IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i23p12613-d691471.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Examining the Relation between Caregiver Mental Health and Student Outcomes in Rural China

Author

Listed:
  • Huan Wang

    (Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305-6055, USA)

  • Claire Cousineau

    (Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305-6055, USA)

  • Yuwei Adeline Hu

    (Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305-6055, USA)

  • Grace Hu

    (Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305-6055, USA)

  • Sunny Qi

    (Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305-6055, USA)

  • Adrian Sun

    (Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305-6055, USA)

  • Helen Wu

    (Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305-6055, USA)

  • Scott Rozelle

    (Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305-6055, USA)

  • Manpreet Singh

    (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305-5719, USA)

Abstract

Research continues to highlight the central relationship between caregivers’ mental health and their children’s development. This study examined the relation between primary caregivers’ mental health and school-aged children’s outcomes, including student mental health, resilience, and academic performance, in rural China. Using cross-sectional data from economically poor areas in the Gansu province, 2989 students (mean age = 11.51, 53.33% male, 46.67% female) and their primary caregivers (74.2% female) completed the 21-item, self-report Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Students also completed the 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and a standardized math test. The results indicated a high prevalence of caregiver depression (31%), stress (39%), and anxiety (24%). Characteristics that were significantly correlated with caregiver mental health issues included being a grandparent, having a low socioeconomic status and low education level, and living in a household with at least one migrant worker. Apart from caregiver stress and student resilience, caregiver mental health issues were negatively correlated with all student outcomes, including student mental health, resilience, and academic performance. Although additional empirical research is needed to investigate the associations between caregiver mental health and student outcomes, our results suggest that rural communities could benefit greatly from programs focused on improving the mental health of caregivers and this, in turn, may have a positive impact on student outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Huan Wang & Claire Cousineau & Yuwei Adeline Hu & Grace Hu & Sunny Qi & Adrian Sun & Helen Wu & Scott Rozelle & Manpreet Singh, 2021. "Examining the Relation between Caregiver Mental Health and Student Outcomes in Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12613-:d:691471
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12613/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12613/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Siqi Zhang & Lei Wang & Yue Xian & Yu Bai, 2020. "Mental Health Issues among Caregivers of Young Children in Rural China: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Links to Child Developmental Outcomes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Chang, Fang & Jiang, Yuxi & Loyalka, Prashant & Chu, James & Shi, Yaojiang & Osborn, Annie & Rozelle, Scott, 2019. "Parental migration, educational achievement, and mental health of junior high school students in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 337-349.
    3. Siqi Zhang & Ruirui Dang & Ning Yang & Yu Bai & Lei Wang & Cody Abbey & Scott Rozelle, 2018. "Effect of Caregiver’s Mental Health on Early Childhood Development across Different Rural Communities in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-25, October.
    4. Janneke Pieters & Samantha Rawlings, 2020. "Parental unemployment and child health in China," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 207-237, March.
    5. Wang, Huan & Yang, Chu & He, Fei & Shi, Yaojiang & Qu, Qinghe & Rozelle, Scott & Chu, James, 2015. "Mental health and dropout behavior: A cross-sectional study of junior high students in northwest rural China," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-12.
    6. Yu-ting Kang & Yan Yao & Jing Dou & Xin Guo & Shu-yue Li & Cai-ning Zhao & Hong-zhi Han & Bo Li, 2016. "Prevalence and Risk Factors of Maternal Anxiety in Late Pregnancy in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-11, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yu Bai & Reyila Abulitifu & Dan Wang, 2022. "Impact of an Early Childhood Development Intervention on the Mental Health of Female Caregivers: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-30, September.
    2. Qi Jiang & Xinshu She & Sarah-Eve Dill & Sean Sylvia & Manpreet Kaur Singh & Huan Wang & Matthew Boswell & Scott Rozelle, 2022. "Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms among Children and Adolescents in Rural China: A Large-Scale Epidemiological Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-16, April.
    3. Bin Tang & Yue Wang & Yujuan Gao & Shijin Wu & Haoyang Li & Yang Chen & Yaojiang Shi, 2020. "The Effect of Boarding on the Mental Health of Primary School Students in Western Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-17, November.
    4. Bart Cockx & Jinkai Li & Erga Luo, 2023. "The Long-Term Impact of Parental Migration on the Health of Young Left-Behind Children," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2023019, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    5. Ubaldi, Michele & Picchio, Matteo, 2023. "Intergenerational scars: The impact of parental unemployment on individual health later in life," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1271, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Rui Li & Nathan Rose & Yi Ming Zheng & Yunwei Chen & Sean Sylvia & Henry Wilson-Smith & Alexis Medina & Sarah-Eve Dill & Scott Rozelle, 2021. "Early Childhood Reading in Rural China and Obstacles to Caregiver Investment in Young Children: A Mixed-Methods Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-27, February.
    7. Dong, Yongqing & Bai, Yunli & Wang, Weidong & Luo, Renfu & Liu, Chengfang & Zhang, Linxiu, 2020. "Does gender matter for the intergenerational transmission of education? Evidence from rural China," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    8. Liu, Han & Ackert, Lucy F. & Chang, Fang & Oyelere, Ruth Uwaifo & Qi, Li & Shi, Yaojiang, 2022. "Childhood trauma among Chinese inmates," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    9. Hansen, Kerstin F. & Stutzer, Alois, 2022. "Parental unemployment, social insurance and child well-being across countries," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 600-617.
    10. Picchio, Matteo & Ubaldi, Michele, 2022. "Unemployment and Health: A Meta-Analysis," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1128, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    11. Fu, Wentao & Zhu, Feng & Cheng, Yao, 2023. "Gender differences in intergenerational effects of laid-off parents," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(4).
    12. Hongyu Guan & Huan Wang & Kang Du & Jin Zhao & Matthew Boswell & Yaojiang Shi & Yiwei Qian, 2018. "The Effect of Providing Free Eyeglasses on Children’s Mental Health Outcomes in China: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-15, December.
    13. Mbalenhle Mkhize & Melusi Sibanda, 2020. "A Review of Selected Studies on the Factors Associated with the Nutrition Status of Children Under the Age of Five Years in South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-26, October.
    14. Mine Kühn & Anna Baranowska & Niina Metsä-Simola & Liina M. Junna & Pekka Martikainen, 2022. "The effects of unemployment among single mothers on adolescent children’s mental health," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-026, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    15. Xiaoming Lin & Ruodan Lu & Liang Guo & Bing Liu, 2019. "Social Capital and Mental Health in Rural and Urban China: A Composite Hypothesis Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-16, February.
    16. Thomas Vendryes & Jiaqi Zhan, 2023. "Hukou-Based Discrimination, Dialects and City Characteristics," Documents de recherche 23-04, Centre d'Études des Politiques Économiques (EPEE), Université d'Evry Val d'Essonne.
    17. Esther Gehrke & Friederike Lenel & Claudia Schupp, 2023. "COVID-19 Crisis, Economic Hardships, and Schooling Outcomes," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 18(3), pages 522-546, Summer.
    18. Mingzhi Mao & Lijun Zang & Haifeng Zhang, 2020. "The Effects of Parental Absence on Children Development: Evidence from Left-Behind Children in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-17, September.
    19. Liu, Han & Chang, Fang & Corn, Hannah & Zhang, Yi & Shi, Yaojiang, 2021. "The impact of parental migration on non-cognitive abilities of left behind children in northwestern China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    20. Chang, Fang & Jiang, Yuxi & Loyalka, Prashant & Chu, James & Shi, Yaojiang & Osborn, Annie & Rozelle, Scott, 2019. "Parental migration, educational achievement, and mental health of junior high school students in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 337-349.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12613-:d:691471. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.