Loneliness,self-acceptance and behavioral problems among migrant children

ObjectiveTo investigate prevalences and related factors of loneliness,self-acceptance,and behavioral problems among migrant children.MethodsChildren's Loneliness Scale(CLS),Self Acceptance Questionnaire(SAQ),Rutter Behavior Rating Scale for Children(BRSC),and a self-designed questionnaire were used to survey 573 migrants children and 1 580 controls aged 6-14 years selected from 3 public elementary schools in suburban area of Nanning city.The information were obtained from the rating of the teachers and self-reports of the children.ResultsThe positive rate of CLS and BRSC in the migrant children was 12.31% and 21.99%,respectively.The boys had a higher positive rate of BRSC than girls(29.52% vs 11.62%, χ²=26.081;P<0.01).The positive rate of BRSC of children of grade 5 and 6(30.0%)was higher than those of children of grade 1 and 2(19.1%)and grade 3 and 4(10.9%).(χ²=10.885,P<0.01).The correlation analyses showed that the correlation coefficients of CLS score with the score of SAQ,self-recognizing factor,and self-evaluation factor were-0.559,-0.456,and-0.40,respectively(P<0.01 for all).The correlation coefficients of CLS' score with the score of the BRSC and neurotic behaviour factor were 0.128 and 0.136(P<0.01 for all).Multivariate regression analyses showed that the regression coefficients for CLS score with the score of the good friends,self-perceived loveliness were-1.432 and 0.915,with the odds ratio(OR)of 0.239 and 0.289(P<0.1 for all).The regression coefficients of BRSC score with gender,self-perceived loveliness were-1.155 and 0.334,with the OR of 0.315 and 0.291(P<0.1 for all).ConclusionThe results indicated that the scores of self-acceptance and self-evaluation in migrant children were significantly low and migrant boys and the children of grade 5 and 6 had more behavioral problems.The loneliness was inversely correlated with self-accptance and positively correlated with behavioral probcem.Whether having good friend and self-perceived loveliness are important influencing factors of loneliness.