The consequences of parental labor migration in China for children's emotional wellbeing

How parenting styles affect the development of language skills and reading comprehension in primary school students

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

This study examined how parenting styles influence children's language skills and reading comprehension.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Six hundred and eighty-five Chinese-speaking third graders (Mage = 9.23 years, SD = .66; 341 girls) were randomly recruited from eight primary schools. We measured students' primary caregivers' parenting styles, parental education, family income, migration status, number of children's extracurricular books in the home and family cohesion at Wave 1 (i.e. grade 3). We also assessed students' reading motivation, language skills (i.e. vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness) and reading comprehension at Wave 2 (i.e. grade 4).

RESULTS

The structural equation model analysis revealed that parenting styles indirectly affect language and reading comprehension development, with authoritative and authoritarian parenting exerting different influences on the two outcomes. Specifically, authoritative parenting was positively related to the number of children's books, which in turn was directly, or indirectly through reading motivation, associated with children's language skills and reading comprehension. In contrast, authoritarian parenting was negatively related to family cohesion, which was associated with children's reading motivation, and consequently, their language skills and reading comprehension. The multigroup analysis showed that the indirect pathways varied slightly across parental migration statuses.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

These findings enhance the global understanding of the pathways linking parenting styles to children's language skills and reading comprehension, suggesting that educators and researchers should not overly emphasize the direct role of parenting styles in children's academic performance.

Depressive symptoms among rural left-behind children and adolescents in China: a large-scale cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Left-behind children(LBC) in rural China are at increased risk for mental health problems, including depression. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression and identify key associate factors among Chinese rural LBC.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from 36,612 LBC aged 6 to 18 years old across 596 data collection sites in Nanchong, Sichuan Province, China. Participants completed questionnaires assessing individual factors, family parenting situation, living events, and health-related data. Depression was measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). T-tests, chi-square, and logistic regression were performed to identify factors associated with depression.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of depression among LBC was 6.75%. Logistic regression analysis revealed that family parenting situations, such as being from blended families (OR = 1.45) or being cared for by other family members (OR = 1.64), and dissatisfaction with the parenting situation (OR = 1.57) were significantly associated with higher odds of depression. Living events, including being misunderstood (OR = 1.82) and having disputes (OR = 1.48), and health-related factors, such as chronic diseases and regular medication use (OR = 2.38), also increased the risk of depression.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the high prevalence of depression among Chinese rural LBC and identifies key associate factors, including family parenting situation, negative living events and health-related factors. Targeted interventions and policies addressing these factors are needed to promote the mental health of this vulnerable population.

Heterogeneous effects of return migration on children's mental health and cognitive outcomes

As a neglected group, the number of return migrant children is growing with China's monumental volume of labor migration. Using data from 2013 to 2014 China Education Panel Survey, this study examines heterogeneous effects of return migration on children's mental health and cognitive outcomes. Our results show that the effects of return migration on children vary with the propensity for return migration. More importantly, when children are at risk of return migration, even if that risk is small, it already has a negative impact on children's mental health, which reminds us that it needs to take a dynamic view to study the impact of return migration on children. However, the impact of return migration is not all negative, and the findings suggest that return migration can promote the cognitive development of urban-origin migrant children. A striking regional difference emerges from our analysis: due to urban-rural gap, the impact of return migration on children from urban and rural areas is different. Specifically, return migration has a positive effect on the cognitive development of urban-origin migrant children while return migration does some harm to that of rural-origin migrant children, which implies that return migration may widen the gap between urban and rural children.

Positive Development Patterns in Left-Behind Adolescents: Do Resilience and Making Sense of Adversity Have Beneficial Effects?

Purpose

Despite increased attention to the positive development of left-behind adolescents, research findings remain inconclusive. Utilizing latent profile analysis, we identified various positive development profiles among the left-behind adolescents and explored the association between resilience and positive development profiles, alongside the mediating role of making sense of adversity.

Methods

A multi-stage cluster sampling procedure was employed, randomly selecting four provinces-Zhejiang, Guangdong, Henan, and Jiangxi-from the central and coastal regions. The sample comprised 718 left-behind adolescents recruited from primary and junior high schools across grades 4, 5, 7, and 8. Three scales were utilized, and analyses included latent profile analysis and mediation analysis.

Results

Three latent subgroups of positive development among left-behind adolescents were identified: low, moderate, and high. Those with higher resilience and positive perceptions of adversity tended to belong to the high group rather than the low (β = -0.45, p < 0.001; β = -0.09, p < 0.001) or moderate group (β = -0.23, p < 0.001; β = -0.04, p < 0.05). Left-behind adolescents with higher negative perceptions of adversity tended to belong to the high group rather than the moderate group (β = -0.07, p < 0.01). Mediation analysis revealed that resilience facilitated the development of positive appraisals of adversity, subsequently increasing the likelihood of being categorized into the high (95% CI of -0.09 to -0.03) or moderate group (95% CI of -0.05 to -0.01) rather than the low group.

Conclusion

These findings hold significant implications for intervention formulation. Educators should focus on strengthening resilience and fostering positive perceptions of adversity among the low group. For the moderate group, maintaining moderate negative perceptions of adversity may stimulate the intrinsic potential for positive development more effectively.

Influence of labor migration on rural household food waste in China: Application of propensity score matching (PSM)

Food waste has emerged as a critical global concern, with households identified as major contributors to this pressing issue. As the world grapples with sustainability challenges, addressing food waste in the context of rural labor migration is crucial for achieving broader sustainable development goals. However, there is still limited research regarding the relationship between labor migration and food waste. We utilized propensity score matching to analyze cross-sectional data collected from 1270 rural households in China. Labor migration led to significant increases of 37% in overall food waste and 35% in plant-based food waste, respectively. Furthermore, households with labor migration exhibited 29%, 31%, and 30 % higher energy, protein, and carbohydrate waste, respectively, compared to non-migration households. Regarding micronutrients, migration led to a 39% increase in iron waste, a 42% increase in zinc waste, and a 47% increase in selenium waste. The results of the categorical analysis indicate variations in the impact of labor migration on food wastage within rural households. Food wastage in rural households with chronic illness patients responds differently to labor migration. Moreover, labor migration predominantly affects households without courier services in villages, where dietary diversity plays a significant role. Understanding these variations is essential for crafting targeted interventions and policies to address food waste in different rural contexts. The policy implications of our study are crucial for addressing food waste and advancing sustainable development in rural China, where labor migration plays a significant role.

Long-term effects of the left-behind experience on health and its mechanisms: Empirical evidence from China

Previous studies have primarily focused on the contemporaneous, short-term and medium-term effects of the childhood left-behind experience on subsequent health, but ignored its long-term effects and the mediating mechanisms of health outcomes. Using nationally representative data from the 2018 China Labor-force Dynamic Survey, this study uses self-rated health as a measure of health outcomes to examine the long-term effects of the left-behind experience and elucidate the underlying mechanisms that contribute to health inequality from a life-course perspective. The results show: (1) the childhood left-behind experience exerts a long-term negative impact on self-rated health in adulthood, and this impact persists and does not fade over time after ending the left-behind status; (2) the influence of the childhood left-behind experience on self-rated health demonstrates a cumulative disadvantage effect, with longer duration of being left-behind resulting in greater negative impacts; additionally, there's a critical window effect, with earlier left-behind experience leading to more significant negative outcomes; (3) the experience of being left behind during childhood has a negative impact and threshold effect on social trust in adulthood, meaning that the left-behind experience negatively affects social trust, but the duration of being left behind doesn't exacerbate this reduction; and (4) social trust is a key mediating factor between left-behind experiences and health, explaining 8.70% of this effect, and explaining 12.15% and 7.71% of mediation effects for adults with left-behind experience in middle and primary school stages, respectively.

The Impact of Household Migration on the Intergenerational Educational Mobility: Based on the Perspective of Adolescent Development

Improving intergenerational mobility is crucial for enhancing the efficacy of human capital, ensuring social vitality, and supporting sustainable long-term economic growth. Based on the China Labor-force Dynamic Survey (CLDS) of 2014, this paper empirically examines the effect of adolescent household migration on intergenerational educational mobility by using a fixed-effect model. The study found that: (1) Household migration in the adolescent period significantly improves intergenerational educational mobility. (2) The quality and quantity of education of offspring are the channels through which household migration improves the intergenerational educational mobility of the household. (3) There are significant differences between urban and rural areas, gender, and household resource allocation in the effect of adolescent household migration on intergenerational educational mobility. As the majority of poor households are unable to improve intergenerational mobility through migration due to its costs and institutional barriers, this paper suggests that the government should concentrate on reducing regional disparities in educational resources, advancing rural education reform, and enhancing social security.

Parental migration and self-efficacy among rural-origin adolescents in China: Patterns and mechanisms

Large-scale rural-to-urban migration has shaped the socialization contexts of rural adolescents in China and can potentially impact their developmental outcomes. In this study, using data from the first wave of the China Education Panel Study collected in 2013, we focused on self-efficacy, an important but under-studied facet of noncognitive development, and assessed how it was influenced by family migration status. We also explored the mediating role of family and school resources. We compared three groups of rural-origin adolescents with different family migration statuses: rural left-behind children (LBC), rural not-left-behind children (NLBC), and rural-to-urban migrant children (MC). Structural equation modeling was performed to estimate the main effects of rural-origin groups on self-efficacy and the mediating effects of family income, family social capital, and school social capital for the significant group effects on self-efficacy. We found similar levels of self-efficacy among MC and NLBC, who in turn, exhibited greater self-efficacy than LBC. Discrepancies in family and school resources mediated the self-efficacy gaps between LBC and their MC and NLBC counterparts. Notably, when their disadvantages in family and school resources were controlled for, LBC were more efficacious than MC and NLBC, indicating LBC's resilience and the potential for promoting self-efficacy in LBC by providing adequate resources and support.

Community social capital, migration status, and Chinese rural children's psychosocial development

Migration's impact on Chinese rural children's psychosocial development is the subject of growing research attention. While scholars highlight the critical role of social support, they have yet to systematically examine whether and how community social capital, which provides proximal social support for families, affects rural children's psychosocial development as well as whether such associations vary by children's migration status. Using data from the child component of the 2012 Chinese Urbanization and Labor Migration Survey, this article shows that community social capital reduces children's behavioral and emotional problems; however, left-behind children and migrant children gain less from community social capital than children with at-home parents. In addition, left-behind girls fare worse and gain less from community social capital than left-behind boys. Together, these findings imply that community social capital reinforces the disadvantaged psychosocial development of rural children who experience parental migration and evidence the enduring gender inequality in rural China.

Influence of home chaos on preschool migrant children's resilience: A moderated mediation model

Increasing attention has been drawn to the development of preschool migrant children's resilience recently. Resilience refers to the positive internal strengths and qualities of individuals in adverse situations, and is an essential psychological quality for preschool migrant children to cope with adversity. Home chaos as a risk factor, has an important impact on the development of individual's resilience, but the specific mechanisms under which home chaos works have yet to be explored, especially for preschool migrant children. Based on resilience model theory, 3,135 preschool migrant children and their families were surveyed and a moderated mediating effect mode was constructed to test the effect of home chaos on preschool migrant children's resilience. The results showed that after controlling for gender and age, home chaos significantly and negatively predicted preschool migrant children's resilience. Family resilience played a mediating role in the relationship between home chaos and preschool migrant children's resilience. Meanwhile, social support positively moderated the mediating effects of family resilience. The findings of this study suggested that low home chaos was conducive to promoting family resilience, which in turn fostered children's resilience, and that social support could play its protective role in weakening the negative effects of home chaos and this had certain guiding implications for the development of resilience in preschool migrant children.

Sınıf Öğretmenlerinin Penceresinden Göçmen Öğrencilerin Sorunlarına Bir Bakış

Günümüzde insanlar daha iyi bir iş, sağlık, eğitim gibi isteğe bağlı nedenlerle veya savaş, doğal afet, dini, siyasi ve etnik baskılar gibi zorunlu nedenlerle göç etmektedir. Bu göç hareketleri sonucunda da ülkelerinden, ailelerinden ve/veya arkadaşlarından ayrılmaktadırlar. Göç hareketi insanları, özellikle de savunmasız konumda olan çocukları önemli ölçüde etkilemektedir. Göç hareketine maruz kalan çocuklar beslenme, barınma ve sağlık gibi birçok konuda yeterli desteği alamamaktadır. Öğrencilerin bu ihtiyaçları karşılansa dahi iletişim sorunu, uyum sorunu ve maddi sorunlar yaşamakta, bu sorunlar nedeniyle de eğitimlerini sürdürememektedirler. Eğitim haklarından mahrum kalan bu öğrenciler, gelecekte daha iyi bir iş için diğer insanlarla rekabet edemeyebilirler. Üstelik eğitim almayan bu çocuklar, topluma faydalı birer insan olmak yerine suça yönelebilirler. Bu nedenle herhangi bir sebeple göç ederek Türkiye’ye gelen öğrencilerin eğitim almasına etki eden sorunların belirlenmesi ve çözülmesi gerekmektedir. Ancak bu şekilde öğrencilerin topluma faydalı birer insan olması sağlanabilir. Bu doğrultuda araştırmamızın amacı göçmen öğrencilerin yaşadığı sorunları, diğer paydaşların (öğretmen, diğer öğrenciler ve veliler) bu öğrencilerle ilgili düşüncelerini ve öğretmenlerin göçmen öğrencilere eğitim verme sürecinde bir destek alıp almadığını belirlemektir. Bu amacı gerçekleştirmek için araştırmada, nitel araştırma desenlerinden fenomenoloji kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın katılımcıları amaçlı örnekleme türlerinden ölçüt örnekleme tekniği kullanılarak belirlenmiştir. Ölçütler; “En az 5 yıl deneyime sahip olma”, “Sınıfında en az 1 göçmen öğrenci olma” olarak belirlenmiş ve bu doğrultuda 9 sınıf öğretmeni ile görüşme yapılmıştır. Veri toplama aracı olarak ise yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda ulaşılan bulgular betimsel ve içerik analiz teknikleri kullanılarak çözümlenmiştir. Araştırmada sınıf öğretmenlerinin neredeyse tamamının sınıfında göçmen öğrenci istemediği, göçmen öğrencileri istememelerinin başlıca nedenlerinin seviye farkı, müfredatın göçmen öğrencilere dönük olmaması, göçmen öğrencilerin davranış problemleri sergilemesi, uyum sorunu ve iletişim sorunu yaşamaları olduğu bulgularına ulaşılmıştır. Ayrıca öğretmenler göçmen öğrencilere eğitim verme sürecinde herhangi bir kurumdan, kuruluştan materyal, kitap vb. anlamda destek almadıklarını belirtmişlerdir. Yine öğretmenlerin büyük çoğunluğu göçmen öğrencilerin sorunlarına müdahaleye dönük bir eğitim almadıklarını belirtmişlerdir. Son olarak öğretmenler göçmen öğrencilerin sorunlarının giderilebilmesi için önce dil eğitimi almalılar, hayat şartları iyileştirilmeli, velilerin eğitim sürecine katılmasına dönük çalışmalar yapılmalı, özel alt sınıf açılmalı gibi önerilerde bulunmuşlardır.

Unpacking the Association between Family Functionality and Psychological Distress among Chinese Left-Behind Children: The Mediating Role of Social Support and Internet Addiction

Family functionality has been proven to be associated with adolescents' and children's mental health, but its indirect mechanisms among left-behind children have rarely been investigated in the Chinese context. This study aims to explore the direct effect of family functionality on psychological distress and the mediating roles of social support and Internet addiction among Chinese left-behind children. Based on multistage random sampling, 1355 students were recruited to participate in a school-based questionnaire survey in Jiangsu Province. Structural equation modeling using Amos 26.0 was used to test the direct and indirect paths of the variables. The results support our hypotheses, suggesting that family functionality has a direct effect on the psychological distress of left-behind children. Meanwhile, the association between family functionality and psychological distress is mediated by social support and Internet addiction, separately and sequentially. The findings suggest that effective social work interventions for psychological distress should be targeted toward social support and Internet addiction among left-behind children.

A Prospective Study on Resilience Among Children with Different Migrant and Left-behind Trajectories

Parental migration has been an important predictor of children's psychological resilience. The present study discusses the effect of parental migration on children's resilience in rural western China from a dynamic viewpoint. Using sequence analysis, this study investigates children's entire migration trajectory over the course of childhood (ages 1-12) and identifies the typical patterns of the dynamic family structure associated with parental migration: continuously nonmigrant (N = 4,238), continuously migrant (N = 923), continuously left behind by one parent (N = 872), continuously left behind by both parents (N = 796) and frequent transition between migrant or left-behind statuses (N = 1,624). The results show that the trajectories of left-behind status and transition have a significant negative impact on children's resilience, which demonstrates that both the effects of parent-child separation and family instability compromise children's psychological functioning. Family resources can buffer these negative effects, but they work asymmetrically across different groups of children. Family economic resources serve as a significant protective factor among children continuously left behind by both parents, while family social resources are more protective for children in unstable families.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12187-022-09945-1.

Parental Migration and Psychological Well-Being of Children in Rural China

This paper empirically analyzes the impact of parental migration on the psychological well-being of children using ordered probit models based on a survey conducted among 1680 primary school students and their parents in Majiang County, Guizhou Province, China in 2020. The findings are as follows. First, compared with having no migrant parents, having two migrant parents significantly reduces the psychological well-being of children and having one migrant parent has no significant effect. Second, mediation analysis shows that parental migration reduces child depression by increasing household absolute and relative incomes. It also increases depression and reduces the subjective happiness of children by reducing parental discipline. However, it has no significant impact on parent–child interactions. Third, by dividing the sample by absolute and relative poverty, we find that the effect of parental migration on the psychological well-being of children varies with household economic conditions. Comparatively speaking, children from poor households are more affected by parental migration in terms of depression, whereas children from non-poor households are more affected by parental migration in terms of subjective happiness. This paper examines the transmission mechanism between parental migration and the psychological well-being of children, provides a perspective of household economic conditions for child psychology and offers useful insights for family education and government policymaking in this area.

Effect pathways of informal family separation on children's outcomes: Paternal labor migration and long-term educational attainment of left-behind children in rural China

Informal family separation due to parental labor migration is an increasingly common experience in the lives of children in many countries. This paper proposes a framework and method for analyzing "effect pathways" by which parental labor migration might affect children's outcomes. The framework incorporates home-environment and child-development mechanisms and is adapted from migration, sociology of education, and child development literatures. We test these pathways using data on father absence and long-term educational outcomes for girls and boys in China. We apply structural equation models with inverse probability of treatment weighting to data from a 15-year longitudinal survey of 2000 children. Significantly, fathers' migration has distinct implications for different effect pathways. It is associated most significantly with reduced human capital at home, which has the largest detrimental effect on children's educational attainment, among those studied. At the same time, father absence is associated with better family economic capital, which partially buffers the negative implications of father absence. Overall, father absence corresponds to a reduction of 0.342 years, on average, in children's educational attainment, but the reduction is larger for boys than for girls. For boys and girls, the reduced availability of literate adults in the household linked to father absence is an important effect pathway. For girls, this detrimental effect is partially offset by a positive income effect, but for boys, the offset effect is trivial.

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

Left-behind adolescents' biobehavioral adjustment, such as sleep, is poorly understood by research. Using daily data over one week from 90 middle school students (M_age  = 13.69) in rural China, this study investigated daily bidirectional associations between negative peer interactions and sleep disturbances, and how these associations varied by parental migration. On days when adolescents reported higher levels of negative peer interactions, they also reported greater daytime dysfunction the following day. Conversely, when adolescents had more nighttime disturbances the previous night, they also reported higher levels of negative peer interactions. The effects of other sleep disturbance indicators (poor sleep quality the previous night and daytime dysfunction on the same day) on negative peer interactions were significant for adolescents with at least one parent migrating and for those with both parents migrating. Findings highlight the importance of considering dynamic interrelations between interpersonal and biobehavioral factors for the healthy development of left-behind adolescents.

Parental migration and psychological well-being of left-behind adolescents in Western Nepal

INTRODUCTION

International migration is increasing rapidly around the world mostly to obtain a job. International migrant workers usually leave their children back in their country of origin, and among family members, adolescents may experience greater psychological distress from parental separation. However, limited evidence is available on the relationship between parental international migration and psychological well-being of left-behind adolescents. Nepal has a relatively higher and increasing number of international migrants, and this study was conducted to examine the association between parental international migration and the psychological well-being of left-behind adolescents in Nepal.

METHODS

A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 626 adolescents in two districts of Western Nepal, where international migration is common. Adolescents were recruited through random sampling. Pre-tested "Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire" was used to measure their psychological well-being and simple and multiple linear regression were used to examine the association between parental international migration and the psychological well-being of left-behind adolescents.

RESULTS

Adolescents with none of the parents living abroad were more likely to have higher total difficulties score compared to those with one of the parents living abroad (B: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.18, 1.86; p = 0.017). Adolescents with the following factors were more likely to have higher total difficulties score in comparison to their counterparts: adolescents in their late adolescence period, female adolescents, adolescents from ethnicities other than Brahmin and adolescents studying in private schools.

CONCLUSION

In rural districts of Nepal, where international migration is common, adolescents living with the parents were more likely to have poorer psychological well-being compared to those with one of the parents living abroad. Adolescents' adaptation mechanism for the absence of parents for international migration might be explored in the future studies.

Family Structure, Family Instability, and Child Psychological Well-Being in the Context of Migration: Evidence From Sequence Analysis in China

This study conceptualizes parental migration as a dynamic family process that exposes children to parental absence and family instability. Using detailed migration histories, this study identifies the left-behind trajectories of rural Chinese children throughout childhood (age 1-12) and examines the impact on psychological well-being (N = 3,961). Results indicate heterogeneity in children's experience of parental migration, which is characterized by both persistence (prolonged parental absence) and instability (repeated parental migration). A quarter of rural children experienced prolonged parental migration, and for half of these, by both parents. Another 50% of rural children experienced repeated parental migration. Children continuously left behind by both parents and children who experienced substantial family instability both fared worse in psychological development than those in stable two-parent families.

Physical health, school performance and delinquency: A comparative study of left-behind and non-left-behind children in rural China

BACKGROUND

China's rapid economic development since the late 1970s has resulted in a large-scale migrant population from rural to urban areas, with millions of Chinese children being left behind at home by their parents who migrated to city for work.

OBJECTIVE

The primary objective of this study is to test the effects of family, school and background characteristics on left-behind children's (LBC) and non-left-behind children's (NLBC) physical health, school performance, and delinquent behavior.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 765 LBC and 468 NLBC in elementary and middle schools participated in the study.

SETTING

Survey data were collected from three middle schools and seven elementary schools in Wuhan, China.

METHODS

The dependent variables included three measures of child development: physical health, school performance and delinquent behavior. The independent and control variables were divided into four groups: school and community attachment, parental attachment, parental and children commitment, and background characteristics. Mean comparisons and regression analyses were conducted to assess whether LBC and NLBC differ in their physical health, academic performance and delinquent behavior.

RESULTS

LBC's physical health is significantly lower than that of NLBC. Being a LBC decreases the odds of being healthy by 51 percent. LBC and NLBC do not differ in their school performance and delinquent behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

Being left behind without proper parental care appears to be detrimental to child physical wellbeing. The damaging impact of left-behind is limited to physical health as LBC and NLBC reported similar levels of educational performance and delinquent acts.

Family Income and Children's Emotional Wellbeing: the Mediational Role of Parents' Life Satisfaction and Emotional Wellbeing in China

Utilizing the Chinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS) dataset and the structural equation model, this paper examines the direct and indirect influences of family income on children’s emotional wellbeing as a function of parents’ life satisfaction and parents’ emotional wellbeing. Firstly, the empirical analysis of this paper shows that family income exerts a positive influence on children’s emotional wellbeing outcomes, including depressed, hopeless, helpless, and meaningless feelings. Secondly, the findings show that family income is significantly associated with parents’ emotional wellbeing, through which children’s wellbeing is affected. The intergenerational emotional transmission mechanism is validated. The ability to control personal emotions is an important skill, related not only to personal health but also to children’s health and wellbeing. Furthermore, parents’ life satisfaction serves as the mediator between family income and parents’ emotional wellbeing. If parents are more satisfied with their own lives, they are less likely to experience emotional problems. Policy implications are discussed in the end.

Fathers' Migration and Nutritional Status of Children in India: Do the Effects Vary by Community Context?

BACKGROUND

Due to international and internal migration, millions of children in developing countries are geographically separated from one or both of their parents. Prior research has not reached a consensus on the impacts of parental out-migration on children's growth, and little is known about how community contexts modify the impact of parental out-migration.

OBJECTIVE

We aim to assess the overall impacts of fathers' previous and current migration experiences on children's nutritional status in India and how the impacts are shaped by community socioeconomic contexts and community gender norms.

METHODS

Using data from the Indian Human Development Survey collected in 2011-2012, we estimated community fixed-effect regression models predicting the nutritional status of children (ages 10-15) and examined the interactions among fathers' migration, child's gender, and community contexts.

RESULTS

The results showed that children of returned migrants had lower height and Body Mass Index (BMI) than children of non-migrants. Fathers' current absence was associated with lower height and BMI for adolescents in communities with high levels of socioeconomic development but not for those in communities with low levels of development. Fathers' current absence due to migration was especially harmful for girls in communities with strict norms of female seclusion.

CONTRIBUTION

Our findings highlight that the effects of father's out-migration on children are conditioned by the level of communities' socioeconomic development and community gender contexts, which helps to reconcile the previously mixed findings on the effects of parental migration on child outcomes.

Parental Migration and Children's Psychological and Cognitive Development in China: Differences and Mediating Mechanisms

Internal migration has resulted in a large number of left-behind children in China. Despite growing attention to this population, important gaps remain in our understanding of their cognitive development and the factors that mediate the impact of migration on children. The present study draws on a new nationally representative survey of Chinese children to study the psychological and cognitive development of left-behind children. Results show that rural children left behind by both parents (but not by one parent) are worse off in both psychological well-being and cognitive development than rural children living with both parents. The disadvantage of left-behind children is mediated by their caregivers' emotional well-being, parenting practices, and education. We also find a pronounced rural-urban difference in children's cognitive development.

The effect of air pollution on children's migration with parents: evidence from China

Population migration and air pollution are inevitable problems in the process of urbanisation. With the continuous advancement of urbanisation, the trends in family migration have become more prominent, and children's migration with parents has become an important indicator reflecting the speed, structure, and quality of urbanisation. Our analysis relies on data from China Migrants Dynamic Survey to estimate the effect of air pollution on children's migration with parents. After using the instrumental variables to correct the possible endogeneity, we found that air pollution has a significant negative effect on children's migration with parents. Through further analysis, air pollution mainly affects migrant children by reducing the settlement intention of the migrants, the house purchase tendency in the influx city, and the income level. After replacing the independent variables, using narrow samples, and considering heterogeneity differences, this paper's conclusions remain robust. Therefore, in the process of urbanisation development, it is important to coordinate the relationship between the environment and the population, and it has an important significance to delay the demographic dividend recession and promote sustainable economic development in developing countries.

Depression among Chinese Left-Behind Children: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

In China, there are approximately 70 million children, nearly 25% of the child population, who are left behind in the care of other family members when their parents migrate to urban areas, for increased economic opportunities. This paper presents a systematic review and a meta-analysis of studies that have examined the phenomenon of depression among these left-behind children (LBC).

METHODS

Six hundred three papers published between 2000 and 2017 were retrieved from five databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, Weipu, PubMed, and Web of Science).

RESULTS

Twenty-one studies (18 in Chinese and 3 in English) met the criteria for inclusion in this meta-analysis. The pooled estimate of depression among LBC was 26.4%. A significant heterogeneity has been found in reported findings, and this heterogeneity was associated with three types of study characteristics, including using an unclear definition of LBC and using invalidated depression instruments, and the geographic location.

CONCLUSIONS

The risk of mental health problems among this large number of LBC suggests the need to quantify the extent and distribution of their mental health state. Implications for methodological improvements for future research have been discussed.

Village and Heritage in China: A Discussion on the Influence and Future of Heritage Work in Rural Areas

Over the past few decades, China has gone through a number of changes, and no community has been more impacted by these changes than the rural community. This paper takes a look at how heritage influences rural communities in these turbulent times. The paper focuses on three ways in which heritage is present in rural communities: Ecomuseums, rural tourism and archaeological heritage. While there are differences between all three modes, their similarities are defined by common issues addressed in this paper, such as the persisting top-down approaches, traditions in government systems, and issues native to rural areas that prevent active participation in heritage and sustainable tourism.

Migration and children's psychosocial development in China: When and why migration matters

Migration has affected a large number of children in many settings. Despite growing attention to these children, important gaps remain in our understanding of their psychosocial development, as well as the factors that mediate and moderate the impact of migration on children. The present study examines the influences of migration on children's psychosocial well-being in China using a new nationally representative survey. We compared different groups of children age 3-15, including migrant children, left-behind children, and rural and urban children in nonmigrant families. Results show that rural children left behind by both parents were significantly worse off in psychological and behavioral well-being than rural nonmigrant children. By contrast, rural children left behind by one parent and migrant children were no worse off. The disadvantage of left-behind children was mediated by their caregivers' emotional well-being and parenting practices. Frequent contact with migrant parents, but not receipt of remittances, helped ameliorate the vulnerability of left-behind children. These results add to our understanding of how migration affects child development in general.

Health impacts of parental migration on left-behind children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Globally, a growing number of children and adolescents are left behind when parents migrate. We investigated the effect of parental migration on the health of left behind-children and adolescents in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).

METHODS

For this systematic review and meta-analysis we searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PsychINFO, Global Index Medicus, Scopus, and Popline from inception to April 27, 2017, without language restrictions, for observational studies investigating the effects of parental migration on nutrition, mental health, unintentional injuries, infectious disease, substance use, unprotected sex, early pregnancy, and abuse in left-behind children (aged 0-19 years) in LMICs. We excluded studies in which less than 50% of participants were aged 0-19 years, the mean or median age of participants was more than 19 years, fewer than 50% of parents had migrated for more than 6 months, or the mean or median duration of migration was less than 6 months. We screened studies using systematic review software and extracted summary estimates from published reports independently. The main outcomes were risk and prevalence of health outcomes, including nutrition (stunting, wasting, underweight, overweight and obesity, low birthweight, and anaemia), mental health (depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, conduct disorders, self-harm, and suicide), unintentional injuries, substance use, abuse, and infectious disease. We calculated pooled risk ratios (RRs) and standardised mean differences (SMDs) using random-effects models. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42017064871.

FINDINGS

Our search identified 10 284 records, of which 111 studies were included for analysis, including a total of 264 967 children (n=106 167 left-behind children and adolescents; n=158 800 children and adolescents of non-migrant parents). 91 studies were done in China and focused on effects of internal labour migration. Compared with children of non-migrants, left-behind children had increased risk of depression and higher depression scores (RR 1·52 [95% CI 1·27-1·82]; SMD 0·16 [0·10-0·21]), anxiety (RR 1·85 [1·36-2·53]; SMD 0·18 [0·11-0·26]), suicidal ideation (RR 1·70 [1·28-2·26]), conduct disorder (SMD 0·16 [0·04-0·28]), substance use (RR 1·24 [1·00-1·52]), wasting (RR 1·13 [1·02-1·24]) and stunting (RR 1·12 [1·00-1·26]). No differences were identified between left-behind children and children of non-migrants for other nutrition outcomes, unintentional injury, abuse, or diarrhoea. No studies reported outcomes for other infectious diseases, self-harm, unprotected sex, or early pregnancy. Study quality varied across the included studies, with 43% of studies at high or unclear risk of bias across five or more domains.

INTERPRETATION

Parental migration is detrimental to the health of left-behind children and adolescents, with no evidence of any benefit. Policy makers and health-care professionals need to take action to improve the health of these young people.

FUNDING

Wellcome Trust.

Aging and separation from children: The health implications of adult migration for elderly parents in rural China

BACKGROUND

Massive rural-to-urban migration in China has profoundly altered the family life of rural older adults, as adult children remain the primary caretakers of their elderly parents. And yet little is known about the health and well-being of the parents of adult migrants in rural China whose main source of support has been displaced.

OBJECTIVE

This study takes a comprehensive view and compares the trajectories of self-rated health among the rural elderly and examines how these health trajectories are associated with adult children's migration.

METHODS

We analyze older adults aged 55 years and over in rural China, using four waves of data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (1997, 2000, 2004, 2006) and multilevel growth curve models.

RESULTS

The results show that parents of migrants persistently scored worse self-rated health across ages than their counterparts whose children had not migrated. Long-term migration of adults takes a heavier toll on the health of their elderly parents than short-term migration. However, these associations with children's migration are driven by the migration of sons. The migration of daughters and of children of both genders may have disparate effects on the health trajectories of elderly men and women.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that the interplay of gendered family dynamics and migration processes affects the health outcomes of older adults.

CONTRIBUTION

The findings contribute to current debates on the health and well-being of family members left behind by migrants and call for further study of the relationship between migration and family processes in the well-being of migrant families.