IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v119y2020ics0190740920320776.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Child development in rural China: Does parental migration matter?

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Xin
  • Sun, Xiaoyue

Abstract

There were about 41 million left-behind children in China by 2015. The objective of the current study is to investigate the developmental outcomes of children in rural China and the potential protective/risk factors. Using data from a nationally representative household survey (Chinese Family Panel Study 2014) in China, the developmental outcomes of rural children aged 10 to 15 with and without migrant parents were compared using multivariate regression analyses (n = 1,712). The results show that parental migration is not an independent predictor of the developmental outcomes among rural children. Protective and risk factors are reported. The findings indicate the disadvantages of rural children in relation to parental migration, which calls for further intervention and programs to promote their development.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Xin & Sun, Xiaoyue, 2020. "Child development in rural China: Does parental migration matter?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:119:y:2020:i:c:s0190740920320776
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105654
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740920320776
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105654?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liu, Z. & Li, X. & Ge, X., 2009. "Left too early: The effects of age at separation from parents on Chinese rural children's symptoms of anxiety and depression," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(11), pages 2049-2054.
    2. Wu, Qiaobing & Lu, Deping & Kang, Mi, 2015. "Social capital and the mental health of children in rural China with different experiences of parental migration," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 270-277.
    3. Bloom, B. & Dawson, D., 1991. "Family structure and child health," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 81(11), pages 1526-1527.
    4. Cortes, Patricia, 2015. "The Feminization of International Migration and its Effects on the Children Left Behind: Evidence from the Philippines," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 62-78.
    5. Cai, Fang & Wang, Meiyan, 2010. "Growth and structural changes in employment in transition China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 71-81, March.
    6. Borrell, Carme & Muntaner, Carles & Benach, Joan & Artazcoz, Lucía, 2004. "Social class and self-reported health status among men and women: what is the role of work organisation, household material standards and household labour?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(10), pages 1869-1887, May.
    7. Lu Miao & Huiyao Wang, 2017. "International Migration of China," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-981-10-6074-8, December.
    8. Zhang, Hongliang & Behrman, Jere R. & Fan, C. Simon & Wei, Xiangdong & Zhang, Junsen, 2014. "Does parental absence reduce cognitive achievements? Evidence from rural China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 181-195.
    9. Wen, Ming & Su, Shaobing & Li, Xiaoming & Lin, Danhua, 2015. "Positive youth development in rural China: The role of parental migration," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 261-269.
    10. Stark, Oded, 1980. "On the Role of Urban-to-Rural Remittances in Rural Development," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 16(3), pages 369-374.
    11. Qingwen Xu & Xinping Guan & Fangfang Yao, 2011. "Welfare program participation among rural‐to‐urban migrant workers in China," International Journal of Social Welfare, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 10-21, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Min Wu & Mengyun Jin & Luyao Zeng & Yihao Tian, 2022. "The Effects of Parental Migrant Work Experience on Labor Market Performance of Rural-Urban Migrants: Evidence from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-18, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hechao Jiang & Taixiang Duan & Fang Wang, 2022. "The Effects of Parental Labor Migration on Children’s Mental Health in Rural China," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(5), pages 2543-2562, October.
    2. Lidan Lyu & Yu Chen, 2019. "Parental migration and young migrants’ wages in urban China: An exploratory analysis," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(10), pages 1968-1987, August.
    3. Bart Cockx & Jinkai Li & Erga Luo, 2023. "The Long-Term Impact of Parental Migration on the Health of Young Left-Behind Children," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2023019, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    4. Artjoms Ivlevs & Milena Nikolova & Carol Graham, 2019. "Emigration, remittances, and the subjective well-being of those staying behind," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(1), pages 113-151, January.
    5. Duoduo Xu & Xiaogang Wu & Zhuoni Zhang & Jaap Dronkers, 2018. "Not a zero-sum game: Migration and child well-being in contemporary China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(26), pages 691-726.
    6. Zheng, Xiaodong & Fang, Zuyi & Wang, Yajun & Fang, Xiangming, 2022. "When left-behind children become adults and parents: The long-term human capital consequences of parental absence in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Wang, Haining & Cheng, Zhiming & Zhe Wang, Ben & Chen, Yuanyuan, 2021. "Childhood left-behind experience and labour market outcomes in China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 196-207.
    8. Liu, Han & Chang, Fang & Corn, Hannah & Zhang, Yi & Shi, Yaojiang, 2021. "The impact of parental migration on non-cognitive abilities of left behind children in northwestern China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    9. Liu, Mengqi & Villa, Kira M., 2020. "Solution or isolation: Is boarding school a good solution for left-behind children in rural China?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    10. Wang, Jianxin & Yuan, Caiyun & Zhang, Qian & Houser, Daniel, 2023. "Parents’ absence harms norm obedience of girls more than boys," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 17-29.
    11. Wang, Feng & Lin, Leesa & Lu, Jingjing & Cai, Jingjing & Xu, Jiayao & Zhou, Xudong, 2020. "Mental health and substance use in urban left-behind children in China: A growing problem," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    12. Björn NILSSON, 2019. "Education and migration: insights for policymakers," Working Paper 23ca9c54-061a-4d60-967c-f, Agence française de développement.
    13. Zhang, Xiaoqing & Ray, Sharon A. & Liu, Xia & Smith, Dylan M. & Hou, Wei, 2023. "What makes left-behind children resilient? And how? The role of hope on the resilience of Chinese left-behind children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    14. Xinxin Wang & Shidan Xu & Yubo Zhuo & Julian Chun-Chung Chow, 2023. "Higher Income but Lower Happiness with Left-Behind Experience? A Study of Long-Term Effects for China’s Migrants," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 411-434, February.
    15. Wang, H. & Guan, H. & Boswell, M., 2018. "Health Seeking Behavior among Rural Left-behind Children: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276955, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Wang, Haining & Zhu, Rong, 2021. "Social spillovers of China’s left-behind children in the classroom," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    17. Ai Yue & Yu Bai & Yaojiang Shi & Renfu Luo & Scott Rozelle & Alexis Medina & Sean Sylvia, 2020. "Parental Migration and Early Childhood Development in Rural China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(2), pages 403-422, April.
    18. Chi Zhou & Qiaohong Lv & Nancy Yang & Feng Wang, 2021. "Left-Behind Children, Parent-Child Communication and Psychological Resilience: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-10, May.
    19. Siebert, W. Stanley & Wei, Xiangdong & Wong, Ho Lun & Zhou, Xiang, 2018. "Student Feedback, Parent-Teacher Communication, and Academic Performance: Experimental Evidence from Rural China," IZA Discussion Papers 11347, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Cadsby, C. Bram & Song, Fei & Yang, Xiaolan, 2020. "Are “left-behind” children really left behind? A lab-in-field experiment concerning the impact of rural/urban status and parental migration on children's other-regarding preferences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 715-728.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:119:y:2020:i:c:s0190740920320776. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.