Problem:
Background of the Problem
In the Caribbean, expatriate and labor migration constitute a significant source of remittance inflows. Remittances play a crucial role in both individual households and national economies (World Bank, 2023). In several countries, including El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, and Haiti, remittances account for a substantial share of gross domestic product (GDP), exceeding 20% in some cases, underscoring their economic significance (World Bank, 2022). At the household level, remittances function as an informal social safety net, supporting basic needs, education, and financial stability during periods of economic uncertainty (World Bank, 2022; Harris et al., 2025; Maldonado, 2023). Consistent with this trend, Latin America and the Caribbean experienced one of the largest increases in remittances worldwide in 2021, reaching USD 131 billion, representing a 25.3% increase from the previous year (World Bank, 2022). This growth highlights not only the role of remittances in sustaining national economies but also their importance for family survival and social support.
While remittances provide critical financial support that helps households meet basic needs and stabilize national economies, the emotional and relational costs of migration are often overlooked. When one spouse must leave home to work abroad, families left behind must adapt not only economically but also socially and emotionally. Research shows that wives of international migrant workers frequently experience elevated levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, particularly when communication is limited or remittances are irregular (Basnet et al., 2025). Although remittances alleviate some financial pressures, the absence of a partner can create sustained emotional strain and psychological challenges for the left-behind spouse, demonstrating that economic support alone cannot fully compensate for long-term separation and relational disruption (Adhikari, 2025). These dynamics underscore how the economic imperatives of remittance-driven migration are tightly intertwined with the psychosocial well-being of families.
Over the past few decades, emigration from the Caribbean has increased substantially. In 1990, over 2.5 million individuals emigrated from the region; by 2020, this figure had grown to more than 6.1 million. Most emigrants originated from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica, collectively accounting for nearly three-quarters of Caribbean emigrants. During the same period, immigration into the region nearly doubled, surpassing one million individuals (World Bank, 2023). These migration patterns indicate that many families must continually adapt to transnational living arrangements in which one spouse resides and works abroad while the other remains behind. Such arrangements are associated with sustained emotional strain and relational challenges within affected marriages. Within this context, long-distance heterosexual marriages have become a socially normalized outcome of transnational and expatriate labor arrangements, requiring spouses to maintain emotional intimacy, relational stability, and psychological well-being across prolonged periods of physical separation
Emerging psychological research demonstrates that chronic loneliness, intensified role strain, and relational stress among left-behind partners represent substantial and often underestimated emotional challenges (Nwankwo & Govia, 2022; Escrig-Pinol et al., 2023). Research further indicates that the emotional challenges associated with prolonged spousal separation often persist even following family reunification (Zheng & Yan, 2025). Empirical evidence shows that left-behind spouses report higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms compared to those living with their families. For example, Niu and Wang (2024) reported that rural left-behind women in northwestern China exhibited clinically relevant depressive symptoms that persisted over time.
Similarly, Zheng and Yan (2025) found that 44.05% of individuals with left-behind experiences reported obsessive-compulsive symptoms, with depression scores increasing by approximately 1.16 units compared to individuals without such experiences. Additionally, long-distance spousal separation has been associated with poorer relationship quality and lower marital satisfaction among geographically separated couples (Sadia et al., 2025). Collectively, these findings demonstrate that the consequences of transnational and expatriate marital separation extend beyond physical distance, shaping both psychological well-being and relational stability over time.
There is a substantial body of literature that focuses on outcomes rather than the subjective meanings spouses assign to the separation itself, despite clear evidence that prolonged expatriate-related spousal separation is linked to long-term emotional distress and marital stress. In particular, limited attention has been given to how left-behind spouses perceive the separation as forced, necessary, or constrained, and how these perceptions influence coping mechanisms, emotional health, and marital functioning. This gap is especially evident in Caribbean contexts such as Jamaica, where family separation due to migration is socially accepted and economically necessary (Hutchings, 2022; Nwankwo & Govia, 2022). Addressing this gap is essential for developing a more comprehensive understanding of stress, resilience, and relationship adjustment among left-behind spouses.
Statement of the Problem
Despite the growing body of research examining psychological and relational strain and resilience associated with expatriate long-distance marital separation, little is known about how spouses' perceived sense of choice versus constraint in the separation shapes emotional and relational outcomes (Hutchings, 2022). Existing studies tend to prioritize the presence or duration of separation without adequately accounting for the motivations and constraints that shape separation experiences, including structural and legal limitations, economic necessity, and family system responsibilities such as childcare and caregiving obligations (Karunarathne et al., 2025).
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