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Shu L, Zhu H, Zhang L, Jia L, Zhang J, Wang L. Nutritional status of children left behind by migrant parents: Evidence from a survey in rural Anhui, eastern China. NUTR BULL 2024; 49:146-156. [PMID: 38363028 DOI: 10.1111/nbu.12666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
We aimed to explore and analyse the dietary intake patterns of 3-6 year-old children left behind by one or both parents and to assess their associations with body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of childhood anaemia in rural Anhui, eastern China. We used random cluster sampling to recruit rural children aged 3-6 years in two rural areas in Anhui province. Sociodemographic information and dietary intake were collected by self-reported questionnaires. Height, weight and prevalence of anaemia were measured by trained nurses blinded to parental migration status. Factor analysis was applied to determine that major dietary patterns, binary logistic regression and generalised linear regression were used to explore the associations between anaemia and BMI Z-score with dietary patterns. Of 1720 children aged 3-6 years, 236 were left by both parents and 388 were left by a single parent. The prevalence of stunting and underweight among left-behind children with migration of both parents (BLBC) was significantly higher than that of non-left-behind children (NLBC). Three dietary patterns-"grain-vegetable," "meat-egg" and "fast food-sweet"-were identified in our study, and the total variance explained was 46.9%. The meat-egg dietary pattern was associated with a decreased risk of anaemia after adjustment for confounding factors in the left-behind children with migration of both parents (BLBC), left-behind children with single parent migration (SLBC) and non-left-behind children (NLBC) groups. After adjusting for confounding factors, the fast food-sweet dietary pattern was found to be associated with an increased risk of anaemia (OR [95% CI]: Q4: 2.21 [1.14, 4.57], p = 0.034). In addition, children with obesity had a lower intake of vegetables and fruits (β = -0.08, 95% CI: -0.13, -0.02) compared with children with a normal weight. In conclusion, there are correlations between different types of parental migration and children's nutritional status in rural Anhui. The meat-egg dietary pattern may have a preventive effect on anaemia in comparison with other dietary patterns, irrespective of whether children are left behind or not. Children with overweight and obesity had a higher intake of pork and red meat and snacks compared with children with normal BMI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Shu
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui Province, China
| | - Hao Zhu
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui Province, China
| | - Li Zhang
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui Province, China
| | - Linlin Jia
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui Province, China
| | - Jiaye Zhang
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui Province, China
| | - Liying Wang
- Bengbu Health Board, Bengbu, Anhui Province, China
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Chen X, Chen R, Zhang L, Li Y. Positive Development Patterns in Left-Behind Adolescents: Do Resilience and Making Sense of Adversity Have Beneficial Effects? Psychol Res Behav Manag 2024; 17:2121-2133. [PMID: 38807935 PMCID: PMC11131951 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s454385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Chen
- Institute of Psychology & Behavior, Henan University, Kaifeng, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ru Chen
- School of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lulu Zhang
- College of Education Science, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanhua Li
- School of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
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Yang W, Chan A, Gagarina N. Left-behind experience and language proficiency predict narrative abilities in the home language of Kam-speaking minority children in China. Front Psychol 2023; 13:1059895. [PMID: 36733853 PMCID: PMC9888255 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1059895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Studies have documented that child experiences such as external/environmental factors as well as internal factors jointly affect acquisition outcomes in child language. Thus far, the findings have been heavily skewed toward Indo-European languages and children in the Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic (WEIRD) societies. By contrast, this study features an understudied minority language Kam, and a group of so-called left-behind children in China growing up in a unique social-communicative environment. Methods Fifty-five bilingual children aged 5-9 acquiring Kam as home language were assessed using the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (LITMUS MAIN). Twenty-three "two parents-left" children (mean age = 6;8, range: 5;0-9;2) remained in rural areas while both parents went to cities for employment, and they were raised by their grandparents. Thirty-two were "one parent-left" peers (mean age = 7;3, range: 5;0-9;3) who also resided in rural areas but were raised by one parent. Oral narrative texts were analysed for macrostructure based on story structure (SS), story complexity (SC) and internal state terms (IS). The study examined whether and how narrative production is predicted by internal factors such as chronological age and linguistic proficiency of a child and an external factor such as left-behind experience. Four measures were scored as outcome measures: SS, SC, IS type, IS token. Four measures were taken as predictors: chronological age, left-behind experience, scores in a lexical production task, and scores in a sentence repetition task tapping expressive morphosyntactic competence. Results Results showed that left-behind experience consistently predicted all four outcome measures, where the "two parents-left" children scored significantly lower than their "one parent-left" peers. Expressive vocabulary scores predicted three measures: SS, SC, and IS Token. Expressive morphosyntactic scores predicted SS and SC. Age, by contrast, did not predict any outcome measure. Discussion These findings suggested that being left-behind by both parents may be a negative prognostic indicator for the development and maintenance of heritage language abilities in ethnic minority children. We further discussed the conceptual significance of what it means for a child to be left-behind, by relating to more basic external factors in language development, including caregiver educational level, and amount of home language and literacy support by the caretakers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenchun Yang
- School of Foreign Studies, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China,Leibniz-Centre General Linguistics (ZAS), Berlin, Germany,*Correspondence: Wenchun Yang,
| | - Angel Chan
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China,Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China,The Hong Kong Polytechnic University – Peking University Research Centre on Chinese Linguistics, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China,Angel Chan,
| | - Natalia Gagarina
- Leibniz-Centre General Linguistics (ZAS), Berlin, Germany,Natalia Gagarina,
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Qijie J, Yin L, Liping L. Physical exercise and psychological health of rural left-behind children: An experiment from China. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1088509. [PMID: 36591051 PMCID: PMC9800060 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1088509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background How to promote the health (especially mental health) growth of left-behind children has become a hot social issue. Physical exercise is usually considered as a positive role in improving the physical and mental health of children, which can be considered to be integrated into the living environment of left-behind children. Objective To discuss the changes of left-behind children in psychological health before and after the exercise-based intervention, thus providing a practical approach to improve the psychological growth of this disadvantaged group. Methods An exercise-based social intervention experiment was designed and conducted in a township middle school in China, and 200 left-behind children with relatively low psychological health participated in the experiment. Results Physical exercise had positive effects on rural left-behind children's sense of hope, self-esteem, self-efficiency, and self-concept, and it seems that the positive effects are durative due to the optimization of living environment. There was no significant difference in the psychological promotion effect of different programs (football and table tennis) on left-behind children. Hope, self-esteem, and self-efficiency significantly mediated the relationship between physical exercise and self-concept of left-behind children. Conclusion Physical exercise contributes to promoting the development of rural left-behind children's positive psychology such as hope, self-esteem, self-efficiency, and thus relieving the negative psychology caused by long-term parental-child separation and improving self-concept.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiang Qijie
- College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China,*Correspondence: Jiang Qijie,
| | - Li Yin
- Business School, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Li Liping
- Business School, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China
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Fang Z, Li Y, Xie L, Cheng M, Ma J, Li T, Li X, Jiang L. Characteristics and outcomes of children with dissociative (conversion) disorders in western China: a retrospective study. BMC Psychiatry 2021; 21:31. [PMID: 33435924 PMCID: PMC7802240 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-021-03045-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dissociative (conversion) disorder in children is a complex biopsychosocial disorder with high rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities. We sought to identify the characteristics and outcomes of children with dissociative (conversion) disorders in western China. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 66 children admitted with dissociative (conversion) disorders from January 2017 to July 2019, and analyzed their clinical characteristics, socio-cultural environmental variables, and personality and psychiatric/psychological characteristics. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the variables associated with clinical efficacy. RESULTS Of these 66 patients, 38 (57.6%) were male and 28 (42.4%) were female, 46 (69.7%) had an antecedent stressor, 30 (45.5%) were left-behind adolescents, and 16 (24.2%) were from single-parent families. In addition, 30 patients (45.5%) were not close to their parents, 38 patients (59.4%) had an introverted personality, and 34 (53.1%) had unstable emotions. Thirteen families (19.7%) were uncooperative with the treatment. Patients who had cormorbid anxiety or depression exhibited significantly lower cognitive ability (P < 0.01). Logistic regression found that better treatment outcomes were positively associated with having a close relationship with parents, parental cooperation with treatment, and having a father with a lower level of education (i.e., less than junior college or higher). CONCLUSIONS The characteristics and outcomes of children with dissociative (conversion) disorders are related to socio-cultural environmental variables and psychiatric/psychological factors. Timely recognition and effective treatment of dissociative (conversion) disorders are important.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhixu Fang
- grid.488412.3Department of Neurology, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 136, Zhongshan Er Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing City, 400014 China ,grid.419897.a0000 0004 0369 313XMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.488412.3National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.507984.7China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing, China ,grid.488412.3Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuhang Li
- grid.488412.3Department of Neurology, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 136, Zhongshan Er Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing City, 400014 China ,grid.419897.a0000 0004 0369 313XMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.488412.3National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.507984.7China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing, China ,grid.488412.3Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing, China
| | - Lingling Xie
- grid.488412.3Department of Neurology, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 136, Zhongshan Er Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing City, 400014 China ,grid.419897.a0000 0004 0369 313XMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.488412.3National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.507984.7China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing, China ,grid.488412.3Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing, China
| | - Min Cheng
- grid.488412.3Department of Neurology, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 136, Zhongshan Er Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing City, 400014 China ,grid.419897.a0000 0004 0369 313XMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.488412.3National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.507984.7China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing, China ,grid.488412.3Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing, China
| | - Jiannan Ma
- grid.488412.3Department of Neurology, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 136, Zhongshan Er Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing City, 400014 China ,grid.419897.a0000 0004 0369 313XMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.488412.3National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.507984.7China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing, China ,grid.488412.3Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing, China
| | - Tingsong Li
- grid.488412.3Department of Neurology, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 136, Zhongshan Er Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing City, 400014 China ,grid.419897.a0000 0004 0369 313XMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.488412.3National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.507984.7China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing, China ,grid.488412.3Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiujuan Li
- grid.488412.3Department of Neurology, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 136, Zhongshan Er Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing City, 400014 China ,grid.419897.a0000 0004 0369 313XMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.488412.3National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014 China ,grid.507984.7China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing, China ,grid.488412.3Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing, China
| | - Li Jiang
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 136, Zhongshan Er Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing City, 400014, China. .,Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014, China. .,National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Chongqing, 400014, China. .,China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing, China. .,Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing, China.
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