Depression among left-behind children in China

Liang, Ying; Wang, Lei; Rui, Guoqiang

doi:10.1177/1359105316676333

Cited by 71 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Left-behind children involve the children who are under 18 years and are left at home when both or one of their parents migrate to urban areas to work for at least six months 2. While it is well documented that left-behind children in rural China are disadvantaged in terms of psychosocial and academic functioning,3,4 there are still some gaps in the literature: (1) whether early left-behind experiences are linked to psychosocial functioning in later life, especially for emerging adulthood; (2) extensive studies focus on negative outcomes of left-behind populations,5 however, how about the positive psychosocial functioning of this vulnerable group; and (3) little is known about the protective factors for psychosocial adjustment in this vulnerable group.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Direct and interactive effects of peer support and resilience on psychosocial adjustment in emerging adults with early left-behind experiences</p>

Lan¹,

Wang²

2019

PRBM

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Background: Although abundant research documented the vulnerability of left-behind children in rural China, little is known about whether early left-behind experiences are linked to their positive psychosocial functioning in later life, as well as the potential protective factors for their psychosocial adjustment. Purpose: Informed by positive youth development framework and a positive adjustment framework in migrants, the current study compares psychosocial adjustment characterized by self-esteem and prosocial behavior between emerging adults with early left-behind experiences (LB-E) and their counterparts (Non-LB-E). Of importance, this study also examines the potential protective roles of social context (ie, peer support) and individual characteristic (ie, resilience) in psychosocial outcomes among Chinese emerging adults with and without early left-behind experiences. Methods: A propensity score matching was used to balance the two groups regarding age, gender, socioeconomic status, and potentially traumatic life events. Finally, a total of 182 emerging adults with early left-behind experiences and 182 their counterparts was involved in the current study, who were asked to complete self-report questionnaires. Results: The results showed that there were no significant differences in self-esteem and prosocial behavior between the two groups. In addition, resilience was found to moderate the link between peer support and self-esteem. Specifically, in the context of higher levels of peer support, emerging adults with higher levels of resilience reported higher levels of self-esteem. Conclusion: The current study suggests that early left-behind experiences are not an adversity for emerging adults’ positive psychosocial adjustment, and the protective roles of peer support and resilience are highlighted in Chinese emerging adults. Intervention or prevention programs may focus on the enhancement of resilience as well as the quality of peer relationships, shifting away from risk towards positive development models.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Direct and interactive effects of peer support and resilience on psychosocial adjustment in emerging adults with early left-behind experiences</p>

Lan¹,

Wang²

2019

PRBM

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“…Moreover, compared to non-left-behind children (NLBC), the long separation from parents will put LBC into an even more vulnerable situation. Therefore, in recent years, concerns regarding to the health status of LBC have been accumulated [5–7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience and self-harm among left-behind children in Yunnan, China: a community-based survey

et al. 2019

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BackgroundSelf-harm (SH) behaviors are established risk factors of suicide, however, in Chinese left-behind children (LBC), SH remains severely under-discussed. In this study, we aimed to investigate SH and explore its association between resilience in a large group of LBC.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study of 2898 LBC was conducted in Yunnan province, China. Information was collected by self-reporting questionnaires. Descriptive analysis was used to depict and compare characteristics of the subjects. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were applied to estimate the associations between resilience and SH prevalence, SH severity, SH repetition.ResultsThe prevalence of SH in LBC was 48.8% (95%CI: 47.0–49.7%). Compared to LBC with lower level of resilience, a higher level of resilience was related to 0.40 folds of SH odds (95%CI: 0.34–0.48). Besides, among all dimensions of resilience, every 1 average score increase of emotion regulation and family support were associated with 0.13 (95%CI: 0.04–0.37) and 0.14 (95%CI: 0.04–0.47) folds of odds in severer SH, respectively; one unit increase in the average score of emotion regulation was related to an OR of 0.23 (95%CI: 0.07–0.71) for repeated SH.ConclusionsPsychological resilience presented protective effect on SH in LBC, especially the dimensions of emotion regulation and family support. Intervention measures focusing on enhancing emotion regulation ability and building parent-child connection could be considered in order to reduce SH and suicidal risk in LBC.

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“…Evidence from previous investigations indicated that left‐behind children were at high risks for psychological and mental disorders (e.g., Shen, Liu, Zhao, & Shi, ). Left‐behind children reported more psychopathological outcomes than general children, including depression (Liang, Wang, & Rui, ), anxiety (Liu, Li, & Ge, ), and suicide ideation (Fu et al, ). It was estimated that approximately 30% of the left‐behind children experienced mental health problems (Liang et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Left‐behind children reported more psychopathological outcomes than general children, including depression (Liang, Wang, & Rui, ), anxiety (Liu, Li, & Ge, ), and suicide ideation (Fu et al, ). It was estimated that approximately 30% of the left‐behind children experienced mental health problems (Liang et al, ). The lack of parent–child communication (Davison & Birch, ) and family care and education (Fan et al, ) has been identified as the important reasons leading to the adverse psychological disorders among left‐behind children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life satisfaction and social anxiety among left‐behind children in rural China: The mediating role of loneliness

Wang

Yao

2019

Journal Community Psychology

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This study examined the mediating effects of loneliness in the relationship between social anxiety and life satisfaction. Four hundred and forty two left‐behind children in rural China, who completed the Social Anxiety Subscale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale, participated in the study. Results indicated that compared with both parent migration children, the scores of life satisfaction in the mother‐only and father‐only migration children were strongly higher, but did not differ across genders and ages. Additionally, social anxiety and loneliness negative predicted life satisfaction. More important, the mediation analysis revealed a partial mediating effect of loneliness in the links from social anxiety to life satisfaction. These findings call on more attention from the government and related sectors of society, and propose that loneliness improvement program may have a preventive function for promoting the life satisfaction among left‐behind children.

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Depression among left-behind children in China

Cited by 71 publications

References 30 publications

<p>Direct and interactive effects of peer support and resilience on psychosocial adjustment in emerging adults with early left-behind experiences</p>

<p>Direct and interactive effects of peer support and resilience on psychosocial adjustment in emerging adults with early left-behind experiences</p>

Resilience and self-harm among left-behind children in Yunnan, China: a community-based survey

Life satisfaction and social anxiety among left‐behind children in rural China: The mediating role of loneliness

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