The Impact of Spatial Separation on Married Migrants’ Health in Italy

Family separation due to migration is a life-changing event that can completely transform family structure and dynamics. Studies have mainly focussed on the emotional and psychological consequences of long-distance parenthood within transnational practices, while empirical evidence on the effects of transnational conjugality is still lacking. Based on data from the Social Condition and Integration of Foreign Citizens (SCIF) survey conducted by the Italian National Institute of Statistics - Istat, we studied the role of transnational conjugality on the self-reported health of married immigrants living in Italy. In addition, we examined specific situations that can lead to deeper health disadvantages for married immigrants living in transnational conjugality. Our results show that the negative effect on health of living a transnational parenthood is stronger for those immigrants that are not only living apart from their children but also are geographically separated from their spouses. Moreover, the effect of not living with a partner in Italy on selfperceived health is negative for immigrants who were not working, which seems to indicate a greater health disadvantage that is activated when immigrants are not able to economically achieve the goals of the migratory project