Subjective well-being of left-behind children: a cross-sectional study in a rural area of eastern China

Lihong Ye,Eric E Vandenhouten,Shuyang Meng,Fangyuan Jing,Ding Ye,Yingying Mao,Chao Rong,Yu Qian

doi:10.1186/s13034-020-00333-7

Abstract

PurposePsychological well-beings of left-behind children (LBC) in rural areas of China remain under-studied. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to explore the subjective well-being (SWB) in LBC and its associated factors in a rural area in eastern China.MethodsStratified random cluster sampling was used to select middle school and high school students in Qingyuan County of Zhejiang Province. Relevant information including sociodemographic characteristics was collected from each participant using an organized questionnaire. SWB was measured using the modified scale developed for Chinese adolescents. Univariable and multivariable regression analyses were performed using R version 3.3.0.ResultsA total of 1086 children were recruited and examined in the current analysis, with 365 (33.61%) being left-behind. Compared with non-left-behind children (NLBC), LBC had significantly lower scores in family satisfaction (P = 0.003) and environment satisfaction (P = 0.020). Multivariable regression analysis uncovered that frequent parent–child communication was associated with high positive affect (P = 0.003) and life satisfaction (P < 0.001), and the type of caregivers was associated with negative affect among LBC (P = 0.037).ConclusionsOur results suggest SWB was lower in LBC, and targeted interventions including strengthening parental-child communication should be developed and implemented to improve LBC’s SWB in rural areas of China.

Highlights

With the rapid economic development and urbanization, increasing numbers of rural labors have migrated to urban areas in China in the past 40 years [1, 2]
The percentage of leftbehind children (LBC) was higher among middle school students than in high school students (P = 0.012), and the percentage of LBC with parents divorced or passed away was higher than that of non-left-behind children (NLBC) (P = 0.002)
In the present study, we found that environment satisfaction and family satisfaction in LBC were altogether lower than that in NLBC in Qingyuan County of rural eastern China

Summary

Introduction

With the rapid economic development and urbanization, increasing numbers of rural labors have migrated to urban areas in China in the past 40 years [1, 2]. Subjective well-being (SWB) is a comprehensive index which incorporates both reflective subjective judgments of life satisfaction, and emotional responses to ongoing life in terms of positive and pleasant emotions versus unpleasant and negative feelings [8]. These emotions can be measured through self-report rating scales. A cross-sectional study conducted in Henan province in central China found that LBC had lower levels of life satisfaction and more elevated negative affect [13]. A longitudinal study conducted in Guangxi Province of South China reported that LBC had lower levels of life satisfaction, school satisfaction, and happiness [14]

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