Communication technologies and emotionality in transnational families

• Main Author: María Guadalupe Ramírez Contreras
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Centro de Investigación sobre Desarrollo Humano y Sociedad 2014-07-01
• Series: Revista Internacional de Psicología
• Subjects: tecnologías de comunicación; migración internacional; emocionalidad; familias transnacionales
• Online Access: http://revistapsicologia.org/index.php/revista/article/view/100

It was estimated in 2009 that 11,500.0 millions Mexican immigrants were living in the United States (Pew Hispanic Center, 2009). However, such immigrants can’t take their families with them to the US breaking-up of the family unit. Therefore, immigrants and their families become members of a transnational family.  In order to cope with such family break-up, members of such families try to balance themselves through developing an emotional intimacy using communication technologies. However, what kind of emotional support is offered when one of the members of the transnational family is a senior citizen and chronically ill? What kind of emotions do these transnational families experience? Which communication technologies do they use to be in touch? How these communication technologies are related to the emotional support? In order to answer these research questions, I explored previous studies in which I found that they only included the immigrants’ point of view. To overcome this limitation in this study, I included the point of view of all members of transnational families. I conducted a qualitative study. It took place in Sahuayo, Michoacan. I interviewed members of 15 transnational families during 2012 and 2013. The results showed that emotional support was identified as: a) contacting relatives in Mexico, initiated by immigrants, b) exchanging daily life experiences; c) solving issues and conflicts; and d) immigrants supporting, participating or being virtually in special celebrations. Immigrants also used communication technologies in order to maintain emotional ties and give emotional support to their parents. The communication help immigrants to provide the emotional support to their parents and also to express their feelings. I recommend studying national migrants and rural populations, in order to analyse any differences between them and my sample.