Self-esteem among Migrant Children in China

• In Event: 434 - Section on Children and Youth Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Migration, Immigration, and Assimilation among Asian Youth

Abstract

In 2010, there were over 35 million migrant children in China. Studies showed that rural-to-urban migrant children had significantly lower self-esteem than the urban non-migrant children, but the determinant factors have not been analyzed thoroughly. In this paper, I use data from the 2002 China Nine-City Survey of Migrant Children to examine what factors may affect migrant children's self-esteem. The results of data analysis showed that poor living conditions, anxiety about being discriminated against and exposure to neighborhood crime can lead to lower self-esteem among migrant children. My findings suggested that if the government gradually allows more migrants to enjoy the benefits now limited to local non-migrants, such as state-owned low-rent apartments, rural-to-urban migrant children's low self-esteem problem may decrease.

Author

• Bo Zhou, State University of New York-Albany