The Impact of Parent-Child Attachment on School Adjustment in Left-behind Children Due to Transnational Parenting: The Mediating Role of Peer Relationships

In China's eastern coastal areas, the transnational parenting of left-behind children creates a distinct form of left-behind child. Previous research has indicated that children who have been left behind have a low degree of school adjustment. The major purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of parent-child attachment on school adjustment in children left behind by migrant parents, as well as the mediating role of peer relationships in this process. The parent-child attachment section of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), the Adaptation subscale of the Adolescent Mental Health Quality Questionnaire-Chinese Version (AMHQQ-C), and the Student Peer Relationship Scale (SPRC) were used to survey 405 left-behind children in grades 3-6 of seven elementary schools in the hometowns of overseas Chinese parents from Zhejiang Province. It was discovered that, compared to non-left-behind children, left-behind children showed lower levels of parent-child attachment and school adjustment, while peer relationships appeared polarized. In addition, parent-child attachment and peer relationships considerably predicted the level of school adjustment in children left behind due to transnational parenting. More importantly, the mediation analysis revealed a partial mediating effect of peer relationships on the linkages between parent-child attachment and school adjustment among children who were left behind in transnational foster care.