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Childhood left-behind experience and adulthood cognitive abilities: evidence from China

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the lasting effects of childhood experiences of being left behind on the cognitive abilities of Chinese adults. To investigate the impact of children being left behind on adult cognitive capacity, we utilized an instrumental variable (IV) approach and the instrumental variable quantile regression (IVQR) method with data from the 2010 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). The results reveal that childhood experiences of being left behind, especially by mothers during late childhood, have significant negative effects on cognitive abilities in adulthood. Short-term and long-term left-behind experiences both have detrimental effects on cognitive development. Women, those born in the late 1980s, individuals from middle and low-income households, those living in rural areas, and those with siblings are more vulnerable to these effects.The IVQR analysis demonstrates that the negative effects of childhood experiences of being left behind are more pronounced among those with lower levels of cognitive ability. Furthermore, our findings suggest that educational human capital could serve as a possible channel linking early left-behind experiences to adult cognitive ability. Our research provides a better understanding of how parental migration can impact the cognitive development of children left behind in China and other developing countries in the long term. These study results may assist policymakers in implementing measures to protect left-behind children from negative repercussions.

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Data availability

The data that support the conclusions of this investigation are accessible from the Institute of Social Science Survey (ISSS) of Peking University in China, however access to these data is restricted since they were utilized under permission for the current study and are thus not publicly available. However, data are available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of the Peking University Institute of Social Science Survey (ISSS).

Notes

  1. In the word test, a total of 34 words were tested. Each word had 1 point, with a total of 34 points. In the math test, there were a total of 24 questions. Each question had 1 point, with a total of 24 points. The total test score is the sum of the word and math test scores.

  2. During the 2010 CFPS, respondents were asked to report on their experiences with being left behind during two time periods: ages 0–3 and 4–12. The questions about the left-behind experience were: (1) 'How long did your father/mother live apart from you before you turned three years old (in weeks)?' and (2) 'Between the ages of 4 and 12, how long did your father/mother live apart from you (in weeks)?

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China (Grant No. 21AJL015), and the Natural Science Youth Fund of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China (Grant No. 2023QN07006).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot Inner Mongolia, China

    Yajun Wang

  2. School of Economics, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China

    Xiaodong Zheng

  3. Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China

    Bin Tang

  4. College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China

    Qiang Jin & Xiangming Fang

  5. School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Xiangming Fang

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  1. Yajun Wang
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  2. Xiaodong Zheng
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Contributions

All authors were involved in the conception and design of the study. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were conducted by [Yajun Wang] and [Xiangming Fang]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [Yajun Wang] and [Xiaodong Zheng]. Suggesting revisions and participating in revisions were done by [Xiangming Fang], [Bin Tang], and [Qiang Jin]. Revisions based on external review comments were made by [Xiangming Fang] and [Yajun Wang]. All authors provided comments on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xiangming Fang.

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Ethical statement

The Biomedical Ethics Committee at Peking University in China reviewed and authorized the experiments involving human volunteers. Review lot number: IRB00001052-14010.

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All individual participants in the research gave their informed permission.

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The authors have stated that they have no competing interests in this work.

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Appendix

Appendix

Table 9

Table 9 Definitions and summary statistics for the control variables
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Wang, Y., Zheng, X., Tang, B. et al. Childhood left-behind experience and adulthood cognitive abilities: evidence from China. Curr Psychol 43, 6371–6383 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04808-6

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