![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
In China, 61 million children are left behind in rural areas suffering from prolonged parent-child separation when their parents migrate for work. Meaning-focused coping is known to play a positive role in adaptation, particularly during persistent adversity, but little is known about how adolescents make meaning during prolonged parent-child separation. This qualitative study investigated how adolescents utilize meaning-focused coping during such separation. Seventeen adolescents who had been left behind (Mage = 14.1 years, SD = 1.03 years) by migrant parents were recruited via purposive sampling. Eight subthemes emerged and were grouped into four themes: living with prolonged parent-child separation, ambivalent feelings, constructed meaning of parental migration, and meaning-making strategies. Despite detached parent-child relationships and weak family support, the adolescents made positive meaning of their parents’ migration by focusing on the migration-related benefits and maintaining goal commitment. Participants’ perceptions of left-behind life varied at different stages of their parental migration and their ability to make positive sense of migration increased with age. The role of culture was crucial in their meaning-making formulation. The results have application potential for psychosocial interventions targeting adolescents facing a prolonged left-behind period.
References
Section:
|
Allen, J. P., McElhaney, K. B., Kuperminc, G. P., Jodl, K. M. (2004). Stability and change in attachment security across adolescence. Child Development, 75, 1792-1805. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Amato, P. R., Keith, B. (1991). Parental divorce and the well-being of children: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 26-46. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Bi, C., Oyserman, D. (2015). Left behind or moving forward? Effects of possible selves and strategies to attain them among rural Chinese children. Journal of Adolescence, 44, 245-258. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Bond, M. H. (1996). The handbook of Chinese psychology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Caarls, K., Mazzucato, V. (2015). Does international migration lead to divorce? Ghanaian couples in Ghana and abroad. Population, 70, 127-150. Google Scholar | |
|
Chao, R. K. (1994). Beyond parental control and authoritarian parenting style: Understanding Chinese parenting through the cultural notion of training. Child Development, 65, 1111-1119. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Chen, F., Liu, G., Mair, C. A. (2011). Intergenerational ties in context: Grandparents caring for grandchildren in China. Social Forces, 90(2), 571–594. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Colaizzi, P. F. (1978). Psychological research as the phenomenologist views it. In Valle, R. S., King, M. (Eds.), Existential phenomenological alternatives for psychology (pp. 48-71). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | |
|
Dillon, M., Walsh, C. A. (2012). Left-behind: The experiences of children of the Caribbean whose parents have migrated. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 43, 871-902. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Duan, C. R., Lv, L. D., Guo, J., Wang, Z. P. (2013). Survival and development of left-behind children in rural China: Based on the analysis of sixth census data. Population Journal, 3(35), 37–49. (In Chinese) Google Scholar | |
|
Falicov, C. J. (2007). Working with transnational immigrants: Expanding meanings of family, community, and culture. Family Process, 46, 157-171. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Fan, F., Su, L., Gill, M. K., Birmaher, B. (2010). Emotional and behavioral problems of Chinese left-behind children: A preliminary study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 45, 655-664. doi:10.1007/s00127-009-0107-4 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Folkman, S. (1997). Positive psychological states and coping with severe stress. Social Science & Medicine, 45, 1207-1221. doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(97)00040-3 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Folkman, S. (2009). Theory-based approaches to stress and coping: Questions, answers, issues, and next steps in stress and coping research. European Psychologist, 14, 72-77. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Folkman, S., Moskowitz, J. T. (2007). Positive affect and meaning-focused coping during significant psychological stress. In Hewstone, M., Schut, H. A. W., De Wit, J. B. F., Van den Bos, K., Stroebe, M. S. (Eds.), The scope of social psychology: Theory and applications (pp. 193-208). New York, NY: Psychology Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Frankl, V. E. (1985). Man’s search for meaning. New York, NY: Pocket Books. Google Scholar | |
|
Graham, E., Jordan, L. P. (2011). Migrant parents and the psychological well-being of left-behind children in Southeast Asia. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73, 763-787. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Hagelskamp, C., Suárez-Orozco, C., Hughes, D. (2010). Migrating to opportunities: How family migration motivations shape academic trajectories among newcomer immigrant youth. Journal of Social Issues, 66, 717-739. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Kilmer, R. P. (2014). Resilience and posttraumatic growth in children. In Calhoun, L. G., Tedeschi, R. G. (Eds.), Handbook of posttraumatic growth: Research and practice (pp. 264-288). New York, NY: Routledge. Google Scholar | |
|
Li, P., Li, W. (2007). Economic status and social attitudes of migrant workers in China. China & World Economy, 15, 1-16. doi:10.1111/j.1749-124x.2007.00072.x Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Lonner, W., Wong, P. T., Wong, L. C. (2007). Handbook of multicultural perspectives on stress and coping. New York, NY: Springer. Google Scholar | |
|
Mazzucato, V., Schans, D. (2011). Transnational families and the well-being of children: Conceptual and methodological challenges. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73, 704-712. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods California: Sage Publications. Google Scholar | |
|
National Bureau of Statistics of China . (2014). Migrant worker monitoring report. Beijing: National Bureau of Statistics of China. Google Scholar | |
|
Park, C. L. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 257-301. doi:10.1037/a0018301 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Park, C. L., Folkman, S. (1997). Meaning in the context of stress and coping. Review of General Psychology, 1, 115-144. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.1.2.115 Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Parreñas, R. S. (2005). Children of global migration: Transnational families and gendered woes. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Paterson, J., Pryor, J., Field, J. (1995). Adolescent attachment to parents and friends in relation to aspects of self-esteem. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24, 365-376. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Patterson, J. M. (2005). Weaving gold out of straw: Meaning-making in families who have children with chronic illnesses. In Pinsof, W. M., Lebow, J. L. (Eds.), Family psychology, the art of the science (pp. 521-548). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Polkinghorne, D. E. (1989). Phenomenological research methods. In Valle, R. S., Halling, S. (Eds.), Existential-phenomenological perspectives in psychology (pp. 41-60). New York, NY: Plenum Press. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Qin, J., Albin, B. (2010). The mental health of children left behind in rural China by migrating parents: A literature review. Journal of Public Mental Health, 9, 4-16. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Shek, D. T. L. (2005). A longitudinal study of Chinese cultural beliefs about adversity, psychological well-being, delinquency and substance abuse in Chinese adolescents with economic disadvantage. Social Indicators Research, 71, 385-409. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Shek, D. T. L. (2012). Life meaning and purpose in life among Chinese adolescents: What can we learn from Chinese studies in Hong Kong? In Wong, P. T. P. (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (2nd ed., pp. 335-356). New York, NY: Routledge. Google Scholar | |
|
Shek, D. T. L., Tang, V. M., Han, X. (2005). Evaluation of evaluation studies using qualitative research methods in the social work literature (1990-2003): Evidence that constitutes a wake-up call. Research on Social Work Practice, 15, 180-194. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Skinner, E. A., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2007). The development of coping. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 119-144. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Steger, M. F. (2012). Experiencing meaning in life. In Wong, P. T. P. (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (2nd ed., pp. 165-184). New York, NY: Routledge. Google Scholar | |
|
Ungar, M. (2008). Resilience across cultures. British Journal of Social Work, 38, 218-235. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Walsh, F. (2006). Strengthening family resilience. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Wen, M., Lin, D. (2012). Child development in rural China: Children left behind by their migrant parents and children of non-migrant families. Child Development, 83, 120-136. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Wen, M., Su, S., Li, X., Lin, D. (2015). Positive youth development in rural China: The role of parental migration. Social Science & Medicine, 132, 261-269. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Wilkinson, R. B., Walford, W. A. (2001). Attachment and personality in the psychological health of adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 473-484. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Women’s Federation of China . (2013). Research report on left-behind and migrant children in rural China. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press. (In Chinese) Google Scholar | |
|
Woodward, L., Fergusson, D. M., Belsky, J. (2000). Timing of parental separation and attachment to parents in adolescence: Results of a prospective study from birth to age 16. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 162-174. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Wu, Q., Lu, D., Kang, M. (2014). Social capital and the mental health of children in rural China with different experiences of parental migration. Social Science & Medicine, 132, 270-277. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.10.050 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Young, J. (2013). China’s Hukou system: Markets, migrants and institutional change. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Yue, X. D. (2001). Culturally constructed coping among university students in Beijing. Journal of Psychology in Chinese Societies, 2, 119-138. Google Scholar | |
|
Zhang, G., Veenhoven, R. (2008). Ancient Chinese philosophical advice: Can it help us find happiness today? Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 425-443. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Zhang, K. H., Song, S. (2003). Rural-urban migration and urbanization in China: Evidence from time-series and cross-section analyses. China Economic Review, 14, 386-400. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI |
Author Biographies
Yao Fu is a PhD candidate of the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong. She is a registered social worker in Hong Kong and had practical experiences in mainland China working with post-disaster survivors and children. Her research focuses on migration, meaning-focused coping, and adolescent mental health.
Yik Wa Law is an assistant professor of the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong. She was trained and had practiced as a social worker in Hong Kong and California, the United States, with a specific focus on children, youth, family, and senior social service management. She has been researching on suicide, mental health care service, and issues in community.
