Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

The growing globalization of economies has forced many people to emigrate from their home countries to new countries in order to find employment. Often, financial restraints or immigration law restrictions result in parents leaving their infant children behind to be raised by relatives while the parents financially establish themselves in the new country. The children are reunited several years later with their parents in the adopted country to attend school. This new phenomenon of "satellite babies" and the extended parent-infant separation is predicted to have a detrimental impact on family relationships. However, in a culture where having multiple caregivers, such as grandparents, is typical, leaving an infant in a family relative's care may not result in such negative outcomes. Grandparents may promote parent-child bonding by acting as a secure base from which the child can explore and form a new relationship with the parent. On the other hand, grandparents may interfere with the parent-child relationship formation if the child's view of the grandparents as the primary caregivers persists. The proposed study will explore how grandparents affect the attachment relationship when "satellite babies" from China are reunited with their parents in their new Canadian home. Chinese-Canadian "satellite baby" families will participate in play interactions and other factors including caregiver stress, sensitivity, responsiveness and depression will be assessed. This study will offer insight into the qualities of parent-infant relationships within in a Chinese cultural framework and how multi-generational families develop and maintain relationships with their children. As well, this research will inform clinicians on how best to culturally tailor their therapies to address extended parent-child separations and grandparents as caregivers.