Intimacy as reflected in the communication pattern between adolescents and their migrant mothers

• Main Authors: Corpuz, Christine, Tan, Tiffany, Taningco, Almond Roda
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2001
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/11700
• Institution: De La Salle University

Through in-depth interview, the researchers studied the phenomenon of intimacy in communication between migrant mothers and their adolescent children. Taking thirty (30) students from three (3) different high schools in Metro Manila, the communication patterns of these adolescents as well as the three (3) factors that influence intimacy with their migrant mothers were determined. Communication patterns refer to how these adolescents maintain communication with their migrant mothers through phone calls and letters. As for the three factors that influence intimacy in their communication, self-disclosure refers to the amount of information that the adolescent shares to their mother. The formed attachment before the mother's absence also influences the degree of sharing that occurs between the adolescent and the mother. Loneliness becomes evident after the mother's leaving especially when the adolescent encounters trials and sees the importance of the mother's presence in their life. From these, the researchers inferred that the mother will always be significant whether she is present with her family or not. No one person can fully take the place of the caregiver and fill the emptiness left by the mother.