The international @entity4222 of parents from the global south raises questions about the health impacts of family separation on those who stay behind. This paper uses data collected in 2008 and 2009 for a project on @entity1 Health and Migrant Parents in South-East Asia (CHAMPSEA) to address a largely neglected research area by investigating the mental health of those who stay behind in Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam to care for the @entity1 of overseas migrants. A mixed-methods research design is employed to answer two questions. First, whether carers in transnational (migrant) households are more likely to suffer mental health problems than those in non-migrant households; and secondly, whether transnational family practices and characteristics of @entity4222 are associated with mental health outcomes for stay-behind carers. The Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) was completed by carers in selected communities (N  =  3026) and used to identify likely cases of @entity146 ( @entity146 ). Multivariate logistic regression and thematic analysis of qualitative interviews (N  =  149) reveal a nuanced picture. All stay-behind carers in the Indonesian sample are more likely than carers in non-migrant households to suffer @entity146 . Across the three study countries, however, it is stay-behind mothers with husbands working overseas who are most likely to experience poor mental health. Moreover, infrequent contact with the migrant, not receiving remittances and migrant destinations in the Middle East are all positively associated with carer @entity146 , whereas greater educational attainment and greater wealth are protective factors. These findings add new evidence on the 'costs' of international labour @entity4222 and point to the role of gendered expectations and wider geopolitical structures. Governments and international policy makers need to intervene to encourage transnational family practices that are less detrimental to the mental health of those who stay behind to care for the next generation.

Parental @entity4222 and the mental health of those who stay behind to care for XXXX in South-East Asia.

@entity4222 :: ('MESH:D014085', 'Disease') :: ['migration'] @entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['Child', 'children'] @entity146 :: ('MESH:D001523', 'Disease') :: ['CMD', 'common mental disorders']
@entity1 :: (9606,Species) :: ['children']
