Health-related quality of life and influencing factors among migrant children in Shaoxing, China

BACKGROUND: Due to increasing export of labor service, many children following their parents leave from rural areas to urban areas in China. These migrant children might have psychological stress and lower quality of life. However, even up to this day, little is known about the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the migrant children. This study aims at investigating their living conditions and exploring the influencing factors of migrant children’s HRQoL. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 856 migrant children, aged between 7 and 17, was conducted in Shaoxing. The 4 PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales (Physical, Emotional, Social, School) were administered to reveal migrant children’s quality of life, while demographic data questionnaire, Egna Minnen av. Barndoms Uppfostran and Social Support Rating Scale were used to reflect the influencing factors. RESULTS: For 824 effective questionnaires(all items were completed without any inconsistency in a questionnaire and all the information in the questionnaire is believable), the average age of these children was 12.80 ± 1.91.The average years that they stayed in Shaoxing were 6.41 years. The average score of HRQoL was 81.13 ± 10.77, Physical Functioning was 84.83 ± 12.49, Emotional Functioning was 71.32 ± 18.34, Social Functioning was 86.28 ± 14.12, and School Functioning was79.28 ± 13.16. There was no obvious difference (F = 0.138, P = 0.711) between boys and girls as for PedsQL. The score of PedsQL did not show significant association with migrant children’s gender and their school records, while school grade, the relationships with classmates, parental rearing style and social support showed significant correlations. Linear regression analysis showed that mother’s rejection, subjective support, father’s rejection, relationships with classmates, mother’s overprotection and level of using social support were influencing factors on PedsQL of migrant children. CONCLUSIONS: Migrant children scored lower on health-related quality of life, which was associated with parental rejection, mother’s overprotection, less subjective support, badly getting along with classmates and that they cannot use social support well.