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Depression Among Chinese Left-Behind Children: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis, 2006-2018

Received: 26 October 2022    Accepted: 14 November 2022    Published: 29 November 2022
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Abstract

With the steady increase of rural-to-urban migrant laborer over the past decades in China, a growing number of rural children and adolescents has been left at home, called children left-behind, by one or both parents who cannot afford to bring their families to the cities where they work. And the mental health of them has gradually received widespread attention especially in depression. The study uses the method of cross-temporal meta-analysis to analyze 26 studies that used the Child Depression Inventory (CDI), ranging from 2006 to 2018 and covering 17498 left-behind children, to explore the changes in depression levels of left-behind children in Chinese rural areas over the years. The results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the total average scores of the CDI and the years (r. = 0.42). The total average scores of the CDI have increased by 0.68 standard deviations for the past 12 years (d. = 0.68). Besides, the socioeconomic indicators from 5 years ago and the present year, including the urbanization level, resident consumption level, and consumer price index of China, significantly positively correlated with the total average scores of the CDI (r. = 0.33 ~ 0.35). The results suggested that the depression level of the left-behind children has been increasing year by year in recent 12 years, and the standard deviation of the left-behind children's depression level has also been increasing year by year. Furthermore, these socioeconomic factors were likely to be important factors in predicting the depression level of left-behind children. The risk of mental health problems among this large number of left-behind children indicates the urgent need for families, schools and society to work together and provide sufficient care to improve their mental status and cultivate good qualities.

Published in Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (Volume 11, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.13
Page(s) 193-200
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Left-Behind Children, Depression, Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Liang Zhoujian, Guo Wenjie, Yuan Yuan. (2022). Depression Among Chinese Left-Behind Children: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis, 2006-2018. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 11(6), 193-200. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.13

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    ACS Style

    Liang Zhoujian; Guo Wenjie; Yuan Yuan. Depression Among Chinese Left-Behind Children: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis, 2006-2018. Psychol. Behav. Sci. 2022, 11(6), 193-200. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.13

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    AMA Style

    Liang Zhoujian, Guo Wenjie, Yuan Yuan. Depression Among Chinese Left-Behind Children: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis, 2006-2018. Psychol Behav Sci. 2022;11(6):193-200. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.13,
      author = {Liang Zhoujian and Guo Wenjie and Yuan Yuan},
      title = {Depression Among Chinese Left-Behind Children: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis, 2006-2018},
      journal = {Psychology and Behavioral Sciences},
      volume = {11},
      number = {6},
      pages = {193-200},
      doi = {10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.pbs.20221106.13},
      abstract = {With the steady increase of rural-to-urban migrant laborer over the past decades in China, a growing number of rural children and adolescents has been left at home, called children left-behind, by one or both parents who cannot afford to bring their families to the cities where they work. And the mental health of them has gradually received widespread attention especially in depression. The study uses the method of cross-temporal meta-analysis to analyze 26 studies that used the Child Depression Inventory (CDI), ranging from 2006 to 2018 and covering 17498 left-behind children, to explore the changes in depression levels of left-behind children in Chinese rural areas over the years. The results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the total average scores of the CDI and the years (r. = 0.42). The total average scores of the CDI have increased by 0.68 standard deviations for the past 12 years (d. = 0.68). Besides, the socioeconomic indicators from 5 years ago and the present year, including the urbanization level, resident consumption level, and consumer price index of China, significantly positively correlated with the total average scores of the CDI (r. = 0.33 ~ 0.35). The results suggested that the depression level of the left-behind children has been increasing year by year in recent 12 years, and the standard deviation of the left-behind children's depression level has also been increasing year by year. Furthermore, these socioeconomic factors were likely to be important factors in predicting the depression level of left-behind children. The risk of mental health problems among this large number of left-behind children indicates the urgent need for families, schools and society to work together and provide sufficient care to improve their mental status and cultivate good qualities.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Depression Among Chinese Left-Behind Children: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis, 2006-2018
    AU  - Liang Zhoujian
    AU  - Guo Wenjie
    AU  - Yuan Yuan
    Y1  - 2022/11/29
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.13
    T2  - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
    JF  - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
    JO  - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7845
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.13
    AB  - With the steady increase of rural-to-urban migrant laborer over the past decades in China, a growing number of rural children and adolescents has been left at home, called children left-behind, by one or both parents who cannot afford to bring their families to the cities where they work. And the mental health of them has gradually received widespread attention especially in depression. The study uses the method of cross-temporal meta-analysis to analyze 26 studies that used the Child Depression Inventory (CDI), ranging from 2006 to 2018 and covering 17498 left-behind children, to explore the changes in depression levels of left-behind children in Chinese rural areas over the years. The results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the total average scores of the CDI and the years (r. = 0.42). The total average scores of the CDI have increased by 0.68 standard deviations for the past 12 years (d. = 0.68). Besides, the socioeconomic indicators from 5 years ago and the present year, including the urbanization level, resident consumption level, and consumer price index of China, significantly positively correlated with the total average scores of the CDI (r. = 0.33 ~ 0.35). The results suggested that the depression level of the left-behind children has been increasing year by year in recent 12 years, and the standard deviation of the left-behind children's depression level has also been increasing year by year. Furthermore, these socioeconomic factors were likely to be important factors in predicting the depression level of left-behind children. The risk of mental health problems among this large number of left-behind children indicates the urgent need for families, schools and society to work together and provide sufficient care to improve their mental status and cultivate good qualities.
    VL  - 11
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Author Information
  • School of Sociology and Psychology, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China

  • School of Sociology and Psychology, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China

  • School of Sociology and Psychology, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China

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