THE EFFECT OF PARENTAL MIGRATION ON CHILD STUNTING IN INDONESIA

• Main Author: Jones Tarigan, Billy
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/87589
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

This study aims to examine the relationship between parental migration stunting in children under five years in Indonesia. This study uses data from the 2014 Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS). Modeling was conducted using binary logistic regression by including the main independent variable, namely parental migration, as well as control variables including child, parent, and household characteristics. The results of the analysis show that parental migration has a significant effect on increasing the risk of stunting in children under five. Children with one parent migrating abroad have a 1.93 times higher chance of being stunted than children with both parents living together, with a marginal effect of 15.9%. Other factors that have a significant effect on children's stunting status include birth weight, child's age, mother's education level, place of birth, mother's height, father's employment status, and household expenditure quintile. Normal birth weight reduced the odds of a child being stunted by 23.8% compared to a child with low birth weight. Older child age had a negative association with stunting risk, with each one-month increase in age decreasing the odds of stunting by 1.2%. Higher maternal education provides significant protection against stunting risk, with each additional year of maternal education decreasing the odds of stunting by 7%. In addition, delivery in a medical facility reduced the risk of stunting compared to non-medical delivery. Higher maternal height was also associated with a reduced risk of child stunting, with each additional centimeter of maternal height reducing the odds of stunting by 4.6%. Household characteristics showed that higher expenditure quintiles were negatively associated with stunting status. Households in the highest expenditure quintile reduced the odds of child stunting by 19.3% compared to the lowest expenditure quintile. This finding confirms the importance of household income in supporting access to nutritious food, health facilities and proper sanitation. The discussion highlights the complexity of the effect of parental migration on child health. While migration can provide economic benefits through remittances, the physical absence of parents can negatively impact parenting patterns and children's psychological well-being. This impact is more pronounced when one parent, especially the mother, leaves the household. Maternal education is a key factor in mitigating the risk of stunting through improved parenting skills, good health practices, and access to health services. The conclusion of this study shows that children's nutritional status is influenced by parental migration and the interaction of various factors, child characteristics, parental education, and household economic conditions. To reduce the prevalence of stunting, comprehensive interventions are needed, such as improving maternal education, access to adequate health facilities, and improving family economic welfare through social support programs and human resource development.