More connection: resilience in transnational families

Under the scope of the Integral Human Development programme from CADOS: Católica Doctoral School, this research project aims to explore (e)migration as a collective project, with the aim of improving the well-being and the integration of (e)migrants, as well as of the parents who remain in the country of origin, since family (or the closest available network) is usually the first source of social support in any kind of migration, thus having a more direct or indirect impact on society. For the intercultural understanding of this social phenomenon, it will be fundamental to analyse the relevance of intergenerational solidarity, and the connection, adaptation and social cohesion in the dynamics between the two generations. Furthermore, the study will consider the emergent digital adaptation, which tends to reduce that gap. For (e)migrants, it leads to a delay in their autonomy as young adults; for those who stay, it translates into a precarious aging process. Two qualitative, complementary studies will be conducted: (i) one with the parent generation who stayed in Portugal, while their offspring emigrated to Europe; (ii) another with young adults who emigrated to Europe and who have at least one parent still living in Portugal. Additionally, a theoretical study will be prepared with the aim of exploring the outlines of that same social phenomenon in other cultural realities.