Trajectories of Peer Victimization among Left-behind Children in Rural China: The Role of School Climate

• In Event: Adverse experiences and adolescents’ physiological and mental health: The protective effects of resources

Abstract

Background. Rural left-behind children in China (i.e., children under the age of 18 who were left behind in rural areas for at least six months by their parents who migrate to urban areas for employment; Wen et al., 2021), are at elevated risk for victimization and related challenges (e.g., lower life satisfaction and higher levels of self-injury behavior; Wang & Liu, 2021; Yang et al., 2021), due to a lack of parental support, engagement, and supervision, as well as peer discrimination (Shen, 2009). Despite the large number (about 6.43 million in 2019) and adverse situations among left-behind children in China, research and services for these children are sparse. Given the limited accessibility to scale-up services and urgency of providing support for left-behind children in rural China, it is important to identify children who are at higher risk of peer victimization over time or with a more urgent need for support and services. It is also essential for researchers to explore factors (e.g., school climate; left behind type: single or both parent migrating) that may be associated with lower risk of peer victimization trajectories in order to inform targeted interventions for victimized left-behind children.
Accordingly, in the present study, we used a person-centered approach, latent growth class analysis (LGCA), to identify distinct trajectories of peer victimization over time. We also examined their associations with positive school climate, left-behind type (i.e., one-parenting migrating vs. both-parent migrating), and their interactions among left-behind children in China, aiming to inform school-based interventions for left-behind children.

Method. Participants were 853 Chinese left-behind children (43.6% girls) who participated in a four-wave longitudinal study conducted in rural China. Participants responded to questions about demographic (i.e., gender, age, left-behind type, and subjective socioeconomic status). School climate (indexed by safety and order, acceptance and support, equality and fairness, autonomy and cooperation) at T1 and peer victimization across T1 to T4 within two years. LGCA was conducted to identify heterogeneous trajectories of peer victimization using Mplus 8.0. In addition, to examine the roles of school climate, left-behind type, and their interactions in peer victimization trajectories, a series of multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted using SPSS 23.0.

Results. LGCA identified four peer victimization trajectories (Figure 1), including stably low/decreasing group (56.4%), moderating/decreasing group (31.5%), high/decreasing group (7.3%), and increasing group (4.8%). Multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed that: 1) children who perceived more positive school climate were more likely to exhibit a stably low/decreasing trajectory compared to the other three groups; (2) Among left-behind children who perceived more positive school climates (except for safety and order), children with single-parent migrating were more likely to be members of the stably low/decreasing group as compared to those with both-parent migrating (Figure 2).

Conclusions. Peer victimization among left-behind children is concerning, especially those who were left behind by both parents and perceived less positive school climate. Targeted school-based interventions and services focusing on reducing peer victimization and improving school climate are needed for left-behind children, especially those with both-parent migrating.

Authors

• Jiale Xiao, Beijing Normal University
  Presenting Author

• Shaobing Su, Boston College