Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-b95js Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-11T06:46:41.728Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

How left behind are rural parents of migrant children? Evidence from Thailand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2010

JOHN KNODEL ,
JIRAPORN KESPICHAYAWATTANA ,
CHANPEN SAENGTIENCHAI  and
SUVINEE WIWATWANICH
JOHN KNODEL*
Affiliation:
Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
JIRAPORN KESPICHAYAWATTANA
Affiliation:
Faculty of Nursing, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
CHANPEN SAENGTIENCHAI
Affiliation:
Independent Researcher, Bangkok, Thailand.
SUVINEE WIWATWANICH
Affiliation:
Faculty of Nursing, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
*
Address for correspondence: John Knodel, Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, PO Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI48106-1248, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The consequences of adult children's migration from rural areas for older parents who remain behind are keenly debated. While the mass media and international advocacy organisations favour an ‘alarmist’ view of desertion, the academic literature makes more sanguine assessments using the ‘household strategy’ and ‘modified extended family’ perspectives. We examine the relationship between the migration of adult children and various dimensions of older parents' wellbeing in Thailand using evidence from a survey that focused on the issues. The results provide little support for the alarmist view, but instead suggest that parents and adult children adapt to the social and economic changes associated with development in ways not necessarily detrimental to intergenerational relations. The migration of children, especially to urban areas, often benefits parents' material support while the recent spread of cell phones has radically increased their ability to maintain social contact. Nevertheless, changing living arrangements through increased migration and the smaller family sizes of the youngest age groups of older people pose serious challenges for aspects of filial support, especially at advanced ages when chronic illness and frailty require long-term personal care. Dealing with this emerging situation in a context of social, economic and technological change is among the most critical issues facing those concerned with the implications of rapid population ageing in Thailand and elsewhere.

Keywords

migrationThailandfamilyremittancesintergenerational exchangesageinggrandchild careliving arrangements
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 30 , Issue 5 , July 2010 , pp. 811 - 841
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abas, M. A., Punpuing, S., Jirapramukpitak, T., Guest, P., Tangchonlatip, K., Leese, M. and Prince, M. 2009. Rural–urban migration and depression in ageing family members left behind. British Journal of Psychiatry, 195, 1, 54–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aboderin, I. 2004. Modernisation and ageing theory revisited: current explanations of recent developing world and historical western shifts in material family support for older people. Ageing & Society, 24, 1, 29–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asis, M. M. B., Domingo, L., Knodel, J. and Mehtha, K. 1995. Living arrangements in four Asian countries: a comparative perspective. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology, 10, 1, 145–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Biao, X. 2007. How far are the left behind left behind? A pulmonary study in rural China. Population, Space and Place, 13, 3, 179–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cai, Q. 2003. Migrant remittances and family ties: a case study in China. International Journal of Population Geography, 9, 6, 471–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chantanusornsiri, W. 2009. Savings fund office due in 2010. Bangkok Post, 19 September, Business Section, 1.Google Scholar
Cheung, C.-K. and Kwan, A. Y.-H. 2009. The erosion of filial piety by modernisation in Chinese cities. Ageing & Society, 29, 2, 179–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coles, R. L. 2001. Elderly narrative reflections on the contradictions in Turkish village family life after migration of adult children. Journal of Aging Studies, 15, 4, 383–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowgill, D. O. 1968. The social life of the aged in Thailand. The Gerontologist, 8, 3, 159–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Vos, S., Solis, P. and De Oca, V. M. 2004. Receipt of assistance and extended family residence among elderly men in Mexico. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 58, 1, 1–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
French, H. W. 2006. Rush for wealth in China's cities shatters the ancient assurance of care in old age. The New York Times, 3 November.Google Scholar
Giles, J. and Ren, M. 2007. Elderly parent health and the migration decisions of adult children: evidence from rural China. Demography, 44, 2, 265–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guo, M., Chi, I. and Silverstein, M. 2009. Intergenerational support of Chinese rural elders with migrant children: do sons' or daughters' migrations make a difference? Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 52, 5, 534–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
HelpAge International 2009. Thai PM Guarantees Older People's Right to Social Pension. HelpAge International, London. Available online at www.helpage.org/News/Latestnews/@76212 [Accessed 18 September 2009].Google Scholar
Hendricks, J. and Yoon, H. 2006. The sweep of age and ageing: changing mores, changing policies. In Hendricks, J. and Yoon, H. (eds), Handbook of Asian Aging. Baywood, Amityville, New York, 1–22.Google Scholar
Hermalin, A. 2003. Theoretical perspectives, measurement issues, and related research. In Hermalin, A. (eds), The Well-being of the Elderly in Asia: A Four-country Comparative Study. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 101–41.Google Scholar
Jamuna, D. 1997. Stress dimensions among caregivers of the elderly. Indian Journal of Medical Research, 106, 4, 381–88.Google ScholarPubMed
Jitapunkul, S. and Wiwatwanich, S. 2009. National policies and programs for the aging population in Thailand. Ageing International, 33, 1, 62–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kabir, Z. H., Szabehely, M. and Tishelman, C. 2002. Support in old age in the changing society of Bangladesh. Ageing & Society, 22, 5, 613–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kespichayawattana, J. and Wiwatwanich, S. 2005. The impacts of migration on physical health and psychological well-being of the elderly parents left-behind: a study from rural Thailand. Presentation at the International Workshop on The Impacts of Migration on the ‘Left-Behind’ in Asia, Hanoi, Vietnam, 10–11 March.Google Scholar
Knodel, J. and Chayovan, N. 2008. Population Ageing and the Well-being of Older Persons in Thailand: Past Trends, Current Situation and Future Challenges. Population Ageing Paper 5, United Nations Population Fund Thailand and Asia and the Pacific Regional Office, Bangkok.Google Scholar
Knodel, J. and Chayovan, N. 2009. Intergenerational relationships and family care and support for Thai elderly. Ageing International, 33, 1, 15–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knodel, J., Kespichayawattana, J., Wiwatwanich, S. and Saengtienchai, C. 2007. Migration and Inter-generational Solidarity: Evidence from Rural Thailand. Population Ageing Paper 2, United Nations Population Fund and Country Technical Services Team for East and Southeast Asia, Bangkok.Google Scholar
Knodel, J. and Saengtienchai, C. 2007. Rural parents with urban children: social and economic implications of migration on the rural elderly in Thailand. Population, Space and Place, 13, 3, 193–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knodel, J., Saengtienchai, C. and Werasit, S. 1995. The living arrangements of elderly in Thailand: views of the populace. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology, 10, 1, 79–111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kosberg, J. I. and Garcia, J. L. 2004. Change in traditional roles for elderly men and women. Bold: Quarterly Journal of the International Institute on Aging, 14, 3, 3–10.Google Scholar
Kreager, P. 2006. Migration, social structure and old-age support networks: a comparison of three Indonesian communities. Ageing & Society, 26, 1, 37–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Litwak, E. 1960. Geographic-mobility and extended family cohesion. American Sociological Review, 25, 3, 385–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Litwak, E. and Kulis, S. 1987. Technology, proximity, and measures of kin support. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49, 3, 649–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nguyen, L., Yeoh, B. S. A. and Toyota, M. 2006. Migration and the well-being of the ‘left behind’ in Asia: key themes and trends. Asian Population Studies, 2, 1, 37–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osaki, K. 2003. Migrant remittances in Thailand: economic necessity or social norm? Journal of Population Research, 20, 2, 203–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sando, R. A. 1986. Doing the work of two generations: the impact of out-migration on the elderly in rural Taiwan. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology, 1, 2, 163–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Semyonov, M. and Gorodzeisky, A. 2008. Labor migration, remittances and economic well-being of households in the Philippines. Population Research and Policy Review, 27, 5, 619–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sen, K. 1994. Ageing: Debates on Demographic Transition and Social Policy. Zed, London.Google Scholar
Silverstein, M., Bengtson, V. L. and Litwak, E. 2003. Theoretical approaches to problems of families, aging, and social support in the context of modernization. In Biggs, S., Lowenstein, A. and Hendricks, J. (eds), The Need for Theory: Critical Approaches to Social Gerontology. Baywood, Amityville, New York, 181–99.Google Scholar
Silverstein, M., Cong, Z. and Li, S. Z. 2006. Intergenerational transfers and living arrangements of older people in rural China: consequences for psychological well-being. Journals of Gerontology Series B – Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 61, 5, S256–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, G. C. 1998. Residential separation and patterns of interaction between elderly parents and their adult children. Progress in Human Geography, 22, 3, 368–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sorensen, C. 1986. Migration, the family, and the care of the aged in rural Korea: an investigation of a village in the Yongso region of Kangwon Province, 1918–1983. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology, 1, 2, 139–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stark, O. and Bloom, D. E. 1985. The new economics of labor migration. American Economic Review, 75, 2, 173–8.Google Scholar
Stark, O. and Lucas, R. E. B. 1988. Migration, remittances, and the family. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 36, 3, 465–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations Organization (UNO) 2002. Report of the Second World Assembly on Ageing. Madrid, 8–12 April 2002. Publication A/CONF. 197/9, UNO, New York.Google Scholar
United Nations Organization (UNO) 2008. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision. UNO, New York.Google Scholar
Vanwey, L. 2004. Altruistic and contractual remittances between male and female migrants and households in rural Thailand. Demography, 41, 4, 739–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warnes, A. M. 1992. Population ageing in Thailand: personal and service implications. In Phillips, D. R. (ed.), Ageing in the Newly Industrialising Countries of East and Southeast Asia. Arnold, London, 185–206.Google Scholar
Warnes, A. M. 1996. Social welfare policies and old age incomes in Thailand. In Lloyd-Sherlock, P. and Johnson, P. (eds), Ageing and Social Policy: Global Comparisons. Suntory-Toyota International Centre for Economics and Related Disciplines, London School of Economics, London, 61–79.Google Scholar
Zimmer, Z. and Korinek, K. 2008. Does family size predict whether an older adult lives with or proximate to an adult child in the Asia-Pacific region? Asian Population Studies, 4, 2, 1744–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar