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Economic Pressure and Loneliness in Migrant Children in China: The Mediating Roles of Parent–Child Communication and Parental Warmth

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Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to examine the mediating roles of parent–child communication and parental warmth in the relationship between economic pressure and loneliness in a sample of migrant children in China. A total of 437 participants were selected from two public schools for migrant children in Zhejiang Province, China. All participants were asked to complete four measures, including the Perceived Economic Strain Scale, the Parent–Child Communication Questionnaire, the Parental Warmth Scale, and the Children’s Loneliness Scale. The results showed that economic pressure was positively and directly related to loneliness. Furthermore, parent–child communication and parental warmth partially mediated the relationship between economic pressure and loneliness in migrant children. Thus, parent–child communication and parental warmth play important roles in reducing the negative effect of economic pressure on loneliness in migrant children.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grants from the National Foundation of Natural Science (Grant Number: 31400889), and 521 Training Programme Foundation for the Talents and the Science Foundation of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (Grant Number: 13062175-Y). We are grateful to the support from the project of the National Children’s Study of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, 928 No. 2 Street, Xiasha District, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China

    Liuhua Ying, Qing Yan & Xin Shen

  2. Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China

    Xuji Jia

  3. Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Chongde Lin

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  1. Liuhua Ying
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  2. Qing Yan
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Correspondence to Liuhua Ying.

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Ying, L., Yan, Q., Shen, X. et al. Economic Pressure and Loneliness in Migrant Children in China: The Mediating Roles of Parent–Child Communication and Parental Warmth. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 50, 142–149 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-018-0827-3

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