title: Parent-child cohesion, friend companionship and left-behind children's emotional adaptation in rural China.
abstract: Using cross-sectional data from rural left-behind children aged 10-17 years in the Henan Province of China, the present study examined the roles of father-child cohesion, mother-child cohesion, and friend companionship in emotional adaptation (loneliness, depression, and life satisfaction) among children left behind by both of their rural-to-urban migrant parents compared to those with only a migrating father. The results indicated that the children with two migrating parents were disadvantaged according to their demonstration of depression but not in loneliness or life satisfaction. Both parent-child cohesion and friend companionship were directly associated with, to varying extents, the left-behind children's emotional outcomes. Moreover, friend companionship moderated the association between father-child cohesion and emotional outcomes among children with two migrating parents, but the moderating effects of friend companionship did not exist among children with only a migrating father. The implications of these findings for interventions directed at left-behind children are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Jingxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Meifang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Emotional adaptation; Friend companionship; Left-behind children; Parent–child cohesion; Resilience