Emotional costs of migration in young children of migrant parents: approach from communication

Abstract

This paper addresses one of the side effects related to migration that has been largely overlooked in existing studies on the various dimensions of the phenomenon. Specifically, this article examines the emotional and social implications of separation, assessing the void left in both the child who stays behind and the parent who leaves, and placing their fears, (dis)hopes, and expectations into perspective from a communicational standpoint. Stories about the gruesome threats facing migrants on their journey to the United States serve as a mirror in which young people begin to see—perhaps more intuitively than rationally—something that is changing the way they are and how they see themselves within their group and community.