The coping strategies of “men left behind” in the migration process in Ghana

Previous studies report that independent transnational female migration is growing rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, scholarship on the ‘left-behind’ in the migration process largely focuses on women and children, with little attention paid to men left behind. Using qualitative methods, with Folkman et al.’s coping theory, to examine the coping strategies of men left behind in the migration process in Ghana, this study fills an important research gap in the migration and the left-behind literature. Through the snowball sampling method, 12 in-depth interviews were conducted with men in the Accra Metropolis whose spouses were staying abroad. Participants explained that left-behind husbands cope with domestic work and care through support from family relations, careful planning and time management, eating out in food joints, and paid services from domestic workers. Participants also mentioned that these men cope emotionally through social media, religion, regular visits to spouses and engaging in extramarital affairs. The results demonstrate that in the absence of migrant spouses, husbands adapt using a variety of coping mechanisms.