Attachment Styles in Children of Migrant Workers Psychology
Keywords:
attachment styles, migrant workers, child development, emotional well‑being, survey studyAbstract
Parental migration—a socioeconomic phenomenon affecting millions of families worldwide—has profound implications for the emotional and social development of children left behind. This study examines the attachment styles of children aged 6 to 12 whose one or both parents work as migrant laborers in India. Drawing on Bowlby’s attachment theory, we conducted a cross‑sectional survey of 300 children recruited from schools and community centers in both rural and urban districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Using the Child Attachment Style Interview (CASI) alongside a demographic questionnaire, we assessed the prevalence of secure, avoidant, ambivalent, and disorganized attachment patterns and analyzed their relationships with parental absence duration, frequency and modality of communication, and child’s age, gender, and primary caregiver. Results indicate that 38% of children exhibit secure attachment, while the remaining 62% display various insecure styles: avoidant (24%), ambivalent (19%), and disorganized (19%).
Longer durations of parental absence correlated significantly with higher rates of insecure attachments (χ²(3, N=283)=18.76, p < .001), whereas frequent parental contact—particularly via video calls—mitigated but did not eliminate the risk. Older children (10–12 years) demonstrated greater resilience, manifesting more secure patterns than younger peers (6–9 years). No significant gender differences emerged. Multivariate logistic regression confirmed that each additional six months of separation increased the odds of insecure attachment by 1.54 times (95% CI [1.22, 1.94], p < .001), while each additional monthly contact reduced it by 22% (OR=0.78, 95% CI [0.65, 0.93], p = .007). These findings underscore the complexity of left‑behind children’s emotional worlds and point to actionable interventions: subsidized communication infrastructure, caregiver training programs, school‑based counseling, and community support networks to promote secure attachment and foster long‑term well‑being.
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