Search results

Spousal separation due to migration is a prevalent phenomenon in the developing world, but its psychological consequences for left-behind partners are largely understudied. Using data from 2010, 2012 and 2014 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this paper first examined whether spousal migration causes rural married adults any psychological distress; this finding was then advanced by testing the mechanisms that could potentially explain the linkage between these two variables. Inverse Probability Weighting (IPW) for multivalued treatment effect models and paired Propensity Score Matching (PSM) have been used to correct the potential selection bias of spousal migration. The results show that prolonged spousal separation through migration increases the depressive symptoms of married adults in rural China, and the detrimental effects on left-behind spouses' psychological well-being can be explained by the reduced level of emotional intimacy between husband and wife, and partially by women becoming the master of the household. Considering that being the master of the household is accompanied by elevated stress levels associated with increasing family responsibilities, further examination showed that economic resources can buffer the negative effect associated with being the master of the household when the spouse migrates. However, we did not find that time use is an effective mechanism to link spousal migration and left-behind spouses’ well-being.

The WEDGE advisory board meeting discussed generating cross-culturally comparable data

Although chronic life strain is often found to be associated with adverse health outcomes, empirical research is lacking on the health implications of persistent role overload that many women around the world are subject to, the so-called double burden of work and family responsibilities. Using data from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (1994-2012), we examined the linkage between time-use profiles and body mass index (BMI) trajectories for Filipino women over an 18-year span. Out of the four classes of women with differential levels of a combination of work and family duties, the group with the heaviest double burden has the highest average BMI. In addition, those who have remained in this class for three or more waves of data not only have higher BMI on average but also have experienced the steepest rate of increase in BMI upon transition from midlife to old age.