Song S, Chen C, Zhang A. Effects of Parental Migration on Life Satisfaction and Academic Achievement of Left-Behind Children in Rural China-A Case Study in Hubei Province.
CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2018;
5:E87. [PMID:
29954132 PMCID:
PMC6069392 DOI:
10.3390/children5070087]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2018] [Revised: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 06/20/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
In the rural areas of China, there is a high occurrence of parental migration, wherein adults are flushed into urban areas to search for employment opportunities, leading to millions of left-behind children (LBC) in rural China. LBC attracts more attention from the social community and Chinese government. Here, we compared the life satisfaction and academic achievement of left-behind children (LBC) and non-left-behind children (NLBC) in rural regions that send out migrant labor in Hubei province, central China. We investigated 1031 LBC and 992 NLBC students in grades 4 to 9 in ten elementary and four middle schools, using a structured questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, life satisfaction, and academic achievement scores. The results showed that LBC have a lower life satisfaction and lower academic achievement than NLBC (p < 0.01). Meanwhile, as the child’s age at separation from parents decreased, their life satisfaction decreased. Additionally, correlations were observed between life satisfaction and academic achievement scores in LBC (p = 0.004) as well as in NLBC (p = 0.064). Collectively, these findings provide novel insights into a comprehensive understanding of LBC and suggest that the life satisfaction levels of LBC should be improved in rural China.
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