IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ijphth/v65y2020i9d10.1007_s00038-020-01509-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How parental migration affects early social–emotional development of left-behind children in rural China: a structural equation modeling analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Huifeng Shi

    (Peking University School of Public Health)

  • Chunxia Zhao

    (UNICEF China)

  • Yan Dou

    (Peking University School of Public Health)

  • Xiaoqian Duan

    (Peking University School of Public Health)

  • Lingyan Yang

    (Dalian University of Technology)

  • Yufeng Du

    (Peking University School of Public Health)

  • Xiaona Huang

    (UNICEF China)

  • Xiaoli Wang

    (Peking University School of Public Health)

  • Jingxu Zhang

    (Peking University School of Public Health)

Abstract

Objectives This study assessed the early social–emotional development of left-behind children (LBC) in rural China and determined the mediating factors linking parental migration to LBC’s developmental outcome. Methods We used cross-sectional data of 845 LBC under 3 years old from five counties in rural China in 2018. Social–emotional problems were assessed by the ages and stages questionnaires: social–emotional. Family structure, function, and child nurturing care practices were measured to explore their roles in potential pathways of parental migration affecting early social–emotional development. Results 36.4% of LBC were identified with social–emotional problems; the rate was higher among LBC with migrant parents than those with migrant fathers (39.9% vs. 30.5%, adjusted OR: 1.40 [95% CI 1.01, 1.93]). Results of structural equation modeling reveal that caregivers’ low education and depressive symptoms, poor migrant–caregiver communication, family poverty, and no assistant caregiving weakened home parenting environment, and then contributed to LBC’s social–emotional problems. Conclusions LBC in early childhood may be at a high risk of social–emotional problems, which are primarily caused by the transition of family structure and function and consequently weakened home environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Huifeng Shi & Chunxia Zhao & Yan Dou & Xiaoqian Duan & Lingyan Yang & Yufeng Du & Xiaona Huang & Xiaoli Wang & Jingxu Zhang, 2020. "How parental migration affects early social–emotional development of left-behind children in rural China: a structural equation modeling analysis," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 65(9), pages 1711-1721, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijphth:v:65:y:2020:i:9:d:10.1007_s00038-020-01509-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s00038-020-01509-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00038-020-01509-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00038-020-01509-w?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. Feinian Chen & Hui Liu & Kriti Vikram & Yu Guo, 2015. "For Better or Worse: The Health Implications of Marriage Separation Due to Migration in Rural China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(4), pages 1321-1343, August.
    2. 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.
    3. Qian Song, 2017. "Aging, and separation from children: The health implications of adult migration for elderly parents in rural China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(55), pages 1761-1792.
    4. 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.
    5. Yaojiang Shi & Yu Bai & Yanni Shen & Kaleigh Kenny & Scott Rozelle, 2016. "Effects of Parental Migration on Mental Health of Left-behind Children: Evidence from Northwestern China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 24(3), pages 105-122, May.
    6. Sarah Reynolds & Lia Fernald & Julianna Deardorff & Jere Behrman, 2018. "Family structure and child development in Chile: A longitudinal analysis of household transitions involving fathers and grandparents," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(58), pages 1777-1814.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Tan, Chang & Zhao, Chunxia & Dou, Yan & Duan, Xiaoqian & Shi, Huifeng & Wang, Xiaoli & Huang, Xiaona & Zhang, Jingxu, 2020. "Caregivers’ depressive symptoms and social–emotional development of left-behind children under 3 years old in poor rural China: The mediating role of home environment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. 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).
    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. Chunkai Li & Qiaobing Wu & Zurong Liang, 2019. "Effect of Poverty on Mental Health of Children in Rural China: The Mediating Role of Social Capital," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 14(1), pages 131-153, March.
    5. Hongyu Guan & Huan Wang & Juerong Huang & Kang Du & Jin Zhao & Matthew Boswell & Yaojiang Shi & Mony Iyer & Scott Rozelle, 2018. "Health Seeking Behavior among Rural Left-Behind Children: Evidence from Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-19, April.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Li, Xin & Sun, Xiaoyue, 2020. "Child development in rural China: Does parental migration matter?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    10. 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.
    11. 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).
    12. Sun, Feinuo & Liang, Zai, 2021. "Parental migration and anemia status of children in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    13. Xiaoqing Zhang & Sharon A. Ray & Wei Hou & Xia Liu, 2021. "Environmental Risk Factors and Their Different Effects in Depressive Symptoms of Left-Behind Children in Rural China Compared with Non-Left-Behind Children," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-12, October.
    14. 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).
    15. Xie, Xiaoxia & Huang, Chien-Chung & Chen, Yafan & Hao, Feng, 2019. "Intelligent robots and rural children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 283-290.
    16. Ryuichi Ohta & Koichi Maiguma & Akiko Yata & Chiaki Sano, 2022. "Rebuilding Social Capital through Osekkai Conferences in Rural Communities: A Social Network Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-10, June.
    17. Mazzucato, Valentina & Cebotari, Victor & Veale, Angela & White, Allen & Grassi, Marzia & Vivet, Jeanne, 2015. "International parental migration and the psychological well-being of children in Ghana, Nigeria, and Angola," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 215-224.
    18. Lijun Chen & Di Qi & Dali Yang, 2020. "The Urbanization Paradox: Parental Absence and Child Development in China - an Empirical Analysis Based on the China Family Panel Studies Survey," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 13(2), pages 593-608, April.
    19. Bin Tang & Yue Wang & Yujuan Gao & Shijin Wu & Haoyang Li & Yang Chen & Yaojiang Shi, 2020. "The Effect of Boarding on the Mental Health of Primary School Students in Western Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-17, November.
    20. Zai Liang & Feinuo Sun, 2020. "The lasting impact of parental migration on children's education and health outcomes: The case of China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(9), pages 217-244.

    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:spr:ijphth:v:65:y:2020:i:9:d:10.1007_s00038-020-01509-w. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.