Transnational links and family functioning in reunited Latin American families: Premigration variables' impact

Transnational ties refer to the affective, communicative, and economic relationships that migrant families build between the societies of origin and destination. Investigations of such ties are very scarce. In the present study, focused on Latin American migrant women, transnational ties are considered a protective factor of family functioning, conditioned by premigratory variables. The working hypothesis is that increased frequency of reunited mothers' communication with and remittances to their children during the period of separation prior to the reunion will be linked to better communication, cohesion, flexibility, satisfaction, and family resources, according to the reunited mothers' perception.

The sample consisted of 81 mothers of Latin American reunited families. Most of them (61.7%) have 2 or 3 children and 75.3% have already reunited all of their children in Bizkaia. The frequency of communication between family members in the societies of origin and destination and the frequency of remittances were the transnational variables. To observe family functioning, we used the Circumplex Model. A mediation model was tested through structural equation modeling.

The results of the study confirmed the mediator role of the transnational variables, especially the frequency of transnational communications, partially or fully moderating the impact of the premigratory variables, and positively associated with family functioning, in terms of greater cohesion, flexibility, communication, satisfaction, and perception of resources.

This study has highlighted the role of these ties, which lead to more functional family dynamics. It is necessary to promote new forms of transnational communication that favor subsequent family reunification. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).