scholarly journals Chinese Adolescents’ Meaning-Focused Coping With Prolonged Parent-Child Separation

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 752-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Fu ◽  
Yik Wa Law
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
Goal Commitment ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Parental Migration ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Work Meaning ◽  
Child Separation ◽  
Parent Child

In China, 61 million children are left behind in rural areas suffering from prolonged parent-child separation when their parents migrate for work. Meaning-focused coping is known to play a positive role in adaptation, particularly during persistent adversity, but little is known about how adolescents make meaning during prolonged parent-child separation. This qualitative study investigated how adolescents utilize meaning-focused coping during such separation. Seventeen adolescents who had been left behind ( Mage = 14.1 years, SD = 1.03 years) by migrant parents were recruited via purposive sampling. Eight subthemes emerged and were grouped into four themes: living with prolonged parent-child separation, ambivalent feelings, constructed meaning of parental migration, and meaning-making strategies. Despite detached parent-child relationships and weak family support, the adolescents made positive meaning of their parents’ migration by focusing on the migration-related benefits and maintaining goal commitment. Participants’ perceptions of left-behind life varied at different stages of their parental migration and their ability to make positive sense of migration increased with age. The role of culture was crucial in their meaning-making formulation. The results have application potential for psychosocial interventions targeting adolescents facing a prolonged left-behind period.

scholarly journals Mental Health among Left-Behind Children in Rural China in Relation to Parent-Child Communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Wang ◽  
Leesa Lin ◽  
Mingming Xu ◽  
Leah Li ◽  
Jingjing Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Anhui Province ◽  
Emotional Symptoms ◽  
Full Data ◽  
Parental Migration ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Parent Child Communication ◽  
Parent Child

In China, there are an estimated 41 million left-behind children (LBC). The objective of this study was to examine the mental health of current-left-behind children (current-LBC) and previous-left-behind children (previous-LBC) as compared to never-left-behind children (never-LBC), while considering factors like parent-child communication. Children were recruited from schools in rural areas of Anhui province in eastern China. Participants completed a questionnaire focusing on migration status, mental health, and parent-child communication, measured with the validated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Parent–Adolescent Communication Scale (PACS). Full data were available for 1251 current-, 473 previous-, and 268 never-LBC in Anhui province. After adjusting for all confounding variables, the results showed that both current and previous parental migration was associated with significantly higher mental health difficulties, including aspects of emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and total difficulties. Additionally, we found that difficulties communicating with parents were strongly associated with the presence of greater total difficulties in children. Parental migration has an independent, long-lasting negative effect on children. Poor parent-child communication is strongly associated with children’s mental health. These results indicate that parent–child communication is important for the development of children, and interventions are needed to improve migrant parents’ understanding and communication skills with their children.

Developmental Effects of Parent–Child Separation

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 387-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Bentley Waddoups ◽  
Hirokazu Yoshikawa ◽  
Kendra Strouf
Keyword(s):  
Community Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Host Community ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Social Emotional Development ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Community Based Interventions ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Child Separation ◽  
Parent Child

Parent–child separation occurs for many reasons, both involuntary and voluntary. We review the effects on children and youth of parent–child separation due to several of the most common reasons that are responsible for the growth in this family circumstance worldwide. These include early institutionalization; war, persecution, and conflict; separation during asylum; trafficking; conscription into armed conflict; and being left behind when parents migrate for economic or other reasons. Overall, the effects of parent–child separation are consistently negative on children's social-emotional development, well-being, and mental health. They are more severe when the separation is prolonged or accompanied by other forms of deprivation or victimization. Mitigating and protective factors include earlier stable family placement in the case of early institutionalization, parent–child communication and parenting quality, and community support in the host community. We conclude with an evaluation of group, school-based, and community-based interventions for children and youth affected by parent–child separation.

scholarly journals The Association of Parent-Child Communication With Internet Addiction in Left-Behind Children in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingjing Cai ◽  
Yun Wang ◽  
Feng Wang ◽  
Jingjing Lu ◽  
Lu Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internet Addiction ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Parent Child Communication ◽  
Parent Child

Objective: Internet addiction has emerged as a growing concern worldwide. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of Internet addiction between left-behind children (LBC) and non-left-behind children (non-LBC), and explore the role of paternal and maternal parent-child communication on LBC.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in rural areas in Anhui, China. The complete data were available from 699 LBC and 740 non-LBC. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine 1) whether LBC were more likely to develop Internet addiction, and 2) the association between parent-child communication and Internet addiction among LBC.Results: LBC had a higher likelihood to report Internet addiction when compared to non-LBC (OR = 2.03, 95%CI = 1.43–2.88, p < 0.001). Among LBC, parent-child communication (both mother-child and father-child) was protective factor for children’s Internet addiction. The role of mother-child communication played well among male LBC.Conclusions: The lack of parental supervision may lead to Internet addiction. It is highly recommended for migrant parents to improve the quality of communication with their children. Also, gender-matching effects should be considered in the relationship between children’s behavior and parental factors.

scholarly journals A multilevel analysis of the relationship between parental migration and left-behind children’s macronutrient intakes in rural China

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 1913-1927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Zhang ◽  
Laia Bécares ◽  
Tarani Chandola
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Protein Intake ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Multilevel Modelling ◽  
Nutrition Survey ◽  
Intact Families ◽  
Parental Migration ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Increased Risk

AbstractObjectiveChina’s internal migration has left 61 million children living apart from their parent(s) in rural areas. The present study aimed to examine whether the relative contributions of macronutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrate) to total energy intake differ between children left behind by the father or mother, compared with children from intact families.DesignDrawing on a longitudinal study, the China Health and Nutrition Survey (1997–2009), multilevel modelling analyses (level 1: occasions; level 2: children; level 3: villages) were performed.SettingData from rural communities in nine provinces in China.SubjectsRural children (n 975; 555 boys and 420 girls) from 140 villages.ResultsAmong boys of school age, being left behind by the father tended to reduce the relative protein intake by 0·70 % (P<0·01) compared with boys from intact families. Being left behind by at least the mother was more detrimental for young boys under the age of 6 years than paternal migration, reducing relative protein intake by 1·14 % (P<0·05). Parental migration was associated with a significant increase in young boys’ relative fat intake by 2·60 % (P<0·05). No significant associations were found for girls. Results suggest left-behind boys, especially in early life, are subject to a higher-fat and lower-protein diet compared with non-left-behind boys. This may put them at increased risk of being overweight or obese, or of suffering from stunted growth, when they grow up.ConclusionsPublic health policies should recognise the influences of parental migration on boys, especially maternal migration, and encourage a more balanced diet for children in rural China.

Parental Migration and Well-Being of Left-Behind Children from a Comparative Perspective

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Lu
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Cognitive Health ◽  
Parental Migration ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Economic Context ◽  
The Social ◽  
Child Separation ◽  
Psychosocial Processes

Parent–child separation due to migration has become increasingly prominent in developing countries. This chapter first discusses a conceptual framework for understanding the effect of parental migration on children’s development through both a socioeconomic and a psychosocial process. The chapter further highlights the importance of a comparative perspective in understanding how parental migration affects children, suggesting that the field should move beyond the debate of whether children benefit or suffer to examining the circumstances under which children benefit or suffer from parental migration. The author identifies several factors that shape the relative balance of economic and psychosocial processes arising from parental migration and its overall impact: which member migrates (mother, father, both, or nonparent family members), which dimensions of child development are studied (education, cognitive, health, emotional or behavioral development), where migrant parents go (domestically or internationally), and the social and economic context of the origin community.

Parental Migration, Parental Emotional Support, and Adolescent Children’s Life Satisfaction in Rural China: The Roles of Parent and Child Gender

2020 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2094634
Author(s):  
Binbin Shu
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Hunan Province ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Child Gender ◽  
Parental Migration ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Children’S Life Satisfaction

Previous literature on transnational families has raised concerns about the subjective well-being of left-behind children affected by different parental migration arrangements. From a gender perspective that considers both the parent’s gender and the child’s gender, this study reexamines the associations between parental migration arrangements and adolescent children’s life satisfaction, and then investigates how such associations vary by parental emotional support. Drawing on data gathered from 1,741 adolescent students in rural areas of Hunan province, China, the study shows that maternal migration and both-parent migration pose emotional challenges to adolescent children, although the former is only negatively associated with girls’ life satisfaction. In addition, emotional support from staying-behind fathers is found able to moderate the emotional costs of being separated from migrant mothers, but then only for boys. Findings reveal the roles of parent and child gender in the “migration–left behind nexus.”

Parental Migration and Children’s Exposure to Polyvictimization in Rural China

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110280
Author(s):  
Xiaojin Chen ◽  
Yuning Wu ◽  
Jia Qu
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Guizhou Province ◽  
School Students ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Parental Migration ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Children Left Behind ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Migrant Parents

The present study aims to investigate (1) the difference in polyvictimization rate between children left behind and those living with non-migrant parents in rural China, and (2) the social processes through which the effects of parental migration are conveyed through children’s behaviors and interaction with the immediate external environment (e.g., family, school, and peers). The research hypotheses were tested by using a probability sample consisting of 1,681 middle school students in rural areas in Guizhou province (Mean age = 13.55, SD = 1.01; 50% of the participants were boys). Findings from multivariate logistic regression models and indirect effect analyses suggest that (1) overall, left-behind children are exposed to a higher level of polyvictimization than children living with both non-migrant parents in rural China and (2) whereas all left-behind children face similar challenges in school and family settings, each type of parental migration and caretaking arrangement entails unique protective or risk factors of polyvictimization. As one of the first studies to systematically investigate the rate and etiology of polyvictimization among children left behind in rural China, this study highlights the prominent role of parental migration in reproducing and reinforcing children’s differential exposure to polyvictimization among China’s rural families.

Self-Esteem among “Left-Behind Children” of Labor Migrant Parents in Rural Northern Vietnam

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 597-618
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
The Self ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Labor Migrant ◽  
Northern Vietnam ◽  
Parental Migration ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Migrant Parents

To assess the self-esteem of left-behind children of migrant parents, this article presents the results of a survey on the self-esteem of 1,119 children aged from 9 to 15 (469 children of labor migrant parents, and a control group of 650 children of non-migrant parents) living in three rural areas of Northern Vietnam including Phu Tho, Bac Ninh, and Ha Nam provinces. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) has been used for this study. A comparison between the self-esteem scores of the left-behind children and the control group reveals that children with labor migrant parents have lower self-esteem than their counterparts living with their parents. The research found that differences in the self-esteem scores of left-behind children were related to a number of significant factors, including the duration of parental migration; whether mother or father or both worked away; places where the children live; the frequency of communication between parents and children; and the child’s satisfaction with their study. The research suggested that factors such as feelings of loneliness, the child’s satisfaction with their study, harmony with friends, and the frequency of migrant parents returning home are all significant predictors of self-esteem of left-behind children. Received 9th May 2019; Revised 13th June 2019; Accepted 20th September 2019

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