What Really Matters for Social Adaptation Among Left-Behind Children in China? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Compared with non-left-behind children, left-behind children in China have lower social adaptation and theunderlying reasons deserve further study. This systematic review and meta-analysis included 29 studies publishedbetween 2006 and 2019. Protective factors of Left-behind children's social adaptation were resilience (r=0.574),self-efficacy (r=0.538), emotional intelligence (r=0.421), self-esteem (r=0.404), positive coping (r=0.471),attachment (r=0.354) and social support (r=0.338) while risky factors were loneliness (r=- 0.453) and socialanxiety(r=-0.360). Age, birthplace, father/mother migration and the frequency of parent-child communication alsohave a certain impact on their social adaptation, but the effect size is relatively small. This study can provide someenlightenment for intervention programs and policy adjustment. More empirical studies focusing on influencingfactors for social adaptation of left-behind children will be needed in the future.