This doctoral thesis examines the profound effects of parental loss on children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. Parental deprivation significantly compromises children’s sense of security, disrupting social competence and empathy levels. In-depth interviews conducted with 200 children and families in Manila, Philippines, reveal that children who lack parental support struggle to establish strong social bonds and often experience heightened levels of loneliness and social anxiety. This deprivation contributes to emotional and cognitive constriction, limiting children’s ability to express themselves effectively in social interactions. Findings highlight the critical role of supportive social networks—particularly relatives, teachers, and peers—in facilitating children’s adaptation processes. The study underscores that parental loss leaves lasting psychological imprints on children, emphasizing the importance of early intervention programs to foster healthy relationship-building and mitigate the long-term social and emotional consequences of parental deprivation.

In contemporary fiction, shifting identities, contested spaces, and sociopolitical ruptures are central concerns, reflecting the broader crises of migration, ecological displacement, posthumanism, and gendered spatial politics. The Novel in Transition examines these intersections of space, identity, and power, offering critical insights into how novels engage with the changing landscapes of selfhood and spatiality. Building on theoretical approaches in geocriticism, feminist theory, and postcolonial studies, this volume explores how fiction constructs and deconstructs subjectivities within fluid geographies. It traces the evolving narratives of transformation that define contemporary literature, from nomadic resistance in dystopian landscapes to the contested terrains of diaspora and belonging. By engaging with these pressing issues, this book positions fiction as both a theoretical framework and a mode of empirical analysis, illustrating its role in shaping new imaginaries of identity and space in an era of unprecedented global change.