Abstract
China's unprecedented economic boom has led a massive number of children left-behind by their peasant parents who have immigrated to urban areas in search of work. In current study, we explored how being left behind is associated with children's positive emotions and negative psychological traits by examining the differences in levels of happiness, self-esteem and anxiety between left-behind children (LBC) and non-LBC. A total of 448 students (aged 7–16) from three schools in Sichuan Province in China responded to the questionnaire. Fourteen teachers of LBC were invited to one-to-one interviews for in depth responses to LBC's behaviors and psychological well-being. The results revealed that non-LBC showed a higher level of happiness (t = −0.21, df = 258, p < 0.01) and a lower level of anxiety (t = 1.41, df = 406, p < 0.05) than LBC children. Among LBC, low grade children (primary school grades 3 and 4) reported a lower level of happiness (t = −0.73, df = 216, p <0.01) and self-esteem (t = −0.24, df = 191, p < 0.01) than their older counterparts (primary school grades 5 and 6). The teachers' accounts confirmed the statistical results that LBC suffered from the deprivation of parental care. According to the teachers, as LBC grew older, they developed an understanding of their own circumstances and came to appreciate their parents' decisions. With appropriate and adequate support provided to both LBC and the caretakers around them such as relatives and teachers, it may be possible to reduce the adverse impacts of parental deprivation on LBC.
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