Peer-reviewed article
Parental Migration and Socio-Emotional Well-Being among Left-Behind Preschool Children in Rural China: Longitudinal Evidence
Dong Y ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study tracked 800 preschool-aged children in rural China from 2013 to 2017 to understand how parental migration affects children's socio-emotional development. Children whose parents migrated to urban areas for work showed worse socio-emotional health outcomes, with maternal migration having the largest negative effect. The harm appears to happen because left-behind children receive less time and lower-quality interaction from caregivers. The research suggests that policies supporting family environments and child health services could help reduce these inequalities.
Key points
- Maternal migration was associated with the largest reduction in socio-emotional health (effect size 0.478, p < 0.05)
- Joint parental migration had the second-largest effect (0.406, p < 0.01), while paternal migration alone had a smaller effect (0.171, p < 0.01)
- The negative effects operate through reduced caregiving time and lower interaction quality
- Study followed the same 800 children across five survey waves over four years, using longitudinal measurement
- Parental migration contributes to early-life health inequalities in rural China
Limitations
The study cannot determine whether effects vary by child characteristics (age, sex, temperament) or by destination of migration, and cannot establish causation with complete certainty despite the longitudinal design. The research is limited to rural China and may not generalise to other settings or older children.
Abstract
Abstract Parental migration is a widespread phenomenon in developing countries and has important implications for population health. In China, large-scale rural-to-urban migration has resulted in millions of left-behind children, raising concerns about early-life health inequalities. This study uses longitudinal data tracking 800 preschool-aged children in rural China across five survey waves from 2013 to 2017. Socio-emotional health was measured using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE). Child fixed-effects models and multi-period difference-in-differences approaches were applied. Parental migration is associated with worse socio-emotional health outcomes. Maternal migration has the largest effect (0.478, p < 0.05), followed by joint parental migration (0.406, p < 0.01), while paternal migration has a smaller effect (0.171, p < 0.01). These effects operate through changes in caregiving environments, including reduced caregiving time and lower interaction quality. Parental migration contributes to early-life health inequalities among left-behind children. Policies that improve family environments and access to child health services may help mitigate these disparities.