Department of Nutrition Science and Food Hygiene, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, 110 Xiangya Road, Changsha 410078, Hunan, China.
School of Nursing Central South University, 172 Tongzipo Road, Changsha 410013, Hunan, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Oct 29;16(21):4188. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16214188.
The term left-behind children (LBC) refers to underage children who have been separated from their father/mother or parents for a long period of time. At present, there are few studies on the emotional and behavioral problems of three- to five-year-old LBC in poor rural areas of China. In this study, random cluster sampling was used to recruit caregivers of left-behind children (CLBC) aged three to five years in two poor rural areas in Hunan Province. General demographic data of LBC and their caregivers were collected via face-to-face questionnaires. Children's emotional and behavioral problems were assessed by the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Among 557 LBC, the prevalence of a total difficulties score in an abnormal/borderline range was 27.6-50.6%. The most common problem of LBC was hyperactivity, with a rate of 33.6%. Compared with boys, girls had more emotional problems ( < 0.05) and fewer hyperactivity disorders ( < 0.01). Factors related to the emotional and behavioral problems of LBC were the LBC's age, the number of sick people at home, and the CLBC's willingness to take care of the LBC. The detection rate of emotional and behavioral problems of three- to five-year-old LBC in poor rural areas is higher than that of children of the same age in urban areas and Western developed countries. There were gender differences in hyperactivity and emotional symptoms. Poor care will increase the risk of children's emotional and behavioral abnormalities.
留守儿童是指与父亲/母亲或父母长期分离的未成年子女。目前，针对中国贫困农村地区 3-5 岁留守儿童的情绪和行为问题的研究较少。本研究采用随机整群抽样的方法，在湖南省两个贫困农村地区招募 3-5 岁留守儿童的照料者（CLBC）。通过面对面问卷收集 LBC 和其照料者的一般人口统计学数据。采用长处和困难问卷（SDQ）评估儿童的情绪和行为问题。在 557 名留守儿童中，总困难得分处于异常/边界范围的比例为 27.6%-50.6%。留守儿童最常见的问题是多动，发生率为 33.6%。与男孩相比，女孩的情绪问题更多（<0.05），多动障碍更少（<0.01）。与留守儿童情绪和行为问题相关的因素是留守儿童的年龄、家中患病人数以及 CLBC 照顾留守儿童的意愿。贫困农村地区 3-5 岁留守儿童的情绪和行为问题检出率高于城市地区和西方发达国家同年龄儿童。在多动和情绪症状方面存在性别差异。较差的照顾会增加儿童情绪和行为异常的风险。
