This is a collection of resources on families and separation. Research published and cited by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) demonstrates the importance of keeping families together. The references below include NCFR articles as well as research and additional resources from other social science organizations.

NCFR Publications

• Policy Brief: Immigrant Families Across the Life Course: Policy Impacts on Physical and Mental Health

• Research Summary: The Negative Effects of Separating Families at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Research Articles

• Berger Cardoso, J., Scott, J. L., Faulkner, M., & Barros Lane, L. (2018). Parenting in the context of deportation risk. Journal of Marriage and Family, 80, 301-316. doi:10.1111/jomf.12463

• Dreby, J. (2012). The burden of deportation on children in Mexican immigrant families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74, 829-845.

• Solheim, C. A., & Ballard, J. (2016). Ambiguous loss due to separation in voluntary transnational families. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 8, 341-359. doi:10.1111/jftr.12160

• Vesely, C. V., Letiecq, B. L., & Goodman, R. D. (2017). Immigrant family resilience in context: Using a community-based approach to build a new conceptual model. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 9, 93-110.

• Noah, A. J., Landale, N.S. (2017). Parenting strain among Mexican‐origin mothers: Differences by parental legal status and neighborhood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 80, 317-333. doi:10.1111/jomf.12438

• Chaudry, A., Capps, R., Pedroza, J. M., Castañeda, R. M., Santos, R., & Scott, M. M. (2010). Facing our future: Children in the aftermath of immigration enforcement. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute

• Glick, J. E. (2010). Connecting complex processes: A decade of research on Immigrant families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 498-515. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00715.x

• Enriquez, L. E. (2015). Multigenerational punishment: Shared experiences of undocumented immigration status within mixed‐status families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 77, 939-953. doi:10.1111/jomf.12196

• Society for Research in Child Development. (2018). The Science is Clear: Separating Families has Long-term Damaging Psychological and Health Consequences for Children, Families, and Communities. Retrieved from www.srcd.org/policy-media/statements-evidence/separating-families

Additional Resources

• American Psychological Association (APA): Immigration Resources

• Center on the Developing Child: Resources Related to Family Separation

• National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN): Resources on traumatic separation for immigrant children

• Child Trends and the National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families: Supporting Children and Parents Affected by the Trauma of Separation

• Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD): The Science of Childhood Trauma and Family Separation: A Discussion of Short- and Long-Term Effects [VIDEO]