Shifting Geographical Configurations in Migrant Families: Narratives of Children Reunited with their Mothers in Italy

Authors

  • Paola Bonizzoni Università degli Studi di Milano, Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali e Politiche
  • Luisa Leonini Università degli Studi di Milano, Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali e Politiche

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12765/CPoS-2013-01

Keywords:

Transnational motherhood, Transnational childhood, Family reunification, Female migration

Abstract

The article explores the experiences of separation and reunification by children of migrant mothers in Italy by analysing 32 qualitative interviews conducted with adolescents who had rejoined their mothers at different points in their lives. We show that international migration causes children to face multiple shifts in the configuration of their family ties due to the geographical dislocations and re-locations to which these ties are subject. The way in which children interpret and adjust to these changes depends on factors such as the timing of the family migration process and the frequency of transnational family practices, which are affected by more or less abrupt discontinuities in family life after their mothers’ and their own departure.

Published

2013-06-19

How to Cite

[1]
Bonizzoni, P. and Leonini, L. 2013. Shifting Geographical Configurations in Migrant Families: Narratives of Children Reunited with their Mothers in Italy. Comparative Population Studies. 38, 2 (Jun. 2013). DOI:https://doi.org/10.12765/CPoS-2013-01.