Making Sense of Separation—Transnational Childcare in Chinese Immigrant Families.
Zhang, Xian.
2019
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Transnational childcare refers to sending U.S.-born babies to China to be raised by grandparents for a few years. This practice has received negative media attention, but little is known about its consequences. The author of the present study adapted the integrated framework for Asian American children (Mistry et al., 2016) to propose a theoretical model of transnational care, which included Mistry ... read moreet al.'s three core elements—context, family functioning, and meaning making and situated them in a temporal framework. Using mixed methods, the author examined long-term impacts of transnational childcare. More specifically, this study explored whether separated children differed from nonseparated children in behavior problems and attachment to parents. This study also explored relations between contexts (separation experience and family SES) and child outcomes (behavior problems and parent-child relationships), as well as how parents make meaning of separation. Participants were 151 Chinese immigrant parent-child dyads; 22% of the families had sent their children to China. Using quantitative data from parents and children, and qualitative interviews from separated parents, this study's findings highlighted the complexity in transnational childcare. Although separated children did not differ from nonseparated children in their behavior problems or parent-child relationships, the combination of separation experience, family SES, and parenting stress predicted variations in children's behavior problems. The same combination did not predict parent-child relationships, however. Regardless of family outcomes, parents recalled separation experiences poignantly and advised others not to do the same. The relatively high prevalence of transnational childcare and having a network of separated families seemed to serve as a protective factor in parents' meaning making of their experiences. This study also highlighted the importance of using a time-sensitive framework in understanding transnational care. The effect of time was reflected in parents' evolving reflections of transitional care; separating at a young age and for a short time might attribute to the lack of difference in separated and nonseparated children. The small sample size limited the power of analyses; future research with larger samples and multiple informants is recommended. More importantly, this research provided culturally sensitive practice and policy suggestions for improving supports for Chinese immigrant families.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2019.
Submitted to the Dept. of Child Development.
Advisor: Ellen Pinderhughes.
Committee: Jayanthi Mistry, Calvin Gidney, Stephen Chen, Xiaodong Liu, and Yvonne Bohr.
Keyword: Psychology.read less - ID:
- f7623r83n
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