TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - Labor migration of parents and aggression among their offspring in China
JO  - JAMA network open
A1  - Ma, Ying
A1  - Li, Yanqi
A1  - Zhang, Yi
A1  - Xie, Xinyi
A1  - Lin, Xiaoyi
A1  - Fu, Huihang
A1  - Huang, Mengxin
A1  - Zhou, Weiju
A1  - Ji, John S.
A1  - Chen, Ruoling
A1  - Liu, Shun
A1  - Yu, Yizhen
A1  - Tang, Jie
SP  - e2355315
EP  - e2355315
VL  - 7
IS  - 2
N2  - IMPORTANCE: In China, parental labor migration often leaves children behind and is potentially adversely associated with children's health. However, the association between parental migration and aggression among their offspring remains largely underexplored. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations of parental labor migration with total and subtypes of aggression among their offspring as well as potential sex differences therein. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from February to October 2015 among students aged 11 to 20 years from 45 public middle and high schools across 5 provinces of China. Data analysis was performed from December 1, 2022, to August 1, 2023. EXPOSURES: Parental migration, including migration status (yes or no), pattern (father, mother, or both), and the child's age at the initial parent-child separation. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Total and subtypes of aggression (including physical aggression [PA], verbal aggression [VA], indirect aggression [IA], anger, and hostility) were measured using the Chinese version of the Buss-Warren Aggression Questionnaire. Binomial logistic regression analyses were used separately to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% CIs of parental migration by total and subtypes of aggression. <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 15 301 participants (7900 [51.6%] male and 7401 [48.4%] female) aged 11 to 20 years (mean [SD] age, 15.1 [1.8] years) were included. Of these participants, 5961 (39.0%) experienced parental migration; 2451 (16.0%) met the criteria for total aggression, 2407 (15.7%) for PA, 2283 (14.9%) for VA, 2899 (18.9%) for IA, 2307 (15.1%) for anger, and 2564 (16.8%) for hostility. Parental migration was associated with total aggression (aOR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01-1.22); no significant association between parental migration and subtypes of aggression was found except for PA (aOR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.03-1.25). Compared with children whose parents did not migrate, the aORs for total aggression and PA for participants whose father migrated were 1.12 (95% CI, 1.01-1.28) and 1.15 (95% CI, 1.03-1.29), respectively; for participants with both parents having migrated, the aORs were 1.16 (95% CI, 1.02-1.31) and 1.12 (95% CI, 1.04-1.24), respectively. Compared with children whose parents did not migrate, children who experienced initial separation from 1 or both parents at adolescence had an aOR for total aggression of 1.20 (95% CI, 1.04-1.36), children who experienced initial separation from 1 or both parents at school age or adolescence had an aOR for PA of 1.15 (95% CI, 1.01-1.32) and 1.26 (95% CI, 1.04-1.51), respectively. No sex differences were found in these associations. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cross-sectional study of Chinese children and adolescents, we found that parental migration, mainly of the father or both parents or an initial separation at adolescence or school age from 1 or both parents, was associated with higher odds of total aggression and PA among offspring. These associations were similar between male and female participants.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2574-3805
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.55315
ID  - ref1
ER  -