Community-Based Intervention to Improve the Well-Being of Children Left Behind by Migrant Parents in Rural China

In rural China around 60 million left-behind children (LBC) experience prolonged separation from migrant worker parents. They are vulnerable to a range of psychosocial problems. The aim of this study was to determine whether a community-based intervention consisting of Children's Centres can im...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2020-10, Vol.17 (19), p.7218
Main Authors: Jiang, Minmin, Li, Lu, Zhu, Wei Xing, Hesketh, Therese
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Adolescent
Automobile safety
Caregivers
Child
Children
Children & youth
China
Community
Education
Families & family life
Female
Humans
Intervention
Leadership
Male
Migrant workers
Migration
Motivation
Parents
Parents & parenting
Questionnaires
Residence Characteristics
Rural areas
Rural Population
Social interactions
Social support
Surveys and Questionnaires
Transients and Migrants
Well being
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Summary:In rural China around 60 million left-behind children (LBC) experience prolonged separation from migrant worker parents. They are vulnerable to a range of psychosocial problems. The aim of this study was to determine whether a community-based intervention consisting of Children's Centres can improve psychosocial well-being and school performance of these children. The intervention was carried out in 20 villages, for children aged 7 to 15 years, irrespective of left-behind status. Nine hundred and twenty children, 438 LBC and 256 children living with parents (RC) attended the Centres. At follow-up after one year, there were improvements compared to baseline in total difficulties (measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) in children left behind by both parents ( = 0.009), children left behind by one parent ( = 0.008) and RC ( = 0.05). Postintervention school performance significantly improved in both categories of LBC ( < 0.001), but not RC ( = 0.07); social support score increased in both categories of LBC ( < 0.001) and RC ( = 0.01). Findings from interviews with key stakeholders were overwhelmingly positive about the impacts. With strong local leadership and community motivation, a low-cost intervention can improve children's psychosocial well-being in these settings. Allowing communities to adapt the model to their own situation fosters local ownership, commitment, with benefits for children, parents, carers, and communities.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph17197218