Parental Migration, Social Relationships, and Left-Behind Adolescents’ Mental Health in Rural China: Examining Gender Differences

It is commonly believed that there are gender differences in the mental health of children left behind in rural China. However, few studies have attempted to explain the gender differences in left-behind rural adolescents from the perspective of their social relationships. This paper analysed the relationship between parental migration arrangements and the gender difference in left-behind adolescents’ mental health and examined how such associations vary according to social relationship. To do this, we used a two-level mixed-effects linear regression model and the propensity score matching method based on data from the 2014–2015 China Education Panel Survey. The results showed that first, the migration of both parents had a greater negative impact on the mental health of adolescent left-behind girls than that of boys. Second, the quality of the parent–child relationship played mediating roles in the association between both-parent migration and the gender differences of left-behind adolescents’ mental health. Third, positive peer–peer, teacher–student, and grandparent–grandchild relationships had mitigating effects similar to those of parent–child relationships. However, when these three forms of social relationships were considered, we found that girls still relied more than boys on emotional support from good parent–child relationships. Thus, girls’ mental health continues to be more negatively affected by both-parent migration than boys. Finally, to enhance the mental health of adolescent left-behind girls, interventions are recommended that pay special attention to improving their parent–child, peer–peer, teacher–student, and grandparent–grandchild relationships.