The Effects of Parental Labor Migration on Children’s Mental Health in Rural China

Utilizing data from the China Education Panel Survey, we investigated the effects of parental migration and its duration on children’s mental health in rural China. We obtained a sample of 3830 rural children, comprising 2769 children who lived with both parents, 512 children whose one parent had migrated, and 549 children whose both parents had migrated. The results of multiple regression and propensity score matching showed that absence of both parents was negatively correlated to children’s mental health, with the migration of one parent having little effect. The negative effects related to parental labor migration became more apparent when we considered the duration of parents’ migration. Compared with children whose parents were not absent, children who had been left behind for less than one year and those who had been left behind for more than one year both displayed poorer mental health. These findings urge us to infer that family arrangements have an important influence on children’s psychological health. The findings also showed girls’ mental health more likely to be affected than that of boys, which implied a gender difference in the impacts of parental migration. Research and policy implications are discussed.