Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Urbanization Paradox: Parental Absence and Child Development in China - an Empirical Analysis Based on the China Family Panel Studies Survey

  • Published:
Child Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study zeroes in on the issue of left-behind children and draws on data from the China Family Panel Studies surveys to examine the impacts of parental absence on child development in psychological, physical and cognitive domains. The indicators of child well-being selected include child physical health measured by their likelihood of being sick, psychological wellbeing measured by reported happiness scores, and children’s cognitive abilities measured by their performance in word and math tests. Parental absence was differentiated as both parents absent, father absent, mother absent and both parents present. The results confirm the importance of parental guardianship and care for child healthy development in all domains. Policy findings and implications are discussed and summarized at the end of the paper.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. In this study, we adopt a macro-regional classification scheme with the following provincial units in each region: the eastern region consists of Beijing plus the coastal provincial units of Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Guangdong, and Guangxi; the central region includes Henan, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Shanxi, Heilongjiang, and Jilin; the western region includes Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, and Gansu.

  2. All sampled children in the 2010 survey are 10 to 15 years old. We also include adolescents who are over 15 at the time of the 2012 and 2014 surveys who have valid happiness scores.

References

  • Amato, P. R. (2016). Parental absence during childhood and depression in later life. The Sociological Quarterly, 32(4), 543–556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P. R. (1991). Parental absence during childhood and depression in later life. The Sociological Quarterly, 32(4), 543–556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P. R. (2005). The impact of family formation change on the cognitive, social, and emotional well-being of the next generation. The Future of Children, 14(2), 75–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antman, F. M. (2011). International migration and gender discrimination among children left behind. The American Economic Review, 101(3), 645–649.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asis, M. M. B. (2006). Living with migration. Asian Population Studies, 2(1), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441730600700556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bos, K., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A., Drury, S. S., McLaughlin, K. A., & Nelson, C. A. (2011). Psychiatric outcomes in young children with a history of institutionalization. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 19(1), 15–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, L., Yang, D., Zhou, D., & Ren, Q. (2019). "Institutional and political context." In Child and Youth Well-being in China (pp. 14-25). New York, NY: Routledge.

  • Chen, Y., Li, G., Ruan, Y., Zou, L., Wang, X., & Zhang, W. (2013). An epidemiological survey on low birth weight infants in China and analysis of outcomes of full-term low birth weight infants. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 13, 242. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-13-242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craigie, T.-A. L., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Waldfogel, J. (2012). Family structure, family stability and outcomes of five-year-old children. Families, Relationships and Societies, 1(1), 43–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dai, Q., & Chu, R.-X. (2016). Anxiety, happiness and self-esteem of western Chinese left-behind children. Child abuse and neglect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.08.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunifon, R. (2013). The influence of grandparents on the lives of children and adolescents. Child Development Perspectives, 7(1), 55–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayslip, B. J., & Kaminski, P. L. (2005). Grandparents raising their grandchildren: A review of the literature and suggestions for practice. The Gerontologist, 45(2), 262–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilton, J. M., & Devall, E. L. (1998). Comparison of parenting and Children’s behavior in single-mother, single-father, and intact families. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 29(3–4), 23–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jia, Z., Shi, L., Yang, C., Delancey, J., & Tian, W. (2010). Health-related quality of life of ‘left-behind children’: A cross-sectional survey in rural China. Quality of Life Research, 19(6), 775–780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jia, Z., & Tian, W. (2010). Loneliness of left-behind children: A cross-sectional survey in a sample of rural China. Child: Care, Health and Development, 36(6), 812–817.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, D., & McLanahan, S. (2015). Family structure transitions and child development: Instability, selection, and population heterogeneity. American Sociological Review, 80(4), 738–763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Yifei. (2016). Whitepaper on Mental Health of Left-behind Children in China, Retrieved from: https://docs.zoho.com.cn/file/jw8rlf2165fc4ceae4e47898d4f3e843e3ef4

  • Liu, Z., Li, X., & Ge, X. (2009). Left too early: The effects of age at separation from parents on Chinese rural Children’s symptoms of anxiety and depression. American Journal of Public Health, 99(11), 2049–2054.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, Y. (2014). Parental migration and education of left-behind children: A comparison of two settings. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 76(5), 1082–1098.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, Y. (2012). Education of children left behind in rural China. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74(2), 328–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maier, E. H., & Lachman, M. E. (2000). “Consequences of early parental loss and separation for health and well-being in midlife.” International Journal of Behavioral Development 24(2), 183–189.

  • Maruja, A. M. B., & Ruiz-Marave, C. (2013). Leaving a legacy: Parental migration and school outcomes among young children in the Philippines. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 22(3), 349–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maruja, A. M. B. (2006). Living with migration. Asian Population Studies, 2(1), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441730600700556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLanahan, S. (2004). Diverging destinies: How children are faring under the second demographic transition. Demography, 41(4), 607–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osborne, C., Berger, L. M., & Magnuson, K. (2012). Family structure transitions and changes in maternal resources and well-being. Demography, 49(1), 23–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pittman, L. (2007). Grandmothers. Involvement Among Young Adolescents Growing Up in Poverty," Journal of Research on Adolescence 17, no., 1(2007), 89–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pittman, L., & Boswell, M. (2007). The role of grandmothers in the lives of preschoolers growing up in urban poverty. Applied Developmental Science 11, no., 1(2007), 20–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ren, Q., & Treiman, D. J. (2016). The consequences of parental labor migration in China for Children’s emotional well-being. Social Science Research, 58, 46–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, G., & Palmieri, P. A. (2007). Risk of psychological difficulties among children raised by custodial grandparents. Psychiatric Services, 58(10), 1303–1310.

  • StataCorp. (2013). Stata survey data reference manual, release 13. College Station, TX: Stata Corp LP.

  • State Council. (2016a). Opinions on stepping up the work for the care and protection of rural left-behind children. Beijing: State Council of People’s Republic of China.

  • State Council. (2016b). Opinions on stepping up the work for protecting children in difficult circumstances. Beijing: State Council of People’s Republic of China.

  • Thomson, E., Hanson, T. L., & McLanahan, S. S. (1994). Family structure and child well-being: Economic resources vs. parental behaviors. Social Forces, 73(1), 221–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waite, L. J. (1995). Does marriage matter? Demography, 32(4), 483–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, S. P., Wachs, T., Grantham-McGregor, S., Black, M. M., et al. (2011). Inequality in early childhood: Risk and protective factors for early child development. The Lancet, 378(9799), 1325–1338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L., & Mesman, J. (2015). Child development in the face of rural-to-urban migration in China: A meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(6), 813–831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wen, M., & Lin, D. (2012). Child development in rural China: Children left behind by their migrant parents and children of nonmigrant families. Child Development, 83(1), 120–136. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01698.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wen, M. (2008). Family structure and Children's health and behavior: Data from the 1999 National Survey of America's families. Journal of Family Issues, 29(11), 1492–1519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, Y., Zhang, X., Tu, P., & Ren, Q. (2018). China family panel studies (CFPS). Ann Arbor, MI: [distributor], 2018-01-25. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36524.v2.

  • Yiu, L., & Yun, L. (2017). China’s rural education: Chinese migrant children and left-behind children. Chinese Education and Socieity, 50, 207–314.

  • Zhou, C., Sylvia, S., Zhang, L., Luo, R., Yi, H., Liu, C., Shi, Y., Loyalka, P., Chu, J., & Medina, A. (2015). China’s left-behind children: Impact of parental migration on health, nutrition, and educational outcomes. Health Affairs, 34(11), 1964–1971.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, M., Murphy, R., & Tao, R. (2014). Effects of parents’ migration on the education of children left behind in rural China. Population and Development Review, 40(2), 273–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Parts of this article build on Chen and Yang's previous work in Lijun Chen, Dali L. Yang, Di Zhou and Qiang Ren, Child and Youth Well-beingin China, Routledge, 2019 (Chapter 10. Parental absence and child development outcomes). Besides, Di Qi wishes to thank the support of the National Science Foundation of China [Grant No. 71804041].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, 1313 East 60th St, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

    Lijun Chen

  2. School of Public Administration, Hohai University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China

    Di Qi

  3. Department of Political Science, The University of Chicago, 5828 S. University Ave, Chicago, IL, 606037, USA

    Dali L. Yang

Authors
  1. Lijun Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Di Qi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dali L. Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Di Qi.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chen, L., Qi, D. & L. Yang, D. The Urbanization Paradox: Parental Absence and Child Development in China - an Empirical Analysis Based on the China Family Panel Studies Survey. Child Ind Res 13, 593–608 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-019-09697-5

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-019-09697-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation