Query: Experiences of left behind children in Philippines

title: Effects of Parental Migration on Life Satisfaction and Academic Achievement of Left Behind Children in Rural China A Case Study in Hubei Province
abstract: In the rural areas of China, there is a high occurrence of parental migration, wherein adults are flushed into urban areas to search for employment opportunities, leading to millions of left behind children (LBC) in rural China. LBC attracts more attention from the social community and Chinese government. Here, we compared the life satisfaction and academic achievement of left behind children (LBC) and non left behind children (NLBC) in rural regions that send out migrant labor in Hubei province, central China. We investigated 1031 LBC and 992 NLBC students in grades 4 to 9 in ten elementary and four middle schools, using a structured questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, life satisfaction, and academic achievement scores. The results showed that LBC have a lower life satisfaction and lower academic achievement than NLBC (p 0.01) Meanwhile, as the child's age at separation from parents decreased, their life satisfaction decreased. Additionally, correlations were observed between life satisfaction and academic achievement scores in LBC (p 0.004) as well as in NLBC (p 0.064) Collectively, these findings provide novel insights into a comprehensive understanding of LBC and suggest that the life satisfaction levels of LBC should be improved in rural China.

title: Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: a meta analytic and theoretical review.
abstract: Although the merits of parents using corporal punishment to discipline children have been argued for decades, a thorough understanding of whether and how corporal punishment affects children has not been reached. Toward this end, the author first presents the results of meta analyses of the association between parental corporal punishment and 11 child behaviors and experiences. Parental corporal punishment was associated with all child constructs, including higher levels of immediate compliance and aggression and lower levels of moral internalization and mental health. The author then presents a process context model to explain how parental corporal punishment might cause particular child outcomes and considers alternative explanations. The article concludes by identifying 7 major remaining issues for future research.

title: Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2008: a systematic analysis
abstract: Up to date information on the causes of child deaths is crucial to guide global efforts to improve child survival. We report new estimates for 2008 of the major causes of death in children younger than 5 years.  We used multicause proportionate mortality models to estimate deaths in neonates aged 0 27 days and children aged 1 59 months, and selected single cause disease models and analysis of vital registration data when available to estimate causes of child deaths. New data from China and India permitted national data to be used for these countries instead of predictions based on global statistical models, as was done previously. We estimated proportional causes of death for 193 countries, and by application of these proportions to the country specific mortality rates in children younger than 5 years and birth rates, the numbers of deaths by cause were calculated for countries, regions, and the world.  Of the estimated 8.795 million deaths in children younger than 5 years worldwide in 2008, infectious diseases caused 68% (5.970 million) with the largest percentages due to pneumonia (18% 1.575 million, uncertainty range [UR] 1.046 million 1.874 million) diarrhoea (15% 1.336 million, 0.822 million 2.004 million) and malaria (8% 0.732 million, 0.601 million 0.851 million) 41% (3.575 million) of deaths occurred in neonates, and the most important single causes were preterm birth complications (12% 1.033 million, UR 0.717 million 1.216 million) birth asphyxia (9% 0.814 million, 0.563 million 0.997 million) sepsis (6% 0.521 million, 0.356 million 0.735 million) and pneumonia (4% 0.386 million, 0.264 million 0.545 million) 49% (4.294 million) of child deaths occurred in five countries: India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, and China.  These country specific estimates of the major causes of child deaths should help to focus national programmes and donor assistance. Achievement of Millennium Development Goal 4, to reduce child mortality by two thirds, is only possible if the high numbers of deaths are addressed by maternal, newborn, and child health interventions.

title: The other side of migration in rural Nepal: sociocultural transformation and the women left behind
abstract: This study examines the relationship between male labour out migration and the process of sociocultural transformation in the places of origin. Taking an example from Nepal, it shows that male labour out migration has increased women's participation in agriculture, more significantly so in those cases where the left behind women are de facto household heads than in cases where they live with in laws. Similarly, in the case of de facto female heads of households, women's role in agricultural decision making has increased. Women, who in the absence of their husbands live with their in laws, continue to remain under patriarchal control, not by their husbands but by their father in law and elder brothers in law. Women who are de facto heads of the households can exercise more autonomy in decision making and have more control over their own mobility. Hence, the effects of male out migration on women's participation in agricultural work and decision making are also contingent upon the domestic arrangement in which they find themselves.

title: Motives and Giving Norms Behind Remittances: The Case of Filipino Overseas Workers and Their Recipient Households
abstract: The literature has focused on motives to explain remittance behavior. But as non anonymous transfers, remittances are liable to be influenced by giving norms as well. We formulate an empirical specification that takes account of remittance motives involving worker household pairs. We find that altruism dominates the exchange motive among overseas workers who are likely to be the primary breadwinners of their recipient households. We also find that, in the subsample in which overseas workers are likely to be secondary breadwinners, (a) household labor income is an endogenous explanatory variable and (b) the error covariance of the household income and remittance selection equations is positive. A possible reason for (a) is that secondary breadwinners use household income as an imperfect signal of opportunity cost or to detect unobserved effort, i.e. moral hazard, in generating income. As for (b) we surmise that it indicates the presence of incentive compatible mechanisms against moral hazard. On giving norms, we find that in samples that include overseas workers who are secondary breadwinners, remittance amounts are afflicted with negative selectivity. We present evidence that this is consistent with Filipino giving practices, in which everyone gives but in modest amounts.

title: Common mental disorders among adult members of 'left behind' international migrant worker families in Sri Lanka
abstract: BackgroundNearly one in ten Sri Lankans are employed abroad as International migrant workers (IMW) Very little is known about the mental health of adult members in families left behind. This study aimed to explore the impact of economic migration on mental health (common mental disorders) of left behind families in Sri Lanka.MethodsA cross sectional survey using multistage sampling was conducted in six districts (representing 62% of outbound IMW population) of Sri Lanka. Spouses and non spouse caregivers (those providing substantial care for children) from families of economic migrants were recruited. Adult mental health was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire. Demographic, socio economic, migration specific and health utilization information were gathered. total of 410 IMW families were recruited (response rate: 95.1% Both spouse and a non spouse caregiver were recruited for 55 families with a total of 277 spouses and 188 caregivers included. Poor general health, current diagnosed illness and healthcare visit frequency was higher in the non spouse caregiver group. Overall prevalence of common mental disorder (CMD; Depression, somatoform disorder, anxiety) was 20.7% (95%CI 16.9 24.3) with 14.4% (95%CI 10.3 18.6) among spouses and 29.8% (95%CI 23.2 36.4) among non spouse caregivers. Prevalence of depression (25.5% 95%CI 19.2 31.8) and somatoform disorder 11.7% (95%CI 7.0 16.3) was higher in non spouse caregiver group. When adjusted for age and gender, non returning IMW in family, primary education and low in bound remittance frequency was associated with CMD for spouses while no education, poor general health and increased healthcare visits was significantly associated in the non spouse caregiver group.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to explore specific mental health outcomes among adult left behind family members of IMW through standardized diagnostic instruments in Sri Lanka and in South Asian region. Negative impact of economic migration is highlighted by the considerably high prevalence of CMD among adults in left behind families. A policy framework that enables health protection whilst promoting migration for development remains a key challenge for labour sending nations.

title: Migration, Householding and the Well being of Left behind Women in Rural Ningxia
abstract: In recent years, large scale labor migration has had a significant impact on the social landscape of rural China. Large numbers of rural Chinese men work away from home for long periods until they reach late middle age, while rural women also often migrate when young, but generally return to the countryside to get married. After marriage and childbirth, most women remain in the village, but repeated episodes of migration are increasingly common among married women in their 20s and 30s. Consequently, much of the Chinese countryside is dominated by split households and a depleted, shifting population of middle aged women, children and the elderly.

title: Estimating the Economic Effects of Remittances on the Left Behind in Cambodia
abstract: Using propensity score matching with the 2009 Cambodia Socio Economic Survey of households, this study examines the effects of remittances on indicators of household wellbeing: poverty, consumption and labour participation of non migrant members. The theoretical framework is built upon a "new economics of labour migration" hypothesising that the emigration decision is jointly determined by households and individual migrants and that remittances basically represent a form of contractual arrangements between them. The results indicate that households with at least one migrant member and which receive remittances could reduce their poverty headcount rate by 3 7 percentage points vis a vis their matched controls. Remittances also reduce depth and severity of poverty of treated households. On the contrary, remittances generate a 5 9 percent "dependency effect" on working age adults who are employed due to reduced weekly hours worked. The impact of remittances on labour participation and salary income is, however, vulnerable to unobservable factors.

title: Remittances and Expenditure Patterns of the Left Behinds in Rural China
abstract: This paper investigates how private transfers from internal migration in China affect the expenditure behaviour of families left behind in rural areas. Using data from the Rural Urban Migration in China (RUMiC) survey, we assess the impact of remittances sent to rural households on consumption type and investment type expenditures. We apply propensity score matching to account for the selection of households into receiving remittances, and estimate average treatment effects on the treated. We find that remittances supplement income in rural China and lead to increased consumption rather than increased investment. Moreover, we find evidence of a strong negative impact on education expenditures, which could be detrimental to sustaining investment in human capital in poor rural areas in China.

title: The Need for Play and Creativity in Children's Rehabilitation Process: a Field Study in the Philippines
abstract: De forhallanden som manga filippinska barn lever under stammer inte overens med de rattigheter de har under barnkonventionen. Extrem fattigdom och utbredd korruption gor att manniskor lever under svara livsforhallanden och de varst utsatta ar barnen. Den filippinska staten varken respekterar, skyddar eller uppfyller dess skyldigheter under internationell lag. Darfor maste andra aktorer, som olika NGOs, ta pa sig ansvaret for att barnens behov ska bli uppfyllda. Manga barn fran forsummande och utnyttjande situationer ar i behov av rehabilitering. Denna uppsats ar baserad pa en faltstudie med fokus pa det arbete som tva NGOs pa Filippinerna utfor for att ge barn tillbaka deras forlorade barndom. Syftet ar att vacka uppmarksamhet kring de behov som barn har for deras utveckling och valbefinnande, speciellt behovet av lek och kreativitet, tva behov som tenderar att komma i skymundan i arbetet for barnets basta.