| Objective To comprehensively assess current living quality of left-behind children in rural areas from psychological and physical perspectives by investigating and analyzing current situation of the children’s living quality, nutritional knowledge, attitudes and practices, and analyze related influencing factors to preliminarily explore the intervention direction of left-behind children’s living quality and offer reasonable suggestions.Methods1484pupils in grade4-6from Kangle, Gaolan, Huining, Jingning and Gangu counties of Gansu Province producing many migrant workers were chosen as respondents by randomized cluster sampling; questionnaire survey and qualitative interview methods were used combing quantitative research with qualitative research; CQOL questionnaire and self-compiled questionnaire on nutritional knowledge, attitudes and behaviors were used.Results1. Left-behind children’s living quality is generally on a middle-low level with a proportion of84.9%; only15.1%left-behind children think their quality of life is on an upper-middle or superior level. Comparing with un-left-behind children, left-behind children have a poor living quality, and the difference is significant (P<0.05)2.Comparing and analyzing different factors of living qualities of left-behind children and non-left-behind children, the former is significantly lower than the latter in terms of teacher-student relationship, peer relationship, self-concept, life convenience, self-satisfaction degree and total score of living quality (P<0.05); there is no significant difference in terms of parent-child relationship, learning ability&attitude, somatic sensation, negative emotion, homework attitude, activity opportunity and athletic ability (P>0.05)3. Gender, boarding, school record, family income, interval for parents returning home, the number of parent-child contacts are main factors affecting left-behind children’s living quality. Boys’living quality is higher than that of girls (P<0.05); the living quality of boarding left-behind children is significantly higher than that of non-boarding children (P<0.05) comparing with the children with middle-lower school records, the left-behind children with good school records got high scores in various aspects of living quality and overall satisfaction degree (P<0.05); high-family-income left-behind children’s living quality is significantly higher than that of middle-lower-family-income children (P<0.05); The parents who have left home to work in another city come home once half a year, and the more frequently they contact their children, the more beneficial it will be to improve the left-behind children’s quality of life.4. Left-behind children in rural areas have very limited knowledge on nutrition and food safety, including the most basic commonsense food safety knowledge. Gender, grade, boarding, school record and the interval for parents returning home are factors affecting left-behind children’s nutritional knowledge. Boys’nutritional knowledge is significantly higher than that of girls (P<0.05); the higher the grade is, the higher the score about nutritional knowledge is (P <0.05); boarding left-behind children have much more nutritional knowledge than non-boarding children (P<0.05); the children with good school records know more nutritional knowledge (P <0.05); semiannual home returning frequency is the best for left-behind children’s acquisition of nutritional knowledge (P<0.05)5. Left-behind children have a positive attitude to nutritional and food safety. More than70%children consider it is necessary to learn nutritional and food safety knowledge; comparing with non-boarding students and the students with middle-lower school records, boarding left-behind children and those with good school records show a more positive attitude to nutritional knowledge learning (P<0.05)6. Left-behind children don’t have reasonable dietary structures; nearly40%don’t eat breakfast on time; more than30%eat too much in supper; less than40%eat dairy products and fruit everyday. Gender, grade, boarding, family income, school record, interval for parents returning home and the number of contacts don’t have significant effects on left-behind children’s nutritional practice (P>0.05)7. Nearly50%left-behind children get nutritional knowledge through teachers’teaching and hope a nutritional and foods safety education to be conducted in the form of lecture.8.Left-behind children’s awareness rate of nutritional knowledge is significantly lower than that of un-left-behind children; in the comparison of the nutritional attitudes, nutritional practices, approaches to get nutritional knowledge and favorite forms of left-behind and un-left-behind children, there is no significant difference (P>0.05), and nutritional knowledge, attitude and practice show significant positive correlations (P<0.05).9. Four factors of living quality including social psychological function, physical&psychological health, living environment and living quality satisfaction degree, and the total score of living quality all have significant positive correlations with nutritional knowledge, attitude and practice (P<0.05)10. From the interviews of teachers with stay-at-home children, the teachers believe that the parents going out for work have two main impacts on stay-at-home children:the lack of family education and academic problems. It is generally considered that it is necessary to carry out mental health and nutrition and health education; the most prominent problem of stay-at-home children is children’s emotional loneliness, and these children look forward to more contact with their parents.Conclusion1. The living quality of left-behind children in rural areas is generally low and on a middle-low level. Gender, boarding, school record, family income, interval for parents returning home and the number of contacts are all main factors affecting left-behind children’s living quality.2. The living quality of left-behind children is generally lower than that of un-left-behind children, main reflected in factors of teacher-student relationship, peer relationship, self-concept, life convenience, and self-satisfaction degree.3. Left-behind children in rural areas don’t have sufficient nutritional&food safety knowledge or a high awareness rate of knowledge; they have unreasonable dietary structures and weak food safety awareness, but they have positive attitudes and are willing to attend related knowledge lectures.4. Left-behind children have an awareness rate of nutritional knowledge significantly lower than that of non-left-behind children, but two groups of children both show positive attitudes; their approaches to knowledge and education forms hoped to have are undiversified, mainly are teacher’s lectures; they all ignore regular diet and balanced nutrition.5. Left-behind children in rural areas have a poor living quality and unoptimistic nutritional health situation, and their overall living quality is low. |
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