A systematic review of the literature on transnational caregiving: immigrant adult children to ageing parents in home country

ABSTRACT

Research on the effects of globalization and immigration on family relationships has focused on younger families. Few studies have addressed the issue of immigrant adult children caring for their ageing parents in their home country. The purpose of this article was to review the empirical evidence on transnational caregiving to ageing parents and summarize identified themes. Using search terms specific to transnational caregiving, a database search resulted in 25 articles. All were published since 2000, reflecting the limited attention given to transnational elder care. Eight themes were identified: cohort and life cycle factors and political context; economic factors; cultural factors; identity of immigrants; gender roles; resistance to institutional care; economic and emotional costs of care; and use of technology. Despite the high economic and emotional costs, immigrant adult children aimed to care for their ageing parents in their home country fulfiling their filial responsibility and confirming their ethnic identity. Remittances to family of origin helped reducing immigrant adult children's guilt. Men were increasingly involved with care by using technology. Although the included studies were limited to immigrants pursuing economic opportunities in a small number of countries, overall, immigrant adult children displayed creativity in how they managed caregiving across national borders.

KEYWORDS:

• Transnational caregiving
• ageing parents
• immigrant adult children
• remittance
• filial obligation
• technology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Table 2: Summary on Transnational Caregiving Studies Published in Peer-Reviewed Journals is available online at https://uh.edu/socialwork/about/faculty-directory/c-miyawaki/.