Chinese Migrant Children Research Articles

Parental mediation and mobile phone dependency among Chinese migrant children: A moderated mediation model of self-control and parent-child communication

Previous research has identified the association between parental mediation and children’s mobile phone dependency. However, limited studies have focused on migrant children and explored the underlying mechanisms from the perspective of the interaction between individual and family. To address this gap, an anonymous self-report survey was conducted among 686 migrant children in mainland China. This study finds that the prevalence rate of mobile phone dependency among migrant children was 33.82%. The results demonstrate that both parental mediation and self-control negatively related to mobile phone dependency among migrant children. Self-control fully mediates the relationship between parental mediation and mobile phone dependency among migrant children. Moreover, parent–child communication moderates the relationship between parental mediation and self-control. Specifically, individuals with high-level parent–child communication exhibit stronger moderating effects compared to those with low-level parent–child communication. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the complex mechanism through which parental mediation affects mobile phone dependency among migrant children while also providing practical implications aimed at preventing and reducing mobile phone dependency

Whether and How Family Functioning Relates to the Development of Self-Compassion and Emotion Regulation in Chinese Migrant Children? A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis.

Given the heightened difficulties in social adjustment and the potential diminishment of social networks encountered by migrant children, family functioning may play a crucial role in their development. Existing research has highlighted the significance of family environment in shaping adolescent self-compassion and emotion regulation, which can serve as protective factors against adverse emotional outcomes. However, there remains a lack of comparative studies to examine the specific effects of family functioning on fostering self-compassion and emotion regulation in both migrant and their non-migrant counterparts. The present study utilized a three-wave longitudinal design with 12-month intervals to examine the longitudinal effects of family functioning on self-compassion and emotion regulation, while also examining potential variations in these associations between migrant and non-migrant children. A total of 244 migrant children and 491 non-migrant children from a high school in Guangdong Province (357 females; Mage = 15.3 at Time 1, SDage = 0.53) participated in this study. Random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs) were utilized to examine the longitudinal associations among family functioning, self-compassion, and emotion regulation in both groups. The results showed that, at the within-person level, family functioning reciprocally predicted self-compassion over time among migrant children, and it also exerted an indirect effect on emotion regulation, mediated by self-compassion. Among non-migrant children, emotion regulation positively predicted self-compassion over time, with no other observed cross-lagged effects.

Effects of Mindfulness and Life-Skills Training on Emotion Regulation and Anxiety Symptoms in Chinese Migrant Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PurposeChina’s rapid urbanization has been associated with increased mental health challenges, especially in rural-to-urban migrant children. This study evaluates the effects of mindfulness and life-skills (LS) training on emotional regulation and anxiety symptoms from a randomized controlled trial aimed at improving the mental health of Chinese migrant children. MethodsTwo intervention arms—mindfulness training (MT) and MT plus LS mentorship (MT + LS)—were compared to a waitlist control group of 368 migrant children aged 9–17 years. Volunteers were trained to deliver interventions to 285 migrant children in small groups of 15 for eight weeks weekly. Social integration varied: migrant children mixed with local children at public schools were considered highly integrated, those in migrant-only classrooms at public schools had intermediate levels of integration, and children in private migrant schools had low integration. Emotion regulation and anxiety symptoms were assessed preintervention, postintervention, and three months postintervention. ResultsPostintervention and compared to the control group, children with high social integration in the MT arm showed increased cognitive reappraisal ability (p < .05) but higher physical anxiety (p < .01). Children with high social integration in the MT + LS arm had lower anxiety symptoms of harm avoidance (p < .01) and physical anxiety (p < .05). Children with low social integration in the MT + LS arm showed lower cognitive reappraisal (p < .01) and poorer overall emotion regulation abilities (p < .01). Three months later, children with intermediate integration in the MT + LS arm had lower separation anxiety (p < .05) and harm avoidance anxiety (p < .05). No other groups showed significant improvements in emotion regulation or reducing in anxiety symptoms three months postintervention. DiscussionMindfulness and LS training may benefit Chinese migrant children who have higher levels of social integration but increase anxiety in those with lower social integration. Future research should consider the sociocultural context in which a treatment is implemented.

Family migration and well-being of Chinese migrant workers’ children

This article aims to explore the effects of parental migration on the well-being of children and how to adjust social cognitive well-being through the interrelations among family relations and social cognitive well-being indicators using structural equation modelling. Two modified social cognitive well-being models were tested in 1682 Chinese migrant workers' children to examine the pathways among social cognitive well-being and family relation characteristics. The modified models are based on the social cognitive well-being model and the characteristics of Chinese migrant workers' children. The results show that caregiver-child communication frequency, caregiver-child regulation, caregiver-child conflicts, caregiver-child trust and communication, and coactivity positively impact children’s social cognitive well-being. In contrast, caregiver-child alienation negatively influences children’s social cognitive factors through caregiver-child trust and communication. Additionally, this research revealed that family-related characteristics (caregiver-child regulation, caregiver-child coactivities, caregiver-child communication frequency, caregiver-child alienation, caregiver-child conflicts, and caregiver-child trust and communication) are interconnected with social cognitive well-being indicators (academic satisfaction, outcome expectations, goal progress, lifelong satisfaction, environmental support, positive affect, negative affect, and self-efficacy). This suggests that family migration and relationships with caregiver(s) can significantly affect the well-being of migrant workers' children.

Chinese Migrant Children’s Parental Involvement Profiles and Associations with Their Reading Comprehension in Secondary School: A Latent Profile Analysis

Chinese Migrant Children’s Parental Involvement Profiles and Associations with Their Reading Comprehension in Secondary School: A Latent Profile Analysis

Unsociability and social adjustment in Chinese preschool migrant children: the moderating role of receptive vocabulary.

Peer relationships play an indispensable role in the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. However, children exhibiting social withdrawal, such as unsociability, may face challenges in social adjustment. In collectivistic cultures like China, unsociability may be perceived negatively, aligning poorly with collective norms. The objective of the present investigation was to examine the associations between unsociability, receptive vocabulary, and indicators of social adjustment in a cohort of young migrant children residing in urban regions of mainland China. The study mainly aimed to investigate the potential moderating influence of receptive language on these associations. The study involved 148 young children (82 boys, 66 girls, Mage = 62.32 months, SD = 6.76) enrolled in preschools or kindergartens in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Multiple sources of assessment were utilized, encompassing evaluations from mothers (about child unsociability), teacher (assessing social adjustment), and standardized tests (measuring receptive vocabulary). The results indicated that the relations between unsociability and peer exclusion were more positive among children with lower levels of receptive vocabulary but not significant for children with higher levels of receptive vocabulary. Similarly, the relations between unsociability and peer exclusion were more negative among children with lower levels of receptive vocabulary but not significant for children with higher levels of receptive vocabulary. Thus, this study informs us about how receptive vocabulary is jointly associated with unsociable children's development. As well, the findings highlight the importance of considering the meaning and implication of unsociability in Chinese culture.

Hidden curriculum: Voices of Chinese rural migrant children

AbstractUnited Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10 emphasises the need to ‘reduce inequality within and among countries.’ In line with this goal, this study focuses on the educational experiences of five rural migrant children from an urban village in China. Using the concept of hidden curriculum (HC), the study explores whether these children have encountered social exclusion in their schools. Through interviews and observations, the study shows that the HC is not easily discernible but subtly influences students, teachers, and parents, resulting in a certain degree of social exclusion within various educational facets. Reducing inequalities through education presents significant challenges, requiring sustained efforts.

School Bullying Experienced by Chinese Migrant Children in Urban Schools and Its Intervention Strategies

China’s migrant children face major challenges in moving from rural areas to cities, of which the most important concern is discrimination and bullying. This article discusses the problem of school bullying encountered by migrant children and emphasizes the negative impact of this phenomenon on their body and mind. This article also applies the principle of design justice, and proposes self-protection measures and community-based intervention strategies for migrant children to reduce the occurrence of bullying and create a safer and more inclusive environment.

Does Grit Compensate for Family Background Disadvantage in Predicting Mental Health Difficulties? A Longitudinal Study of Chinese Migrant and Urban Children.

The significant population of Chinese rural-to-urban migrant children has sparked considerable domestic and international concern regarding their disadvantaged family circumstances and their escalating prevalence of internalizing and externalizing problems. Derived from the resource substitution hypothesis, non-cognitive factors such as personality traits may act as "substitution" resources for educational outcomes of children from less privileged families. Yet, the compensatory role of personality traits as substitution resources in children's mental health has received limited attention, including that of migrant children. This study examined the interplay of trait-like grit and family SES on emotional and conduct problems among Chinese migrant and urban children. The current sample consisted of 770 migrant children (Mage = 10.45 and SDage = 0.68 years; 38.4% girls) and their 222 urban counterparts (Mage = 10.34 and SDage = 0.46 years; 45.5% girls). Moderated polynomial regressions with response surface analysis on a two-wave data with an interval of over six months showed that grit served as a "substitution" resource for the less socioeconomically advantaged children. The compensatory effect of perseverance of effort on urban children's emotional problems and that of consistency of interest on migrant children's conduct problems were visualized. Moreover, the two compensatory effects were found to be robust and unique, even after children's effortful control, a grit-related construct, was taken into account. These findings not only support the resource substitution hypothesis, but also underscore the protective role that grit plays in children under less privileged environments.

Declining Time‐Trend in Loneliness Levels Among Migrant Children in Urban China, 2006−2019: A Cross‐Temporal Meta‐Analysis of 40 Studies Published From 2006 to 2022

Loneliness has long been a significant psychosocial problem for migrant children in urban China. In recent years, social changes and enhancements in social welfare equity have lessened the disadvantages faced by these migrant children. The current study investigated the time‐trend of loneliness levels among migrant children from 2006 to 2019. A literature search was performed within major Chinese‐ and English‐language databases, and studies that reported the means and standard deviations of Children’s Loneliness Scale (CLS) scores among Chinese migrant children were included in this cross‐temporal meta‐analysis. Weighted linear regression was conducted to examine the trend of mean CLS scores over the survey year, and Cohen’s d value was calculated to assess the magnitude of change. In total, 40 cross‐sectional studies conducted between 2006 and 2019 (published by 2022), consisting of 47 cohorts of migrant children and a total sample size of 17,090, were included. Overall, there was a significant downward trend between the survey year and mean CLS score (unstandardized coefficient [β] = −0.342, P &lt; 0.001), and Cohen’s d value of this decline from 2006 to 2019 was 0.411. Similar declining time‐trends were also observed among subgroups when broken down by sex, school type, and geographic regions (β = −0.182 to −0.589, P &lt; 0.001, d = 0.222–0.719). The loneliness levels of migrant children in urban China decreased from 2006 to 2019. Nevertheless, sustained measures and inclusive policies are still needed to mitigate the loneliness levels of Chinese migrant children.

Online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: the wellbeing of Chinese migrant children-a case study in Shanghai.

This study uses Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model as its theoretical framework to consider the findings of an investigation of the emotional, social, and physical wellbeing of Chinese migrant children and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic in urban areas. This study expands our perspective by combining the views of students, parents, and teachers to explore the emotional, social and physical wellbeing of migrant children in Shanghai who were participating in online learning during the COVID-19. Observation and semi-structured interviews were carried out to collect data for this case study. Thirty-one migrant children, nine parents, 10 teachers and a school principal from a Shanghai junior high school participated in this research. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicated that although video-recorded lessons were high quality, it put pressure on migrant children due to the lessons containing only new material with no reviews and reduced opportunities for them to interact with their own teachers. In addition, the differences in study progress between the migrant children and the local children that showed up during the online learning, and neglect from teachers and policymakers, made the migrant children anxious, angry and confused about their future. Besides, parents install monitors at home to support their children's online learning, but it had the opposite effect and simply provoked increased conflicts between children and their parents. Finally, although the online lessons have affected the optical health of students, the subsequent additional cooking lessons have mitigated the optical health problem and strengthened the connections between home and school. The inequalities of education encountered by migrant children during the COVID-19 period have made them realize the disparities they have suffered in Shanghai. The exposure of this problem raises the prospect of a reform of educational policies for migrant children in the future.

Place attachment buffers against the effect of perceived discrimination on psychological distress in Chinese migrant children: A two-wave longitudinal study

Research has shown that Chinese migrant children encounter multiple stressors and adversities in their living environments, making them more vulnerable to psychological distress. The present study aimed to investigate the risky role of perceived discrimination on the development of four psychological distress symptoms (i.e., loneliness, depression, anxiety, and stress), and the protective role of place attachment, utilizing a two-wave longitudinal design. A relatively large sample of Chinese adolescents participated in the study, with a total of 698 participants (Mage = 15.34 at Time 1, SDage = 0.53). The sample included both migrant children (N = 233) and non-migrant children (N = 465). Data were collected in December 2020 (Time 1) and September 2021 (Time 2). The findings revealed significant associations between perceived discrimination at Time 1 and subsequent increases in four psychological distress symptoms at Time 2, specifically among migrant children. However, these associations were nonsignificant among non-migrant children. Notably, place dependence (i.e., the functional aspect of place attachment) at Time 1 emerged as a significant protective factor for migrant children. Specifically, the positive and longitudinal associations between perceived discrimination and loneliness, depression, and anxiety became nonsignificant among migrant children who demonstrated higher levels of place dependence. The findings provide a valuable and practical contribution towards enhancing migrant children's mental health by highlighting the significance of person-place bonding, particularly in terms of place dependence, as a protective mechanism against the adverse impacts of social pressures.

A comparative study on the development of Chinese and English abilities of Chinese primary school students through two bilingual reading modes: human-AI robot interaction and paper books.

To address the challenges encountered by Chinese primary school students, particularly left-behind and migrant children, who exhibit a preference for animations, video games, and short videos over reading books and struggle with Chinese-English bilingual skills, this study introduces an educational robot AI-assisted method for simultaneous bilingual reading. To assess the effectiveness of this method, a 6-month Chinese-English bilingual extracurricular reading comparative experiment was conducted involving 85 grade 5 students from two classes in a primary school in Hangzhou, China. The AI-assisted class freely read 100 bilingual/English electronic picture books and 200 Chinese electronic classic serial picture books by employing the AI-assisted human-computer interactive electronic reading mode of the "Educational Robot+Audio Electronic Picture Book+Character-play Based Reading." In contrast, the paper book group read the same content presented in the traditional paper book format, following the "regular independent reading" mode. Post-experimental analyses were conducted employing t-tests and MANCOVA and the results revealed that: the primary factors influencing reading effectiveness are the choice of reading materials, reading tools, and reading mode, while reading time does not emerge as the principal influencing factor. Furthermore, students in the AI class demonstrated significant enhancements in bilingual reading motivation, reading amount, reading comprehension, independent learning ability, pronunciation proficiency, and test scores compared to their peers in the paper book class. The AI-assisted reading mode utilizing educational robots garnered positive feedback from teachers, parents, and students. It offers the potential to effectively substitute parental involvement in parent-child reading and English tutoring, while also enabling the simultaneous acquisition of bilingual proficiency in both Chinese and English. This approach proves to be highly effective, cost-efficient, and convenient, particularly for enhancing children's foreign language abilities. Moreover, it fosters positive reading habits and independent learning skills among primary school students, contributes to the establishment of lofty aspirations, and enhances bilingual performance. Overall, this innovative mode offers an effective means of facilitating children's acquisition of bilingualism and foreign language skills, as well as promoting reading education.

How loneliness influences the city identity of Chinese migrant children: A moderated mediation model

This study explored the mediating role of resilience and the moderating role of social class on the relationship between loneliness and migrant children’s city identity. The participants were 479 Chinese migrant children (females = 52%, mean age = 10.07 years, SD = 0.43 years) from Jiangsu Province. They completed a series of questionnaires, including the Children’s Loneliness Scale, the Resilience Scale, the Migrant Children’s City Identity Questionnaire and the Socioeconomic Status Index. Results from the moderated mediation analysis showed that Chinese migrant children self-reporting higher loneliness had a lower city identity. Resilience mediates the relationship between loneliness and city identity. Social class negatively moderates the influence of resilience on city identity. Compared to those with higher social class, migrant children with lower social class were more resilient in constructing their city identity. These findings might be helpful to social welfare programmes to support immigrant children in their city identity for better integration and adaptation.

School Management and Education Development for Chinese Migrant Children: The Mediating Role of Assistance and Affective Support

The educational development level of migrant children is affected by many factors, and it is practical to study it. Based on the current situation of migrant children study in China, this study explored the multiple mediating effects of educational support and moderating effect of the age on the level of educational development by policy environment. The study sample was composed of 541 Chinese migrant adolescents aged 9 to 17. They completed educational development questionnaire, educational support questionnaire and policy environment questionnaire. Mediating and moderating effects analysis were used to examine the role of educational support between policy environment and educational development. The results show that the educational development level of Chinese migrant children was relatively high. However, there were significant differences among different schools and ages. It was found that school management played most important role in the educational development of migrant children. Also, it was found that assistance support played a partial mediating role between school management and academic condition, and affective support played a partial mediating role between school management and social behavior, and age played a moderating role between school management and social behavior. School management for Chinese migrant children should be further strengthened. Assistance support and affective support for Chinese migrant children should be further improved. In addition, the management of migrant children aged from 14 to 17 should be the focus of attention. In this study, some suggestions are put forward to improve these influence factors of education development for Chinese migrant children.

Social justice and migrant children: Exploring the design and implementation of education policies for migrant children in China

AbstractDrawn from 14 educational policy documents and 26 interviews with educators of internal migrant children in China, this paper examines the design and implementation of educational policy for Chinese internal migrant children in the past three decades through the theoretical lens of social justice. Taking Guiyang city as the focus, this study demonstrates that educational policy and provision for migrant children are part of an evolving process impacted by interrelations between issues, such as the hukou system, (lack of) government funding and tensions between central and local governments. Although migrant children increasingly have access to improved opportunities, their outcomes remain poor relative to their peers from urban areas. New policies aiming to mitigate the disadvantages of migrant children are needed.

Social avoidance and social adjustment in Chinese preschool migrant children: the moderating role of teacher-child relationships.

This study aimed to explore the moderating role of teacher-child relationships in the relations between social avoidance and social adjustment (i.e., prosocial behavior, peer exclusion, and anxious-fearful behavior) in Chinese migrant preschoolers. Participants were 148 migrant children aged 4-6 years (82 boys, Mage = 62.32, SD = 6.67) attending kindergartens in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Mothers reported children's social avoidance, and teachers rated teacher-child relationships and children's social adjustment. Results indicated that social avoidance was positively related to peer exclusion and negatively related to prosocial behavior. Teacher-child relationships moderated those associations. Specifically, teacher-child closeness buffered the relationship between social avoidance and peer exclusion, whereas teacher-child conflict exacerbated the relations between social avoidance and peer exclusion and anxious-fearful behavior. The current finding informs us of the importance of improving teacher-child closeness and reducing teacher-child conflict to buffer the negative adjustment among socially avoidant young children who migrated from rural-to-urban China. The findings also highlight the importance of considering the meaning and implication of social avoidance for migrant preschoolers in Chinese culture.

The moderating effects of growth mindset on perceived discrimination and behavior problems among Chinese migrant children.

The moderating effects of growth mindset on perceived discrimination and behavior problems among Chinese migrant children.

Positive valence ≠ positive effect: impact of positive meta-stereotypes on the cognitive performance

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to examine how positive meta-stereotypes impacted cognitive performance among disadvantaged groups and the mediating effect of negative emotions. In Experiments 1 and 2, Chinese migrant children and rural college students were randomly allocated to the positive meta-stereotype, negative meta-stereotype, or a non-meta-stereotype activation group to examine positive meta-stereotypes’ effect on creativity and working memory performance. Both experiments revealed that positive meta-stereotypes had a choking under-pressure effect on cognitive performance, and negative emotions may act as significant mediators between meta-stereotypes and cognitive performance. The choking under pressure effect may occur under positive meta-stereotypes, necessitating more clarification on meta-stereotypes’ negative effects.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms and Multi-level Family Factors in Chinese Migrant Children: A Network Perspective.

Based on the network theory of mental disorders, this study used network analysis to examine the network of ODD symptoms and multilevel family factors and identify the most crucial family factors influencing ODD symptoms in children. A total of 718 Chinese migrant children aged 7-14 years participated in this study. This study measured ODD symptoms, family system-level variables (3 factors), family dyadic-level variables (6 factors), and family individual-level variables (6 factors) with factors selected based on the multilevel family factors theory of ODD symptoms. The results indicated that (1) "annoy" was the center symptom of ODD, (2) "annoy" and "vindictive" was the main bridge connecting the multilevel family factors, and (3) family cohesion at the family system level, parent-child conflict at the family dyadic level, and parental depression at the family individual level were critical central and bridging influencing factors. The findings of this study highlight the critical role of "annoy" and "vindictive" symptoms in the activation of ODD symptom networks in children and provide a basis for future improvements in diagnostic criteria. These potential core and bridge factors might become key intervention targets for childhood ODD.