Transnational links and family functioning in reunited Latin American families: Premigration variables’ impact.

Abstract

Objectives: Transnational ties refer to the affective, communicative, and economic relationships that migrant families build between the societies of origin and destination. Investigations of such ties are very scarce. In the present study, focused on Latin American migrant women, transnational ties are considered a protective factor of family functioning, conditioned by premigratory variables. The working hypothesis is that increased frequency of reunited mothers' communication with and remittances to their children during the period of separation prior to the reunion will be linked to better communication, cohesion, flexibility, satisfaction, and family resources, according to the reunited mothers' perception. Method: The sample consisted of 81 mothers of Latin American reunited families. Most of them (61.7%) have 2 or 3 children and 75.3% have already reunited all of their children in Bizkaia. The frequency of communication between family members in the societies of origin and destination and the frequency of remittances were the transnational variables. To observe family functioning, we used the Circumplex Model. A mediation model was tested through structural equation modeling. Results: The results of the study confirmed the mediator role of the transnational variables, especially the frequency of transnational communications, partially or fully moderating the impact of the premigratory variables, and positively associated with family functioning, in terms of greater cohesion, flexibility, communication, satisfaction, and perception of resources. Conclusions: This study has highlighted the role of these ties, which lead to more functional family dynamics. It is necessary to promote new forms of transnational communication that favor subsequent family reunification. Public Significance StatementTransnational ties mediate the impact of the premigration variables and contribute to more functional family dynamics. The frequency of transnational communications, in the first place, and the frequency of remittances, in second place, are strategies to connect with the loved ones in the country of origin that are associated with family functioning in terms of greater cohesion, flexibility, communication, satisfaction and perception of resources of reunited families. New forms of transnational communication that favor subsequent family reunification must be promoted.

Validación de la Escala de Sesgo Endogrupal en Población de Migrantes en Chile

“…Se sugiere en futuras investigaciones abordar otras poblaciones que en la actualidad son cada vez más grandes. Asimismo, sería interesante establecer si las expectativas pre-migratorias afectan el sesgo endogrupal, en el sentido que expectativas demasiado irreales puedan acrecentarlo (Peñas, Herrero-Fernández, Merino, Corral & Martínez-Pampliega, 2019). Otro aspecto importante es la experiencia previa en migraciones, Revista Iberoamericana de Diagnóstico y Evaluacióne Avaliação Psicológica.…”

Family Strengths, the Circumplex Model of Family Systems, and Personal and Family Functioning: A Meta-Analysis of the Relationships Among Study Measures

“…The 33 samples were considered individual studies for conducting the meta-analysis. Table 1 States, three were conducted in Mexico (Cardona, 2015;Martinez-Pampliega et al, 2017), two were conducted in Poland (Izydorczyk et al, 2019;Jelonkiewicz, 2010), two were conducted in Spain (Castillo et al, 2004;Penas et al, 2020), and one study was conducted in China (Xia et al, 2004). One study included a sample of American and Taiwanese study participants (Lin & Chen, 1994).…”

Immigrant parents and children navigating two languages: A scoping review

“…However, positive communication factors can help immigrant families navigate even some of the most difficult experiences. For instance, increased family communication was associated with better family functioning after reunification for immigrant families who had been temporarily separated from each other (Peñas et al, 2020).…”

“…Others find that positive communication factors can help immigrant families navigate even some of the most difficult experiences. For instance, increased family communication was associated with better family functioning after reunification for immigrant families who had been temporarily separated from each other (Peñas et al, 2020). However, more research is needed to understand the different ways in which the dimensions of the Circumplex Model impact and reflect communication in families where more than one language is spoken in the home.…”