Family cohesion and the loneliness of adolescents from temporarily disconnected families due to economic migration

Zofia Dołęga

Abstract

The paper reports the results of a comparative analysis of the two groups students coming from temporarily disconnected families due to foreign work parents (TDF, n = 68; male = 30, female = 38) and teenagers with the same social environment (NDF, n = 179, male = 89, female = 90), but without the experience of separation time (N= 247). The subject of the analysis was: the cohesion of a family from the perspective of the evaluated adolescent and three factors of psychological loneliness: social loneliness (sense of social marginalization and isolation), emotional loneliness (solitude) and existential loneliness (sense of self-alienation). The Loneliness Scale (SBS) was used based on an original concept of multidimensional sense of loneliness. The questionnaire for the survey of family cohesion (KSR) were used too. The age (12-14 and 15-17), gender, family structure and the family lifestyle were controlled. Obtained results revealed significantly lower cohesion and significantly higher existential loneliness in group of teenagers from temporarily disconnected families (TDF). Not confirmed the supposition that made in earlier studies of temporarily disconnected families due to economic migration, that these teenagers suffer from a sense of emotional loneliness There has also confirmed the belief that the level of family cohesion and a sense of loneliness in adolescents is associated with atypical organization of family life associated with the duration of migration of parent/parents, frequency of contact with family members working abroad: mothers, fathers or broth parents, the duration of stays at home.Key words:loneliness, family cohesion, adolescence, foreign economic migration.