Eleventh Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Migration and its attendant causes and consequences have in recent times dominated both popular and academic discourses. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that generated qualitative data from in-depth interviews with left-behind parents of migrant children in Benin city, Nigeria. The results indicate a number of risk factors such as loneliness, emotional stress, and problem of performing activities of daily living. The coping strategies of the left-behind parents include operating small-scale business and engaging in farming to enhance the financial support received from migrant children. The study concludes that an understanding of the experiences of left-behind parents of adult children migrants may contribute to knowledge on the effect of migration on the aged in Africa.