What Makes a Difference to Children's Health in Rural China? Parental Migration, Remittances, and Social Support

Abstract

:China is undergoing a remarkably large scale of rural-to-urban migration. In many cases this migration is individual rather than familial due to a variety of constraints, causing widespread separate living arrangements. Guided by an inquiry about the impacts of parental migration on children’s physical and mental health in rural China, the present study asks the following question: what roles do remittances and social support play in left-behind children’s health outcomes? The findings highlight the disadvantaged situation experienced by children whose both parents are migrants and point to the promising countervailing functions of remittances and family support in protecting these children from mental health decline. However, friend support does not seem helpful in the absence of parent(s), and a larger number of good friends even increase the risk of getting sick. Interestingly, my analysis also reveals a possible nonmonetary effect of remittances level, which may reflect a family’s economic reliance on emigration and bring extra stress to the members remaining at home.