Effects of Migration: Children Left at Home - Press releases

115,000 gymnasium students have at least one parent working abroad. Approximately 35,000 of them have both parents abroad, 55,000 have just their mother away and 80,000 have just their father working in a foreign country.

The above estimates are part of the study called Effects of Migration: Children Left at Home, launched today, October 2nd 2007, by the Soros Foundation Romania.

Regarding the geographic location, data shows that the regions most affected by the migration phenomenon are Western Romania (Banat, Crisana, Maramures), where 27% of the gymnasium students (classes V to VIII) have at least one parent abroad, and Moldova, where the percentage is 25%. Most migrant parents are in Italy: 55% of the migrant mothers of the respondent children and 40% of the fathers.

The study shows that the parents’ migration for work has both positive and negative effects on children left back home. The main positive effects are related to the welfare of the children (better living conditions, mobile phone, computer etc). Also, 34% of the children with both parents working abroad have traveled outside Romania, in comparison with just 14% of the children from non-migrant families; moreover, 20% of children with both parents working abroad have spent their 2006 summer holidays abroad with their parents.

Among the negative effects it is interesting to mention that in some cases the fact that one parent left to work abroad has determined a deterioration of the child’s relationship with the parent who remained at home to raise him. Other negative effects are to be found on the psychological level. The field data confirms the existence of a significant association between the absence of both parents or just of the mother and the frequency of depression symptoms in children.

The differences between the children of migrant as opposed to those of non-migrant parents are relatively small regarding deviant behavior; still, the parents’ departure represents a risk factor. For instance, the percentage of children who had at least once problems with the police is slightly higher among those with migrant parents than among the rest (15-16% compared to 10%).

Children whose parents are working abroad have a similar profile to those living in mono-parental families resulting from the parents’ separation or from the death of one parent. This shows that, although the work abroad is temporary, the impact on the children could be similar to that of the loss of a parent, through divorce or death.

In conclusion, children whose parents are working abroad should be considered at risk. That would be a first recommendation to children protection authorities, who should find solutions to strengthen the relations between school and the social services system. It is important that the crisis of school psychologists, especially from rural areas, is solved (at this moment just 38% of the gymnasium schools in Romania have a psychologist on their payroll to offer counseling to children).

At the same time, a set of social services should be put in place for children whose parents are temporarily abroad. These should include special counseling, help in the studying process, facilities to spend their spare time in activities organized together with other children, house visits.

The quantitative research was conducted between June 4th and June 11th, 2007, on a representative sample of 2037 gymnasium students, including a sub-sample of 437 pupils with one or both parents working abroad. The error margin is of ± 2,5%. The designs of the methodological instruments, as well as the survey results’ analysis were conducted by the project team: Georgiana Toth, Georgiana Paun, Alexandru Toth, Ovidiu Voicu (SFR program manager) and Mihaela Stefanescu (SFR program coordinator). The surveys were conducted by The Gallup Organization Romania.