Effects of Separation Age and Separation Duration Among Left-behind Children in China
Left-behind children (LBC) are those who continue to live in their hometown after one or both parents have left for occupational opportunities elsewhere. In this study, we examined the relationship between the age of the children at separation from parents (age), the duration of separation
(time), and the behavioral and emotional status of the children. Participants (268 LBC and 228 non-LBC) in China completed the Youth Self Report (YSR), Depression Self-rating Scale for Children, and Children's Loneliness Scale. The results showed that LBC scored higher than the non-LBC on
loneliness, behavior problems, and several YSR subscales. There was no main effect of age and time on loneliness or behavior problems, but there was an interaction effect of age and time on several YSR subscales. Our findings extend those of existing studies on the effects of parent-child
separation in the LBC scenario.
Keywords: BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS; DEPRESSION IN CHILDREN; LEFT-BEHIND CHILDREN; LONELINESS IN CHILDREN; PARENT-CHILD SEPARATION; RURAL-TO-URBAN MIGRATION IN CHINA
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 March 2015
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