scholarly journals Effects of Parental Migration on Life Satisfaction and Academic Achievement of Left-Behind Children in Rural China—A Case Study in Hubei Province

Children ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shujuan Song ◽  
Chunfeng Chen ◽  
Aiguo Zhang
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1037-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Xuefei Wang

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.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huifeng Shi ◽  
Jingxu Zhang ◽  
Yufeng Du ◽  
Chunxia Zhao ◽  
Xiaona Huang ◽  
...  

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.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110163
Author(s):  
Huiping Zhang ◽  
Yali Li

Child neglect is a social problem that causes great concern and affects the long-term well-being of left-behind rural Chinese children against the backdrop of their parents having to leave them in the care of others for extended periods while they have to go and work in cities. However, previous studies have disproportionally focused on the negative processes through which child neglect may influence their life satisfaction. Guided by positive psychology, this study examined the role of self-compassion and gratitude on the association between child neglect and life satisfaction. Our research questionnaire Likert survey used a sample of 1,091 left-behind children and 754 non left-behind children from Shanxi Province and Hunan Province. The results indicated that left-behind children reported a higher level of child neglect, and that child neglect was negatively associated with left-behind children’s life satisfaction through decreased self-compassion and gratitude. The implications of these findings are that policy measures and interventions that focus on increasing the self-compassion and gratitude of neglected left-behind children may have a positive effect on their life satisfaction.


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