Internal migration and child victimisation in China - The impact of parental migration on psychological wellbeing, health behaviors and injury prevalence among left-behind children in rural China

Abstract Background: More than one-third of children under 3 years old are left behind at home due to parental migration in rural China, and we know very little about early childhood nutrition of left-behind children (LBC) because of the dearth of research. This study examined the impact of parental migration on early childhood nutrition of LBC in rural China. Methods: We used repeat cross-sectional data of rural children aged 6–35 months in six counties of northern and southern China, who participated in two surveys in 2013 and 2016 respectively. The length, weight, and hemoglobin concentration were measured by trained health‑care workers blinded to parental migration status. Generalized linear regressions and multivariate logistic regressions were employed to explore the association between parental migration and child nutritional outcomes at each time point. Results: 2,336 and 2,210 children aged 6–35 months were enrolled in 2013 and 2016 surveys, respectively. The risk of stunting, underweight, and wasting among the children decreased from 2013 to 2016. Children of migrant fathers performed as well as or better than children of non-migrants on these indicators. Children of migrant parents performed slightly worse in 2013, but equal or slightly better in 2016 on these indicators compared with children of non-migrants and migrant fathers. Children aged 6–17 months of migrant parents had a significantly lower risk of anemia than those living with their mothers or with both parents. Conclusions: Parental migration is not detrimental and even beneficial to early childhood nutrition of LBC in rural China. Programs for LBC are recommended to continue to focus on nutrition but pay more attention to other important health issues.

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The Association between Parental Migration and Early Childhood Nutrition of Left-behind Children in Rural China

10.21203/rs.2.13930/v2 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Huifeng Shi ◽

Jingxu Zhang ◽

Yufeng Du ◽

Chunxia Zhao ◽

Xiaona Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Southern China ◽

Rural China ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Childhood Nutrition ◽

Parental Migration ◽

Left Behind ◽

Early Childhood Nutrition ◽

The Impact ◽

Migrant Parents

Abstract Background: More than one-third of children under 3 years old are left behind at home due to parental migration in rural China, and we know very little about early childhood nutrition of left-behind children (LBC) because of the dearth of research. This study examined the impact of parental migration on early childhood nutrition of LBC in rural China. Methods: We used repeat cross-sectional data of rural children aged 6–35 months who participated in two surveys in six counties of northern and southern China in 2013 and 2016 respectively. The length, weight, and hemoglobin concentration were measured by trained health‑care workers blinded to parental migration status. Stunting, underweight, wasting, and anemia were identified with the standards recommended by WHO. Generalized linear regressions and multivariate logistic regressions were employed to explore the association between parental migration and these nutritional outcomes at each time point. Results: 2,336 and 2,210 children aged 6–35 months were enrolled in 2013 and 2016 surveys, respectively. The results show a reduction of the risks of stunting, underweight, and wasting from 2013 (16.4%, 8.5%, and 3.5%, respectively) to 2016 (12.1%, 4.0%, and 1.5%, respectively) but highlight a constantly and alarmingly high risk of anemia among these children (44.8% in 2013 and 43.8% in 2016). Children with migrant fathers performed as well as or better than those with non-migrants on these indicators. Children with migrant parents performed slightly worse in 2013, but equal or slightly superior in 2016 on these indicators compared with children with non-migrants and migrant fathers. Children aged 6–17 months with migrant parents had a significantly lower risk of anemia than those living with their mothers or with both parents (43.1% vs. 63.6% and 61.5 in 2013, and 42.5 vs. 60.1% and 66.2% in 2016), even after controlling for children’s sociodemographic characteristics. Conclusions: Parental migration may be not detrimental and even beneficial to early childhood nutrition of LBC in rural China. Programs for LBC are recommended to continue to focus on nutrition but pay more attention to other important health issues.

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SEPARATED KIN: RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION AND MENTAL HEALTH TRAJECTORIES OF OLDER ADULTS LEFT BEHIND IN RURAL CHINA

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.3223 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S880-S880

Author(s):

Zhiyong Lin

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Rural China ◽

Well Being ◽

Migrant Children ◽

Urban Migration ◽

Left Behind ◽

Rate Of Increase ◽

The Impact

Abstract As the processes of urbanization and globalization have intensified across the world, a burgeoning literature has documented the impact of emigration on the health of family members left behind in emigrant communities. Although the association between children’s migration and parental well-being is well documented, few have examined the health implications of children’s migration in the milieu of multiple children and further differentiated between children’s short-term and long-term migration. Therefore, I argue that it is not the geographic locality of a single child but the composition of all children’s location that matters. I further suggest that the impact of children’s migration on parental wellbeing is conditioned on the duration of children’s migration. Using a six waves longitudinal data (2001-2015) collected in rural China, this paper compares mental health (measured as depressive symptoms) trajectories of old adults (aged 60 and older) across different compositions of local and migrant children over a 14-year span. Results from growth curve models show that parents having more migrant children relative to local children experience a more rapid increase in depressive symptoms. In addition, older adults who have their most children migrate away for three or more waves of data have experienced the steepest rate of increase in depressive symptoms. These findings provide new evidence to support the life course processes of mental health disparities among older adults from the perspective of intergenerational proximity.

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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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The Impact of Life Meaning on Life Satisfaction of Left-behind Elders in Rural China: Mediating Effect of Negative Emotion

Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Social Science, Public Health and Education (SSPHE 2018) ◽

10.2991/ssphe-18.2019.93 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoli Ni ◽

Ran Qu ◽

Xiaoyi Shao ◽

Yangwen Geng

Keyword(s):

Life Satisfaction ◽

Negative Emotion ◽

Rural China ◽

Mediating Effect ◽

Life Meaning ◽

Left Behind ◽

The Impact

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What Happens to the Health of Elderly Parents When Adult Child Migration Splits Households? Evidence from Rural China

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17051609 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (5) ◽

pp. 1609 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tianxiang Li ◽

Beibei Wu ◽

Fujin Yi ◽

Bin Wang ◽

Tomas Baležentis

Keyword(s):

Negative Impact ◽

Rural China ◽

Adult Child ◽

Parental Health ◽

Elderly Parents ◽

Farm Work ◽

Left Behind ◽

Variable Approach ◽

Child Migration ◽

The Impact

There is little understanding about the effects of adult child migration on the health of elderly parents left behind in the light of economic contribution and time allocation (farm work and emotional cohesion). Using the pooled data from three latest issues of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in the rural areas, this study assesses the impact of child migration on parents’ health by employing instrumental variable approach to deal with the endogeneity problem. Overall, the evidence suggests that adult child migration impairs parental health as indicated by lower self-reported health (SRH), body mass index (BMI), physical activity of daily living (PADL), and higher depression score. Moreover, parents who are female, poorly-educated, and living with one adult child at least are the most vulnerable groups in terms of poor health outcomes. The negative impact of farming burden on the health of parents left behind outweighs the positive impact of economic support and emotional cohesion. Thus, child migration exerts a significantly negative impact on parental health. Establishing medical and social security systems for the elderly is important to complement the traditional family support in rural China.

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