Lu Yao, Yeung Wei-Jun Jean, Treiman Donald J
Department of Sociology, Columbia University.
Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore.
Chin Sociol Rev. 2020;52(4):337-363. doi: 10.1080/21620555.2020.1776600. Epub 2020 Jun 13.
Internal migration has resulted in a large number of left-behind children in China. Despite growing attention to this population, important gaps remain in our understanding of their cognitive development and the factors that mediate the impact of migration on children. The present study draws on a new nationally representative survey of Chinese children to study the psychological and cognitive development of left-behind children. Results show that rural children left behind by both parents (but not by one parent) are worse off in both psychological well-being and cognitive development than rural children living with both parents. The disadvantage of left-behind children is mediated by their caregivers' emotional well-being, parenting practices, and education. We also find a pronounced rural-urban difference in children's cognitive development.
在中国，国内人口迁移导致了大量留守儿童的出现。尽管对这一群体的关注日益增加，但在我们对他们认知发展以及迁移对儿童影响的中介因素的理解方面，仍存在重大差距。本研究利用一项新的全国性有代表性的中国儿童调查，来研究留守儿童的心理和认知发展。结果表明，父母双方（而非一方）都外出务工留下的农村儿童，在心理健康和认知发展方面比与父母双方同住的农村儿童状况更差。留守儿童的劣势是由其照料者的情绪健康、育儿方式和教育所介导的。我们还发现儿童的认知发展存在显著的城乡差异。
