The resilience status of Chinese left-behind children in rural areas: a meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

The resilience has become the main trend of the left-behind children's (LBC) mental health research. To evaluate the resilience status of Chinese LBC in rural areas, a meta-analysis was performed. Relevant studies were identified using electronic databases from 1990 to 2017. Pooled weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated with fixed and random effects models. A total of 14 cross-sectional studies with 9777 individuals were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed there was significant difference in the aspects of family support and RSCA (Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents) total score between LBC and non-left-behind children (NLBC). After stratification subgroup, significant difference in RSCA total score was also found in subgroup with sample size ≥700 and target population (LBC) between LBC and NLBC. In addition, there was no significant difference in resilience of male and female among LBC (P >0.05). We also found RSCA total score of LBC whose one parents migratingwere higher than both parents (P <0.05) and the time of parental migration (≤2 years) were higher than others (>2 years). In conclusion, more attention should be paid to the LBC, especially both parents migrating or parental migration (>2 years).

KEYWORDS:

• Resilience
• Left-behind children
• Chinese
• RSCA
• Meta-analysis

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all participants and the persons who helped us in conduction of the research.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by High Education Talent Project of Anhui Province (2013); grants from Humanities and Social Sciences Research major projects of Anhui Province Department of Education [grant number SK2014ZD037].