THE ROLE OF ISLAMIC STUDIES IN ENHANCING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN OF FEMALE INDONESIAN MIGRANT WORKERS IN BANTEN, INDONESIA

Abstract

Abstract: Hundreds of thousands Indonesian Muslim mothers decided to be migrant workers overseas.  Consequently, they leave their children behind and thus suffer from maternal absence. While still acknowledging the positive impacts of the revenue sent by their migrated mothers, those left-behind children are prone to psychological impairment. Previous study found that the left-behind children who are going to public school felt relieve when they are having Islamic studies nevertheless it has no specific exploration on how Islamic studies play a role in the psychological well-being of these children. This study aims to understand the role of Islamic studies in enhancing Indonesian left-behind children’ psychological well-being. Qualitatively designed, 5 Indonesian left-behind children aged 14 to 16 years old who were studying at public high school in Banten, Indonesia were deeply interviewed. These informants have been left by their migrated mothers for more than 3 years. The data revealed that Islamic studies has ameliorate the psychological well-being of those children by having better understanding on their purpose in life and self-acceptance. Moreover, further study needs to quantitatively examine the extent to which Islamic studies enhance the level of each psychological well-being’s dimension of Indonesian left-behind children.