Citation

Zhao J, Liu X, Wang M. Child Abuse Negl. 2015; 48: 190-199.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.07.005

PMID

26190190

Abstract

Using cross-sectional data from rural left-behind children aged 10-17 years in the Henan Province of China, the present study examined the roles of father-child cohesion, mother-child cohesion, and friend companionship in emotional adaptation (loneliness, depression, and life satisfaction) among children left behind by both of their rural-to-urban migrant parents compared to those with only a migrating father. The results indicated that the children with two migrating parents were disadvantaged according to their demonstration of depression but not in loneliness or life satisfaction. Both parent-child cohesion and friend companionship were directly associated with, to varying extents, the left-behind children's emotional outcomes. Moreover, friend companionship moderated the association between father-child cohesion and emotional outcomes among children with two migrating parents, but the moderating effects of friend companionship did not exist among children with only a migrating father. The implications of these findings for interventions directed at left-behind children are discussed.

Language: en