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LEFT BEHIND: THE IMPACT OF PARENTAL MIGRATION ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF ROMANIAN ADOLESCENTS
Abstract
Many Romanian parents leave their families behind in search of a better life, resulting in thousands of abandoned children. The absence of parents and disrupted attachments adversely affect the socioemotional development of these children, leading to lower psychological well-being. Existing data primarily focus on children and negative aspects and are less known about the effects of parental absence on adolescents’ wellbeing. Purpose: This study aims to examine the psychological well-being of left-behind adolescents, specifically regarding their subjective happiness, life satisfaction, selfregard, and future regard. Method: The study included a sample of N=477 participants (291 girls and 185 boys) with one or both parents working abroad, and a comparison group of N=542 participants living with their parents, drawn from a larger nationally representative sample of high school students. A self-administered online questionnaire assessed levels of subjective happiness, life satisfaction, positive self-regard, positive illusions and optimism, as well as physical well-being. Results: The findings indicated more negative outcomes for youth with their mother or both parents missing from the household across nearly every aspect analyzed. Discussion: The discussion highlights the necessity of designing social interventions that strengthen social inclusion for these adolescents.
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References14
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