Parental Migration, Children’s Safety and Psychological Adjustment in Rural China: A Meta-Analysis

Mengtong CHEN, Xiaoyue Sun, Qiqi Chen, Ko Ling Chan*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    47 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Studies concerning left-behind children in rural China have shown that parental absence due to migration is associated with greater risk of child victimization and accidental injuries, and a range of psychosocial problems. The authors conducted this meta-analysis to determine the extent to which left-behind children are affected by parental migration, as compared to children in nonmigrant rural families. A comprehensive literature search was conducted, and 90 studies published before 2017 were included in the data synthesis and analysis. The results revealed that compared to non-left-behind children, rural left-behind children are generally more disadvantaged in regard to child safety (d = 0.27) and psychological adjustment (d = 0.25). The effect sizes, though interpreted as small, revealed that children in rural China are significantly affected by parental migration. Children’s educational stage was a significant variable that moderated the effect sizes of child safety and psychological adjustment. The findings of the meta-analysis indicated that mother-only migration may have the most harmful effect on children. In terms of implications for interventions, the results suggest more attention should be given to rural left-behind children and to “mother-absent children” in particular. Future research is warranted to explore the association between left-behind children’s psychological adjustment and their exposure to injury and victimization.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)113-122
    Number of pages10
    JournalTrauma, Violence, and Abuse
    Volume21
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2020

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Health(social science)
    • Applied Psychology
    • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

    User-Defined Keywords

    • left-behind children
    • meta-analysis
    • migration
    • psychological adjustment
    • safety

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