Transnational families and the subjective well-being of migrant parents: Angolan and Nigerian parents in the Netherlands

Abstract

Studies on transnational families argue that the subjective well-being of migrant parents is negatively affected by living separated from their children. Most studies employ qualitative methods without a control group and hence are not able to distinguish whether the effects found are associated with separation only or with other factors. This paper investigates the association between parental subjective well-being and parent–child separation by comparing migrant parents who have at least one child in their country of origin with those who live with all their children in the Netherlands. The paper further investigates whether the same associations are found between migrant groups from Angola and Nigeria. Results indicate that transnational parents indeed report lower subjective well-being, as measured by happiness, life satisfaction and mental health for both groups and additionally, self-assessed health for Angolans. However, legal status, socio-economic status and the quality of the parent–child relationship are found to be important mediators.

Keywords:

• transnational families
• migrant parents
• subjective well-being
• Angolans
• Nigerians
• the Netherlands

Acknowledgements

The results presented in this article have been obtained within the Transnational Child-Raising Arrangements between Africa and Europe project (TCRAf-Eu). The TCRAf-Eu project is coordinated by Maastricht University (V. Mazzucato) and is formed additionally by University College Cork (A. Veale), University of Lisbon (M. Grassi) and FAFO Institute for Applied International Studies (C. Øien).

Notes

1. For more information on the project, see: http://www.tcra.nl.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the NORFACE Research Programme ‘Migration in Europe - Social, Economic, Cultural and Policy Dynamics’ [grant number 315].

Notes on contributors

Karlijn Haagsman

KARLIJN HAAGSMAN is Lecturer in Globalization and Development in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Maastricht University.

Valentina Mazzucato

VALENTINA MAZZUCATO is Professor of Globalization and Development in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Maastricht University.

Bilisuma B. Dito

BILISUMA B. DITO is Lecturer in Globalization and Development in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Maastricht University.