Mental health status compared among rural-to-urban migrant, urban and rural school-age children in Guangdong Province, China

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious research has documented mental health status among rural-to-urban migrant children (labeled as “migrant children” henceforth) and urban children. However, the findings remain unclear. In addition, far less attention has been paid to rural children’s psychological outcomes. The purpose of this study was to compare mental health status among migrant, urban and rural school-age children in Guangdong Province, China.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study involving 372 migrant, 254 urban and 268 rural children selected respectively from 3 private schools, 4 public schools and 2 village schools in Guangdong Province, China. Participants provided their socio-demographic information and completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to assess mental health. One-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and Bonferroni post hoc test were used to evaluate SDQ scores differences. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to measure mental health differences among children after controlling for socio-demographics. Chi-square analyses were used to assess differences in the prevalence of mental health problems among children.ResultsBonferroni post hoc test showed that migrant and rural children reported significantly higher scores than urban peers in emotional symptoms, hyperactivity/inattention and total difficulties score (p < 0.01). In addition, migrant children reported a higher peer problems score compared to urban children (p < 0.001). In multiple linear regression analysis, rural and migrant children reported significantly a higher total difficulties score than urban children (p = 0.046 and 0.024, respectively). Additionally, female gender, having insurance, seldom communicating with parents, and higher monthly household income were negatively associated with a higher total difficulties score. Conversely, children’s father with secondary education was positively associated with a higher total difficulties score. The prevalence of mental health problems among rural, migrant and urban children were 26.5, 18.8 and 15.0% (χ2 = 11.41, p = 0.003), respectively.ConclusionsRural and migrant children reported poorer mental health than urban children. Female gender, having insurance, seldom communicating with parents, and higher monthly household income were associated with better mental health of children. However, children’s father with secondary education was associated with poorer mental health of children. Given the different effects of socio-demographics, further support might be provided accordingly to improve the mental health of school-age children.

Mental Health Problems and Associated Factors in Chinese High School Students in Henan Province: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…This correlates with a Swedish study that reported that high school students living away from home experience poor mental health [ 51 ]. Furthermore, we found that high school students living in urban areas have lower instances of self-reported mental health problems than their counterparts who do not live in urban areas, which is consistent with previous studies [ 23 , 52 ]. One possible explanation is that nonurban students have less access to numerous medical resources and are therefore unable to receive psychological support from health-care institutions when they have mental health problems [ 23 , 52 , 53 ].…”

“…Furthermore, we found that high school students living in urban areas have lower instances of self-reported mental health problems than their counterparts who do not live in urban areas, which is consistent with previous studies [ 23 , 52 ]. One possible explanation is that nonurban students have less access to numerous medical resources and are therefore unable to receive psychological support from health-care institutions when they have mental health problems [ 23 , 52 , 53 ]. Additionally, students living under the care of a single parent tend to be less proactive in health-seeking behavior and face a higher prevalence of mental health problems [ 54 ].…”

Parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of emotional and behavioural problems of school-going adolescents

“…The increasing of urban growth in uence adolescents' emotional and behavioural problems in urban and rural settings(Idris et al, 2019). Study analysis through multiple linear regression found an association between socio demography and mental health among children(Chen et al, 2019). The current study also revealed the same on parental and teacher SDQ total scores which are associated with gender, urban-rural settings, and socio-economic status.…”

The mental health status of children who have been evacuated or migrated from rural areas in Fukushima prefecture after the Fukushima daiichi nuclear power station accident:results from the Fukushima health management survey

“…In this way, the lack of exercise and shortening of sleep time need attention, not only in terms of their physical effects on children, but also the mental effects. Furthermore, Chen et al suggested that children living in rural areas and rural-to-urban migrant children had poorer mental health than children in urban areas 24) . Several other studies have reported that indicators of social disadvantage (single-parent families, parents who are unemployed or have low incomes) are associated with poor mental health in children 34 - 36) .…”

“…Also, despite improvements in overall mental health 22) , longterm PTSD after a nuclear disaster and mental health problems associated with evacuation and migration have been pointed out 23) . Furthermore, it should be noted that previous studies have reported that the mental health status of children living in rural areas is worse than that of children in urban areas 24,25) .…”