Floating Emotional Bond in Rural China: Exploring Native Adolescents' Construction of Place Attachment With Villages

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Nine
  In Roundtable Session: The Sociality of Emotions and Well-Being Among Youth and Educator Activists (Table 4)

Abstract

Place attachment refers to an individual’s affective bond with one locale and its residents. This emotional attachment can influence personal migration intentions, namely leaving or staying. Thus, research on the place attachment of rural students is of great significance in the context of persistent population outflow in rural China. This ethnographic study aims to understand how rural adolescents construct village-based attachment. Results reveal that “nature” and “relationship” contributes to a sense of attachment among students. However, changes in living experience and context result in their earlier spatial and temporal separation from villages, leading to a floating attachment due to waning rural connections. It is recommended that schools and teachers should burden the responsibility for improving this situation.

Author

• Tangsenyi Shi, University of Hong Kong
  Presenting Author