Accompanying your children: Living without parents at different stages of pre-adulthood and individual physical and mental health in adulthood

Frontiers in Public Health

Public Health

Yao Jiang¹  Fan Yang²  Hanling Xiao² 

[1] Department of Demography, Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, Tianjin, China;Department of Labor and Social Security, School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China;

关键词: left-behind children;    physical health;    mental health;    family structure;    parental absence;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2023.992539

 received in 2022-07-12, accepted in 2023-02-22,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

ObjectivesThis study examined how living without parents at different stages of childhood and adolescence affects physical and mental health in adulthood.MethodsThe data came from 3,464 survey respondents aged 18–36 in the 2018 China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey. Physical health was self-rated. Mental health was measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale. The ordered probit and ordinary least-squares regression analyses were employed to determine the associations between growing up without parents at different stages in pre-adulthood and individual physical and mental health in adulthood.ResultsIndividuals who did not live with their parents during their minor years were more likely to report worse physical and mental health in adulthood, compared to those who lived with their parents. This difference was heterogeneous among different age stages and genders.ConclusionsAbsence of parents in the household has long-term impacts on the physical and mental health of children in adulthood, especially for females. The government should make feasible institutional arrangements to avoid the separation of minor children from their parents.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Jiang, Xiao and Yang.