Parent–child cohesion, friend companionship and left-behind children's emotional adaptation in rural China

Abstract

Using cross-sectional data from rural left-behind children aged 10–17 years in the Henan Province of China, the present study examined the roles of father–child cohesion, mother–child cohesion, and friend companionship in emotional adaptation (loneliness, depression, and life satisfaction) among children left behind by both of their rural-to-urban migrant parents compared to those with only a migrating father. The results indicated that the children with two migrating parents were disadvantaged according to their demonstration of depression but not in loneliness or life satisfaction. Both parent–child cohesion and friend companionship were directly associated with, to varying extents, the left-behind children's emotional outcomes. Moreover, friend companionship moderated the association between father–child cohesion and emotional outcomes among children with two migrating parents, but the moderating effects of friend companionship did not exist among children with only a migrating father. The implications of these findings for interventions directed at left-behind children are discussed.