The mediating mechanism between psychological resilience and mental health among left-behind children in China

Xinyi Zhao, Fang Fu, Luqing Zhou - Children and Youth Services Review

Abstract

The left-behind children phenomenon appeared in the process of development of industrialization and urbanization in China has become a social problem that needs close attention. Meanwhile, the importance of resilience on the psychological health of left-behind children has been highlighted in academic field. This study examined the mediating effect of psychological trait resilience on the relationship between protective factors from social network and self-esteem/depression of the left-behind children in China. A total of 345 left-behind children at middle schools completed the questionnaire of Healthy Kids Resilience Assessment (HKRA), Self-Esteem Scale (SES) and Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). Path analysis showed that psychological trait resilience played a fully mediating role on the relationship between protective factors and self-esteem, as well on the association between the relationship between protective factors and depression. Building protective social network may be helpful to improve trait resilience of left-behind children, which further increase self-esteem and mitigate depression of them. The implications of these findings on social work practice were discussed.