Adult psychological outcomes of former left behind children in Romania

Abstract

In the context of adult labor migration in Europe, Romania is one of the leading work force sending countries, with 93 648 left behind children according to the ANPDCA (2017). The purpose of this empirical study is to investigate the perceived difficulties and outcomes of young adults with a left behind background. The sample size was 193 adults (83% F, mean age 24.93 years). The subjects were tested online with psychological measures assessing anxiety, depression, clarity of Self-Concept, generalized self-efficacy and school difficulties. The study found that contextual factors such as one or both parents left to work abroad, the duration of the separation, the age of separation may partly explain the inter-individual variations in the perceived psychological consequences related to labor migrant parents. The practical importance for educational actors of the results of this study resides in offering information on how to approach students whose parents left the country. Also the findings can inspire the optimization of the support policies for these children.