Lawrence Palinkas Qiaobing Wu University of Southern California
Along with the flood of rural residents migrating to urban areas in search of employment opportunities and better quality of life, migrant children have become one of the fastest growing segments of the population in mainland China. However, government policies designed to control the flow of migration make these children ineligible for basic social services, placing them at higher risk of developing psychosocial problems such as depression, aggression, low self-esteem, and poor life satisfaction, which may undermine their future development and cause other social problems. Unfortunately, there has been little research to date to understand their psychosocial adjustment and its social determinants. This dissertation research applies the social capital theoretical framework to investigate the psychosocial adjustment of migrant children in mainland China. It has two specific aims: 1) to identify the mechanism by which social capital embedded in the family, peer, school, and community influences the psychosocial adjustment of migrant children; and 2) to investigate how the personal agency of migrant children, that is, their initiative and actual efforts in generating and mobilizing social capital, influences the development and use of social capital as well as its effects on their psychosocial adjustment. Research questions guiding this study include: How do family, peer, school, and community social capital influence the psychosocial adjustment of migrant children in the Chinese social context? How do their effects differ from each other? How do they interact with each other through mediating or moderating pathways to exert a specific effect? And how does children's personal agency influence the functioning of social capital on their psychosocial adjustment? The study will employ a mixed-method design. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups will be conducted first to develop and refine measures of social capital and children's personal agency. Then a survey will be conducted with 810 4th-9th grade migrant children in Shanghai, home to the largest population of rural migrants living in urban areas of China.
This dissertation research will advance social capital theory by illuminating the multidimensional nature of social capital and its effects, and by clarifying the role of the child's personal agency in the functioning of social capital on child psychosocial adjustment. It also advances the theory by validating it in a non-western socio-cultural context, thus potentially enhancing its universal applicability. A better understanding of the function of social capital will be informative for policymakers and practitioners charged with allocating limited resources and efforts in a most efficient way to promote the health and well-being of migrant children. Understanding the role of the child's personal agency will be critical in developing programs that encourage migrant children to engage more in the relationships within their family, peer, school, and community, thus building the stock of social capital for the enhancement of their well-being, as well as for the good of society. The knowledge and implications for policy and practice are not limited to China, but are informative and applicable to the United States and other nations impacted by migration. Finally, the research process will also facilitate building stronger connections with scholars and institutions in mainland China, which paves the way for future research collaborations in broader areas.
