Family income or left-behind status? Exploring the key determinant of rural children’s emotional and behavioral problems

Left-behind children, who are usually raised by non-parent caregivers, are often regarded as problem children in China. However, the association between left-behind status (i.e., whether children are left behind) and problem behaviors remains controversial due to the confounding effects of other demographic characteristics, such as sex, age, parents’ educational attainment and family income. Our study utilized a large national survey to investigate which demographic characteristics, particularly left-behind status, are associated with the highest risk of emotional and behavioral problems in children. A total of 10,124 children (aged 3–8 years) and their primary caregivers from 27 counties in 12 provinces of China were included in this study. The participants completed a demographic information questionnaire (e.g., left-behind status, sex, age, education levels of parents and primary caregivers, and family income) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Latent class analysis was used to identify subgroups of children with similar demographic information, and the emotional behavioral problems of these subgroups were subsequently compared. Rural children were divided into four significantly different subgroups based on demographic characteristics. A comparison of the differences in emotional and behavioral problems among the four subgroups showed that a child’s level of emotional and behavioral problems was associated with family income but not left-behind status. Our results indicate that being left behind might not be the determinant of rural children’s emotional and behavioral problems. Instead, the family income may play a crucial role.