Transnational Migration Aspirations, Educational Capabilities, Marriage Preferences, and Health Outcomes: A Mixed-Methods Study Among Pakistani youth

Abstract

Background: Pakistani youths desire for international migration due to the more favourable socioeconomic circumstances in the country of destination. This may lead to migration marriages among partners of mismatching socio-economic statuses. This study aims to analyse the migration aspirations in relation with educational capabilities, marriage preferences, and health outcomes in the context of an anticipated transnational migration. Methods: A sequential mixed-methods study has been conducted. Nine case studies and a self-administered questionnaire survey among 496 students enrolled at University of Lahore, Pakistan, have been conducted. Qualitative data was analysed through thematic content analysis. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed for the quantitative data. The inductive themes in qualitative analysis, in addition to a literature review, were used to develop the structured questionnaire for the quantitative survey. Results: Significant associations of socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, and education), migration aspirations, educational capabilities, marriage preferences, and health outcomes with the anticipated immigration status were observed. The potential migrants acquire skills and education that may support their migration plans. Conclusion: This study shows high intentions for transnational migration. Cautious policies need to be implemented for avoiding a brain drain, but also for allowing a high level of education and freedom to migrate.

Expectations in a Marriage Proposal: A Gender-Based Comparison in Pakistan

“…In a previously conducted research it was found out that the respondents were ready to compromise on social status, attractiveness, love, and trustworthiness to marry a person who can serve as means of migration/settled (Jalil & Fischer, 2020). However, this is in contrast with our findings where only 14.3% of the sample preferred marrying a person who lived abroad because they do not want to be distant from their families, friends and culture.…”

Migration Aspirations and Adolescents’ Ideal age at Union Formation in Western Mexico

“…Lastly, migrating for education is relatively common within Mexico (Valentine et al 2016;Ducoing Watty 2018;Jalil and Fischer 2020), and higher education levels are associated with delayed union formation (White and Potter 2013;Kroeger, Frank, and Schmeer 2015). I hypothesize that adolescent educational aspirations will account for some of the positive association between migration aspirations and the desired age at marriage (H3).…”

“…Migration intentions and aspirations are informed by various factors, including gender norms, family norms about migration, community exposure to migration, financial need, and social capital (De Jong 2000;Creighton 2013;Boccagni 2017;Jalil and Fischer 2020). Individuals who aspire to migrate are more likely to actually do so than those who do not have concrete intentions to migrate, controlling for the structural conditions that make realizing migration aspirations possible (Carling and Schewel 2018).…”

“…Adolescents are simultaneously making decisions about different life domains, including union formation, childbearing, education, work, and migration (Elder 1998;Alcaraz, Hayford, and Glick 2022). Their marital aspirations provide key insights into how adolescents see their futures, whether/when marriage is a part of those futures, and to what extent adolescents consider marriage to be important (Willoughby 2010;Allendorf and Thornton 2015;Shahrabadi et al 2017;Jalil and Fischer 2020). Migration aspirations, in turn, reflect both individual goals for migration and migration's salience in individual communities; they are also associated with individuals' subsequent migration patterns (De Jong 2000;Creighton 2013).…”