Tobacco Use and Exposure among Children in Migrant and Non-Migrant Households in Java, Indonesia

Abstract

This research note aims to understand the impact of parental migration on the children who stay behind by examining the issue of smoking. It asks whether tobacco use and exposure are higher among children in migrant households compared with those in non-migrant households in Java, Indonesia. Data were collected in 2008 in two provinces, West Java and East Java, as part of the Child Health and Migrant Parents in South-East Asia (CHAMPSEA) Project. The analytical sample used here relates to children aged 9, 10 and 11 living in both non-migrant and transnational households (N=451). The findings show that the incidence of ever having smoked among these primary school-aged children is relatively low at less than 10 percent, but that boys are much more likely to have used tobacco than girls. Findings from multivariate logistic models predicting smoking behavior show no difference between the children of migrants and non-migrants; nor does household wealth appear to influence whether or not a child has tried tobacco. Gender, child stunting (low height-for-age), carer's education, family functioning and tobacco use by friends are the four main factors found to be significantly associated with child smoking.

Under one roof? Left‐behind children's perspectives in negotiating relationships with absent and return‐migrant parents

“…Childhood experiences are notably diverse across and within both countries, but the lives of the left‐behind Indonesian and Filipino children in this article are joined by a common thread of growing up within a prevalent migration context that is influenced by a host of factors including gender (of migrants, carers, and children), length of migration, and destinations. Although we are increasingly gaining insights into the mixed impact of parental migration on the citizenship (see Butt & Ball, ) and developmental aspects (such as behaviours, education, mental and physical health, and relationships) of Indonesian and Filipino childhoods through a growing number of studies (examples include Asis, ; Battistella & Conaco, ; Graham & Jordan, ; Graham et al, ; Parreñas, ; Sukamdi & Wattie, ), it is nonetheless still difficult to derive a comprehensive understanding of left‐behind childhoods. Existing studies investigating the impact of parental migration on specific aspects of children's well‐being seldom include children's perspectives and inadvertently end up portraying children as relatively passive vessels waiting to receive the effects of the adults' actions (exceptions include Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People/Apostleship of the Sea‐Manila, Scalabrini Migration Center, & Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, ; Parreñas, ).…”

The impact of parental absence on early childhood development in the context of Thailand

“…The main finding of the study points to the importance of having the mother at home as a protective factor for early childhood development (UNICEF, 2001). Children who were cared for by others were not at higher risk of having delayed development as long as they live with their mother, while the father’s presence or absence from the home did not make a difference.…”

Not for Adults Only: Toward a Child Lens in Migration Policies in Asia

“…In Thailand, the children of migrant fathers were more resilient (i.e., defined as being happy, doing well in school, and enjoying life) than the children in nonmigrant households (Jampaklay and Vapattanawong 2013). Engaging in risky behaviors, such as drinking alcohol in Vietnam (Jordan, Graham, and Nguyen 2013) and smoking tobacco in Indonesia (Sukamdi and Wattie 2013), was not associated with parental migration. The study did not support the view that children of migrants were more likely to engage in risky practices.…”