The Effects of Organizational Social Support on Left-behind Children’s Resilience in China

Abstract

Left-behind children are one of the main issues in China’s child welfare services. The change in the family environment has destroyed these children’s original levels of resilience. Hence social service and support from social organizations are needed. The study examines the impact of different types of social support social organizations provide to enhance the resilience of left-behind children in rural China. Types of social support analyzed include material, mental, informational, behavioral, and social interaction support. Data was collected from 384 rural left-behind children using a pre-coded questionnaire. Respondents were randomly selected from Guangxi, China in 2022. They had an average age of 12.781 years, with 45.83% male and 54.17% female. Multiple linear regression was used to conduct an empirical analysis of the different types of social support provided by social organizations. The results found that material, mental, informational, and behavioral support provided by social organizations had significant effects on the resilience of rural left-behind children in China. Further research should be conducted on the importance of providing material, mental, informational, and behavioral support to left-behind children to better help improve their resilience.

Keywords:

• Social organizations
• social support
• left-behind children
• resilience

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful for the research support provided by the authors’ Faculty and University and wish to thank all the teachers, children, and their guardians from the primary and junior high schools.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Publication funded by Education Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Project-ID: 2022KY0615) and Economics and Trade College, Guangxi University of Finance and Economics, China (Project-ID: 2020YB08).