Child development in rural China: Does parental migration matter?

A growing body of literature is providing evidence of a negative association between parental migration and child development. Meanwhile, the chain of relationships between parental migration, home environment, and early child development has not yet been well documented in China. This paper investigates the interrelationships between parental migration, home environment, and early child development in an undeveloped area of western rural China. In total, 444 households were included in the study. Bayley Scales of Infant Development version III (BSID-III), Home Observation Measurement of the Environment (HOME), and a socioeconomic questionnaire, were used to measure children’s development outcomes, home environment, and socioeconomic characteristics in sample households. A mediation effect model was used to estimate the interrelationships between parental migration, home environment, and child development. The results demonstrate that home environment works as a significant mediator, through which parental migration is associated with a 0.07 standard deviation (SD), 0.13 SD, 0.12 SD, and 0.10 SD decline in the child’s cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional scores, respectively. For future studies, the key findings suggest that interventions aimed at improving the home environments of left-behind children might be necessary in rural China.

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Daily bidirectional associations between adolescent negative peer interactions and sleep in rural China: The moderating effect of parental migration

Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being ◽

10.1111/aphw.12280 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Youchuan Zhang ◽

Yijie Wang

Keyword(s):

Peer Interactions ◽

Rural China ◽

Moderating Effect ◽

Parental Migration ◽

Bidirectional Associations

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The Effect of Parental Migration on the Educational Attainment of Their Left-Behind Children in Rural China

The B E Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy ◽

10.1515/bejeap-2013-0067 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 1037-1080 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Sophie Xuefei Wang

Keyword(s):

Theoretical Model ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Instrumental Variables ◽

Rural China ◽

Probit Model ◽

School Enrollment ◽

Reduced Form ◽

Parental Migration ◽

Left Behind ◽

Negative Effect

Abstract About 60 million children under the age of 18 are left behind by their parents in rural China. This paper studies the effect of migrant parents on the educational attainment of their left-behind children in rural China. A theoretical model of optimal schooling in the context of parental migration is proposed. Then, reduced-form equations are estimated using probit model, instrumental variables probit model, and linear instrumental variables model. Results show that parental migration has a negative effect on children’s school enrollment. This negative effect is significant and sizable on the school enrollment of boys, but insignificant on the school enrollment of girls. The most important source of this robust negative effect on boys is the absence of fathers. Results suggest that left-behind mothers or relatives cannot fulfill fathers’ role successfully in disciplining boys and help with their educational needs.

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Parents’ Migration and Adolescents’ Transition to High School in Rural China: The Role of Parental Divorce

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x18778083 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 39 (12) ◽

pp. 3324-3359

Author(s):

Shu Hu

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

High Schools ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Educational Outcomes ◽

Parental Divorce ◽

Rural China ◽

Economic Resources ◽

Transition To High School ◽

Parental Migration

Using both quantitative and qualitative data collected in a migrant-sending county from 2012 to 2013, this article examines the mechanisms through which parental migration could shape adolescents’ transition to high school in rural China. Though parental migration improves children’s educational outcomes via social remittance of education value, it also leads to a decline in children’s educational achievements by increasing the odds of parental divorce. The likelihood of divorce rises with the migration of mother or both parents, and this significantly increases the risks of discontinuing schooling and transitioning to vocational high schools, relative to attending academic high schools. In contrast to the conventional explanations of economic resources and psychological health, this article emphasizes the significant role of marital instability in the link between parental migration and children’s educational outcomes.

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