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Migrant Parenting and Mobile Phone Use: Building Quality Relationships between Chinese Migrant Workers and their Left-behind Children

Author

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  • Piper Liping Liu

    (Hong Kong Baptist University)

  • Louis Leung

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Abstract

This study examines the uses and derived gratifications of mobile phones among migrant parents in communicating with children they left behind. Data were gathered from a sample of 378 migrant parents who worked in factories in southern China. The results show that migrant workers who used mobile phones to assist in distance parenting were motivated by a desire for instantaneous communication (e.g., immediate access and reassurance), online transactions, affection, mobility, relaxation, and information. The demographic results show that the migrant workers tended to communicate with their older male children via calls and text messaging with their female children via audiovisual interaction. When migrant parents called, texted, or interacted with their children via audiovisual functions, they were motivated by the need for affection and relaxation. In predicting the quality of migrant workers’ involvement in parenting, the current study found that significant motives for the use of mobile phones included their ability to care for the children they left behind through communicating instantaneously, expressing affection, and conducting online transactions. The current paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the results of this study.

Suggested Citation

  • Piper Liping Liu & Louis Leung, 2017. "Migrant Parenting and Mobile Phone Use: Building Quality Relationships between Chinese Migrant Workers and their Left-behind Children," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 12(4), pages 925-946, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ariqol:v:12:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1007_s11482-016-9498-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11482-016-9498-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Matthew DeBell, 2008. "Children Living Without Their Fathers: Population Estimates and Indicators of Educational Well-being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 87(3), pages 427-443, July.
    2. Thomas Hansen, 2012. "Parenthood and Happiness: a Review of Folk Theories Versus Empirical Evidence," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 108(1), pages 29-64, August.
    3. Li, Yushi (Boni), 2009. "How the cell phone became the most important interactive communication medium in today's China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 53-55.
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    Cited by:

    1. Qiushi Zhou & Shaolingyun Guo & Hui Jing Lu, 2021. "Well-Being and Health of Children in Rural China: the Roles of Parental Absence, Economic Status, and Neighborhood Environment," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(5), pages 2023-2037, October.
    2. Zhang, Chunyang & Yang, Xiujie & Xu, Wei, 2021. "Parenting style and aggression in Chinese undergraduates with left-behind experience: The mediating role of inferiority," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    3. Siu-ming To & Ching-man Lam & Yuk-yan So, 2020. "A Qualitative Study of Rural-To-Urban Migrant Chinese Mothers’ Experiences in Mother-Child Interactions and Self-Evaluation," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 15(3), pages 813-833, July.
    4. Zhen, Rui & Li, Lu & Liu, Xuanwen & Zhou, Xiao, 2020. "Negative life events, depression, and mobile phone dependency among left-behind adolescents in rural China: An interpersonal perspective," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    5. Zhen, Rui & Li, Lu & Ding, Yi & Hong, Wei & Liu, Ru-De, 2020. "How does mobile phone dependency impair academic engagement among Chinese left-behind children?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    6. Sue Nichols & Nadia Selim, 2022. "Digitally Mediated Parenting: A Review of the Literature," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-15, March.
    7. 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.

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