Environmental Risk Factors and Their Different Effects in Depressive Symptoms of Left-Behind Children in Rural China Compared with Non-Left-Behind Children

Abstract

In China, 61 million children were left behind in rural areas as a result of massive urbanization and migration of parents from the countryside to the cities in search of economic opportunities. This study explores the effects of environmental risk factors (i.e., peer victimization, perceived discrimination, and stressful life events) on depressive symptoms of left-behind children (LBC) and examines whether these risk factors have a higher impact on LBC compared with that of non-left-behind children (NLBC). Data collected involve 1548 first and second-year middle school students. Logistic regressions were conducted to examine the associations between environmental risk factors and LBC’s depressive symptoms, the moderating effect of the parental separation duration on these associations, and to compare if the risk factors had a higher impact on LBC’s depressive symptoms than on those of NLBC. Peer victimization is associated with an increased likelihood of depressive symptoms for LBC who were left behind for more than five years. Finally, stressful life events have a higher impact on LBC’s depressive symptoms, while peer victimization has a higher impact on NLBC’s depressive symptoms. The results suggest that stressful life events are an important risk factor that puts LBC at a disadvantage in terms of their mental health.

Temporal trend and subgroup disparities in the prevalence and treatment of those who screen positive for depression in China: A population-based study

“…Both the prevalence of depression and its temporal trend, as well as corresponding findings on access to mental health treatment, showed great geographic variances in China. These geographic variances may be caused by geography-related differences in health behaviour (like alcohol usage and physical exercise) ( 28 , 29 ), available social support and social capital (like social trust in relatives and friends, distance to the nearest medical institution, and medical assistance from non-spouse) ( 30 – 32 ), the prevalence of multimorbidity ( 25 ), and economic development [including average household income ( 25 , 33 ), economic welfare and social service welfare ( 34 ), and the probability of being to left-behind children ( 35 ) or empty-nest elderly ( 7 )]. In addition, as for the geographic difference in the prevalence of depression, evidence also suggested that higher altitude is more likely to be associated with symptoms of depression, with a possible mechanism that increased altitude is associated with low-pressure hypoxia, which may alter the way the brain works ( 36 , 37 ).…”

Mediating roles of perceived social support and sense of security in the relationship between negative life events and life satisfaction among left-behind children: A cross-sectional study

“…Therefore, it is highly desirable to identify the influencing factors and mechanisms of life satisfaction among rural LBC in order to improve their quality of life. Previous studies have shown that negative the life events could directly affect life satisfaction of LBC (Angarne-Lindberg and Wadsby, 2009;Furniss et al, 2009;Guang et al, 2017;Zhang et al, 2021). But these studies did not reveal the underlying mechanism between social support and security.…”

“…A recent study empirically demonstrated the role of core self-evaluation in mediating the relationship between negative life events and life satisfaction among college students (Junjun and Zhenzhen, 2018). However, most researches on LBC have only find that negative life events were negative related with life satisfaction (Guang et al, 2017;Zhou et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2021). In order to explore more protective factors to reduce the impact of negative life events on the life satisfaction of left-behind children.…”

Association between urbanization and Internet addiction

“…In China, large cities provide young adults with abundant economic resources. The migration of young parents from rural areas to large cities results in 61 million left-behind children [43], who may consequently experience emotional difficulties and develop depression or related conditions. Parental monitoring and regulation are instrumental in the prevention of Internet addiction [24].…”