Child–Mother–Father Triads and Left-Behind Children’s Emotional Health

Parental migration is perceived as disruptive to children’s emotional well-being, yet evidence remains inconsistent, suggesting that context mediates outcomes. This study adopts a triadic child– mother–father (CMF) perspective as the primary locus of influence to examine how family context protects or jeopardizes children when parents migrate. Drawing on family social network data from the Philippines and Indonesia, results show that cohesive CMF triads, marked by supportive bonds across all three dyads, are associated with lower psychological distress for children. In contrast, conflict or ambivalence in any dyad, especially between parents, significantly increases mental health risks. Once relationship quality is considered, parental migration status alone does not predict negative outcomes. However, maternal migration emerges as a relational vulnerability that undermines father–child ties and spousal cohesion, indirectly exposing children to greater risk of emotional distress. These findings underscore that patterns of family interactions explain variations in children’s well-being more effectively than physical absence of parents following migration.