Using the cross-sectional data of 1,053 children aged 9 to 17 years from rural boarding schools in Henan, China, this study examined the differences in and relations among parenting practices and children’s self-control and internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors between children who were left behind by their migrant parents and those who were not. The results showed that left-behind children had lower levels of self-control and more internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors and reported higher levels of parental refusal and overprotection than non-left-behind children. The three dimensions of parenting practices (parental refusal, overprotection, and warmth) predicted children’s internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors via the mediating role of self-control, and these observed relations did not differ between left-behind children and non-left-behind children. Implications, limitations and future directions of this study were discussed.
