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Transnational Korean-Chinese Families and Their Children’s Delinquency: Focusing on Moderating Effects of Parent-Child Bonding and Family Resilience

Song, Youngho 1 YOON, In-Jin 1

1고려대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Nowadays transnational family is a widespread phenomenon worldwide. Children left at home as a result of international migration of their parents, however, are known to suffer from depression, maladjustment at school, and deviant behavior. This study aims at analyzing how transnational migration of parents affect the likelihood of deviance of children left at home with a focus on the moderating effects of parent-child bonding and family resilience. Data for this study was collected by a survey of 2,800 middle and high school students in eight cities and counties of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Main results are as follows. The level of juvenile delinquency was particularly high when only mother migrated abroad or both parents lived with their children after they had returned from international migration. Parent-child attachment, family cohesion, and family adaptability were lower among children whose mothers migrated abroad alone than children of other cases. After we controlled for other variables, family types where mothers migrated abroad alone or both parents lived with their children after international migration had independent adverse effects on juvenile delinquency. Among variables related with family relations, parent-child attachment and family cohesion had deterrent effects on delinquency. In other words, children raised in an unstable environment where both parents continue repetitive migration were the most vulnerable to delinquency. The moderating effects of parent-child bond and family resilience were, however, salient among these families. These research results suggest that there is a need for transnational parenting where positive communication between parent and child and intimate solidarity among family members can enhance adequate control and supervision of children.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.