Resilience and Risk Factors in Children Originated from Families in which Parents Migrate due to Labor Conditions

Abstract

In the circumstances of emotional delicacy and fragility in children, family separation endangers the quality and homogeneity of their development, exposing them to several risks. The phenomenon of migration is not new; however, the contemporary provides a few characteristics that know no valences in the previous societies. Therefore, there are new labels rooted as “home alone generation” and “euro-orphans”. Our objective is to identifying protective and risk factors in behavior, cognitive and emotional development in children with parents working abroad. The study includes children aged 6-10 years divided into two groups. The study group is formed out of children originated from biological families in which parents, both or only one of them have migrated abroad. And, the control group is formed of children with parents at home. Around investigating the behavior, emotional and cognitive development, we used projective techniques, drawing techniques: Tree test, Bonhomme test, SDQ questionnaires (The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires) completed by parents/caregivers to assess emotional and behavioral problems in children. The results argue for the occurrence of resilience in the presence of several protective factors resulting from workshops within curricular and extracurricular educational activity as a counterbalance for risk factors, implying the fact of having a parent/both parents migrated.