This text is a summary of the key concepts and central ideas presented in the research article “Guilt as a Consequence of Migration” by Catherine Ward and Irene Styles, published in the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies (2012). The study explores a relatively neglected phenomenon — the experience of guilt among migrant women — with a specific focus on women who migrated from the United Kingdom to Australia.

The study employed a cross-sectional design with both quantitative (questionnaire with 154 participants) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews with a subset of 40 women who had migrated from the UK to Australia) approaches. The qualitative data from the interviews are the primary focus of the provided excerpts. Participants were selected based on their birthplace (UK) and having children. Interview questions explored reasons for migration, attachment to parents, homesickness, and what they missed or felt they had lost as a result of migration. The interview data were thematically coded and analyzed.

Main Themes and Important Ideas

• The Neglected Aspect of Guilt in Migration Research: The authors highlight that while migration is often studied in terms of its motivations and settlement challenges, the emotional consequence of guilt, particularly among daughters leaving their families, has been significantly overlooked. They state, “Guilt expressed by daughters, as a result of leaving parents and family following migration, necessitates exploration but has been largely neglected in migrant research.”
• Guilt as a Manifestation of Loss of Attachment: The study utilizes Bowlby’s (1969) mother-infant attachment theory as a theoretical framework. They posit that feelings of guilt emerge in the second stage of grieving the loss of attachment – “yearning and pining” – when the reality of what has been left behind begins to register consciously.
• A Three-Component Model of Guilt: To understand the construct of guilt in the context of migration, the study employs Miceli and Castelfranchi’s (1998) three-component model:
• Negative Evaluation of Behavior: Perceiving one’s action (migration) as injurious or bad, even if unintentional.
• Assumption of Responsibility: Feeling personally responsible for the action and its consequences (e.g., inability to care for aging parents, separation of grandparents and grandchildren).
• Lowering of Moral Self-Esteem: Experiencing negative self-evaluation (e.g., feeling selfish, as a betrayer) as a result of the perceived transgression.
• Sources of Guilt for Migrant Women: The study identified several key reasons for feelings of guilt among the interviewed women:
• Leaving Parents in the Homeland: This was a primary source of guilt, especially as parents aged and required care. As one participant stated, “I was abandoning them, that was an emotional issue. They had given me everything and I was just going to take it and fly.” (7131, resident 22 years)
• Being the Only Daughter or Only Child: The responsibility and perceived duty to care for parents intensified feelings of guilt for women in this position. One participant noted, “Sometimes I felt guilty for leaving. I’m the only daughter of my parents they have four sons, all of whom live near my parents and visit regularly.” (1604, resident 16 years)
• Making Grandparent-Grandchild Attachment Vulnerable: Taking children away from their extended family, particularly grandparents, was another significant source of guilt. One woman expressed, “I feel very guilty taking my children away from their relatives. Very guilty.” (6790, resident 29 years) Another worried about her children’s lack of connection: “They [children] don’t know what it’s like to have a granddad and grandma permanent they don’t know about that [participant crying].” (1033, resident seven years)
• Intensity and Longevity of Guilt: The findings indicated that for many participants, feelings of guilt were “intense and long lasting.” These feelings could emerge later in life, particularly when the migrant women became grandmothers themselves, leading to a realization of their parents’ potential feelings of loss. Some women had carried these feelings for over 20 years.
• Lack of Persecutory Guilt: While Grinberg and Grinberg (1989) proposed depressive and persecutory guilt, the study found no evidence of persecutory guilt among the participants. The Miceli and Castelfranchi model proved more relevant in explaining their experiences.
• Coping Mechanisms: Some women reported suppressing their feelings of guilt or even feeling they deserved negative consequences as a form of punishment. One participant stated, “I feel if anything goes wrong it is my punishment for leaving them.” (4155, resident 2.5 years)
• Impact on Well-being: The study concludes that “guilt is a powerful emotion that impacts on the well-being of migrant women and, through them, on their families.”
• Need for Further Research: The authors emphasize the need for more in-depth inquiry into the psychological impact of guilt on both male and female migrants. They also suggest exploring the role of attachment figures and the strength of attachment in the experience of migration-related guilt.

Key Quotes

• “Oh guilty, yes definitely guilty those first few years.” (7836, resident 14 years)
• “Should we have done it? Should we have come? Should we have taken the children away from that extended family, grandparents and such?” (5658, resident 21 years)
• “. . . felt like we were betraying them in a way, made us feel guilty, selfish almost.” (4115, resident, 2.5months)
• “Leaving my mum especially was the worst and after 24 years and her death the feelings are there, perhaps I don’t want them to go away.” (4238, resident 24 years)

Conclusion

This study provides valuable insights into the often-unacknowledged experience of guilt among migrant women. The findings highlight that leaving family behind, particularly parents and the extended family network for children, can lead to intense and persistent feelings of guilt. This guilt is often rooted in a perceived failure to fulfill filial duties and the disruption of close familial bonds. The application of the three-component model of guilt offers a useful framework for understanding the psychological mechanisms at play. The study underscores the significant impact of this emotion on the well-being of migrant women and advocates for further research to explore this complex phenomenon in greater depth, including among male migrants.