Assessing the Impact of Parental Labor Migration on Children’s Health

Abstract

In the Republic of Moldova, the phenomenon of children separated from one or both parents who went abroad to work has reached one of the highest levels in Europe. A total of 36,817 children were affected by parental labor migration in 2019, and 29,186 children in 2020. In order to define the quality of life of migrants’ children, there were researched different aspects of their lives. As the instrument for given research there was used the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL™4.0) questionnaire. The research sample comprised 280 people, which was divided into 4 groups: group I-70 children affected by parental labor migration, group II-70 children without parental labor migration experience, group III-70 parents/guardians of children affected by parental labor migration, group IV-70 parents/guardians of children without parental labor migration experience. Scientific arguments were made in the study supporting an innovative methodology for assessing children's quality of life - the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL™ 4.0) questionnaire, which facilitated the assessment of patients’ health affected by parental labor migration. The study showed that the Total Score of the Quality of Life of the patients ranged from 56.01 ± 12.75 points at the age of 5–7 years and 46.77 ± 11.09 points in adolescents aged 13–18 years, the figures being significantly lower compared to patients not affected by migration (p = 0.000).