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Positive youth development in rural China: The role of parental migration

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  • Wen, Ming
  • Su, Shaobing
  • Li, Xiaoming
  • Lin, Danhua

Abstract

This study examined how parental rural-to-urban migration may affect left-behind children's development in rural China. We used two-wave data collected on 864 rural youth age 10–17 years in the Guangxi Province, China in 2010. We tested psychometric properties of a positive youth development (PYD) model theorized and corroborated in the US, compared a range of developmental outcomes among rural youth by their parental migration status, and explored the mediating role of family economic and social resources in observed associations between developmental outcomes and parental migration. The results showed the PYD model had some international validity although modifications would be needed to make it more suitable to Chinese settings. Little difference in the PYD outcomes was detected by parental migration status. On other outcomes (i.e., self-rated health, school grades, educational aspirations, problem behavior), positive influences of parental migration were observed. Increased income but not social resources in migrant families helped explain some of these patterns. The take-home message from this study is that parental migration is not necessarily an injurious situation for youth development. To advance our knowledge about the developmental significance of parental migration for rural Chinese youth, we urgently need large-scale representative surveys to collect comprehensive and longitudinal information about rural children’s developmental trajectories and their multilevel social contexts to identify key resources of PYD in order to better help migrant and non-migrant families nurture thriving youth in rural China.

Suggested Citation

  • Wen, Ming & Su, Shaobing & Li, Xiaoming & Lin, Danhua, 2015. "Positive youth development in rural China: The role of parental migration," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 261-269.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:132:y:2015:i:c:p:261-269
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.07.051
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. 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).
    5. Zheng, Xiaodong & Fang, Zuyi & Wang, Yajun & Fang, Xiangming, 2022. "When left-behind children become adults and parents: The long-term human capital consequences of parental absence in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
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    7. Artjoms Ivlevs & Milena Nikolova & Carol Graham, 2019. "Emigration, remittances, and the subjective well-being of those staying behind," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(1), pages 113-151, January.
    8. Li Han & Wenjian Xu, 2022. "Communication or Alienation? Relationship Between Negative Life Events and Mental Health of Left-Behind Children in Rural China," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(6), pages 3559-3577, December.
    9. Lei Lei & Sonalde Desai & Feinian Chen, 2020. "Fathers' migration and nutritional status of children in India: Do the effects vary by community context?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(20), pages 545-580.
    10. 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).
    11. Zhang, Haomiao, 2018. "A qualitative study on the rights of rural left-behind children in Sichuan Province, China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 12-18.
    12. Hechao Jiang & Taixiang Duan & Fang Wang, 2022. "The Effects of Parental Labor Migration on Children’s Mental Health in Rural China," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(5), pages 2543-2562, October.
    13. Babar Nawaz Abbasi & Zhimin Luo & Ali Sohail, 2023. "Effect of parental migration on the noncognitive abilities of left-behind school-going children in rural China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.
    14. Iddisah Sulemana & Louis Doabil & Ebenezer Bugri Anarfo, 2019. "International Remittances and Subjective Wellbeing in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Micro-level Study," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 524-539, September.
    15. Darius Leskauskas & Virginija Adomaitienė & Giedrė Šeškevičienė & Eglė Čėsnaitė & Kastytis Šmigelskas, 2020. "Self-Reported Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Left-behind Children in Lithuania," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 13(4), pages 1203-1216, August.
    16. Mingyu Guo & Lingxiao Wang & Liang Zhang & Qingqing Hou & Jian Yang & Shumin Chang, 2023. "Placing Adolescents on a Trajectory to Happiness: The Role of Family Assets and Intentional Self-Regulation," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 945-966, March.
    17. Wang, Feng & Lin, Leesa & Lu, Jingjing & Cai, Jingjing & Xu, Jiayao & Zhou, Xudong, 2020. "Mental health and substance use in urban left-behind children in China: A growing problem," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    18. Lidan Lyu & Yu Chen, 2019. "Parental migration and young migrants’ wages in urban China: An exploratory analysis," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(10), pages 1968-1987, August.
    19. Chi Zhou & Qiaohong Lv & Nancy Yang & Feng Wang, 2021. "Left-Behind Children, Parent-Child Communication and Psychological Resilience: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-10, May.
    20. Yuanyuan Zhu & Yukuan Wang & Bin Fu & Qin Liu & Ming Li & Kun Yan, 2021. "How Are Rural Youths’ Agricultural Skills? Empirical Results and Implications in Southwest China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, September.
    21. Li, Xin & Sun, Xiaoyue, 2020. "Child development in rural China: Does parental migration matter?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).

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