improvements in affect in non-clinical users. Furthermore, sub-acute mental health ratings are related to the intensity of the psychedelic experience. Although findings replicate and highlight the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca, this needs to be confirmed in placebo-controlled studies.

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Train disaster survivors: Long-term effects on mental health and well-being

Stress Medicine ◽

10.1002/smi.2460070206 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 87-91 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Tom Lundin

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Disaster Survivors ◽

Health And Well Being

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In Sickness and in Health: Dyadic Perspectives on Health and Well-Being Among Older Couples

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2232 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 648-648

Author(s):

Courtney Polenick

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Later Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Drinking Patterns ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Short Term ◽

Health Related ◽

Health And Well Being

Abstract This session will incorporate a variety of dyadic methods to explore the multifaceted ways that older spouses shape their own and their partners’ health and well-being. First, Dr. Karen Lyons will consider the roles of communication, collaborative decision-making, and social support in shaping the mental health of couples managing chronic pain. Her comparative dyadic analysis highlights the value of collaborative illness management in optimizing couples’ mental health. Dr. Courtney Polenick will then describe how chronic condition discordance (i.e., the extent to which two or more conditions have non-overlapping self-management requirements) within individuals and between spouses is linked to perceived control among couples over an8-year period. This study reveals that more complex patterns of chronic conditions within couples have particularly detrimental implications for women’s perceptions of control over their own health and other life domains. Next, Dr. Kira Birditt will examine the long-term effects of spouses’ similar drinking patterns (i.e., concordance). Although drinking concordance may enhance marital satisfaction, she will explain how it can have enduring negative consequences for cardiovascular health among middle-aged men. Dr. Joan Monin will then explain the short-term benefits of laughter for blood pressure among couples during lab-based spousal support interactions. Finally, Dr. Amy Rauer will discuss how spouses react to one another’s health-related support attempts using in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with both members of the couple. Taken together, these studies underscore the importance of evaluating dynamic short-term and long-term health-related influences among couples in middle and later life. Dyadic Research on Health and Illness Across the Adult Lifespan Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.

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Social support, well-being and involvement of fathers in transnational families in the Philippines

Asian and Pacific Migration Journal ◽

10.1177/0117196820983760 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 492-510

Author(s):

Melissa Garabiles

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Peer Support ◽

Spousal Support ◽

Paternal Involvement ◽

Transnational Migration ◽

Well Being ◽

The Philippines ◽

Transnational Families ◽

Left Behind

This study investigated left-behind Filipino fathers and their involvement as child caregivers. It hypothesized that social support and well-being predict paternal involvement, with well-being as the mediator. Results showed that familial and peer support predicted involvement, with well-being as mediator. Spousal support did not predict involvement or well-being. Findings highlight the importance of familial and peer support to left-behind fathers. Interactions between significant predictors of involvement present novel pathways to childcare. The non-significant role of spousal support is discussed in the context of transnational migration. Several interventions involving families and peers are suggested.

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Social media and mental health: Reviewing effects on eudaimonic well-being

10.31234/osf.io/xvts8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adrian Meier ◽

Leonard Reinecke

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Media Use ◽

Well Being ◽

Social Media Use ◽

Self Actualization ◽

Resilience Factors ◽

Omission Bias ◽

Health And Well Being

Do social media affect users’ mental health and well-being? By now, considerable research has addressed this highly contested question. Prior studies have investigated the effects of social media use on hedonic well-being (e.g., affect and life satisfaction), psychopathology (e.g., depressive or anxiety symptoms), or psychosocial risk/resilience factors (e.g., loneliness, stress, self-esteem). Yet, public concern over social media effects often centers on more long-term negative outcomes, which may be better captured by indicators of eudaimonic well-being. Indeed, neglecting the eudaimonic side of well-being may have introduced outcome omission bias, since eudaimonia is both conceptually and empirically distinct from other dimensions of mental health and may be uniquely affected by social media use. Specifically, psychology currently theorizes eudaimonic well-being to be best represented by the experiences of (a) meaningfulness, (b) authenticity, and (c) self-actualization. A research synthesis of how social media use relates to these core indicators of eudaimonia is currently missing, however. We thus present a first narrative review that synthesizes both theoretical and empirical links between three key social media uses (i.e., active, passive, and “screen time”) and eudaimonic well-being. The synthesis shows that while there are indeed several plausible theoretical links, the evidence is too scarce and inconsistent to allow definitive conclusions at this time. We instead give recommendations for how the field can close important gaps by investigating whether social media afford or constrain opportunities to find meaning, live authentically, and grow as a person.

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The Long-Term Effects of Solitary Confinement From the Perspective of Inmates

The Prison Journal ◽

10.1177/00328855211060312 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 101 (6) ◽

pp. 652-674

Author(s):

Liat Tayer ◽

Tomer Einat ◽

Anat Yaron Antar

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Physical Exercise ◽

Behavioral Disorders ◽

Physical Aggression ◽

Well Being ◽

Solitary Confinement ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Health And Well Being ◽

Mental And Behavioral Disorders

This qualitative study analyzes the effects of solitary confinement on prisoners and the strategies used by them to cope with its difficulties. The findings indicate that solitary confinement is perceived as unfair and as intensifying hostile emotions and physical aggression, and that it is related to a range of long-term physiological, mental, and behavioral disorders. Three strategies are used to cope with the difficulties of solitary confinement: keeping to a ritualistic routine, a religious lifestyle, and physical exercise. We conclude that solitary confinement exacerbates the difficulties of detention and affects prisoners’ health and well-being for short and long terms.

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The Cost of Austerity Policies for Public Health

Current History ◽

10.1525/curh.2018.117.802.310 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 117 (802) ◽

pp. 310-314

Author(s):

Aaron Reeves

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Policy Changes ◽

The Cost ◽

Health And Well Being

[S]hort-term policy changes can have long-term effects on the health and well-being of the population.

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School Climate, Deployment, and Mental Health Among Students in Military-Connected Schools

Youth & Society ◽

10.1177/0044118x15592296 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 93-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Kris Tunac De Pedro ◽

Ron Avi Astor ◽

Tamika D. Gilreath ◽

Rami Benbenishty ◽

Ruth Berkowitz

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

School Climate ◽

School Environment ◽

Well Being ◽

The United States ◽

Student Demographics ◽

Multiple Components ◽

Lower Likelihood ◽

Health And Well Being

Research has found that when compared with civilian students, military-connected students in the United States have more negative mental health outcomes, stemming from the stress of military life events (i.e., deployment). To date, studies on military-connected youth have not examined the role of protective factors within the school environment, such as school climate, in the mental health and well-being of military-connected adolescents. Given this gap in the research on military adolescents, this study draws from a large sample of military and non-military secondary adolescents in military-connected schools ( N = 14,943) and examines associations between school climate, military connection, deployment, and mental health. Findings show that multiple components of school climate are associated with a lower likelihood of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation and increased likelihood of well-being among students in military-connected schools, after controlling for student demographics, military connection, and deployments. The authors conclude with a discussion of school climate interventions for military-connected youth.

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