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The Development of Emotion Understanding among Five- and Six-Year-Old Left-Behind Children in Rural China

Author

Listed:
  • Ruifeng Tan

    (School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Huimin Fang

    (School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Suiqing Chen

    (School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China)

Abstract

The left-behind children (LBC), separated from their mother/father or parents for a long period of time, have long been discussed as a subject of concern in China. Existing research has concluded that rural children who did not migrate with parents are subject to emotional risks. In the present study, the purpose is to study the impact of parental migration on early emotional understanding. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 180 children aged five to six years in rural areas of Guangdong province, including LBC and non-left-behind children (NLBC). Their level of emotional understanding (EU) was assessed by the emotional comprehension test (TEC) adapted to the Chinese context. The results showed that, on the three levels ( External , Internal , Reflective ) of emotional understanding, LBC aged five- to six- years old scored significantly lower than NLBC as counterparts. On the whole, the emotional comprehension ability of preschool LBC was significantly lower than that of NLBC. However, there were no significant differences within LBC nurtured by single parents, grandparents, and other relatives. This study confirmed that parental migration in early childhood considerably impacted rural LBC’s emotional understanding and affectional adjustment, which provided a significant basis for increasing parental care and early childhood companionship in rural areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruifeng Tan & Huimin Fang & Suiqing Chen, 2023. "The Development of Emotion Understanding among Five- and Six-Year-Old Left-Behind Children in Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-10, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:5:p:3974-:d:1077816
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Khatia Antia & Johannes Boucsein & Andreas Deckert & Peter Dambach & Justina Račaitė & Genė Šurkienė & Thomas Jaenisch & Olaf Horstick & Volker Winkler, 2020. "Effects of International Labour Migration on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Left-Behind Children: A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-17, June.
    2. Eryong Xue & Jian Li & Xingcheng Li, 2021. "Sustainable Development of Education in Rural Areas for Rural Revitalization in China: A Comprehensive Policy Circle Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-17, November.
    3. Feng Wang & Leesa Lin & Mingming Xu & Leah Li & Jingjing Lu & Xudong Zhou, 2019. "Mental Health among Left-Behind Children in Rural China in Relation to Parent-Child Communication," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-10, May.
    4. 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.
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