Understanding the Impact of Cross-Border Migration on Children’s Well-Being in Mainland China and Hong Kong
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7147305 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Qiaobing Wu (0000-0003-4844-2011, Hong Kong Polytechnic University), Hui Qiu (0000-0001-9283-515X, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 1535-1557 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Applied Research in Quality of Life (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1871-2576 • E-ISSN: 1871-2584 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11482-025-10481-7 |
| OpenAlex | W4411939029 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 45 |
The colonial history of Hong Kong and its evolving immigration policies have shaped a unique composition of school-aged children from diverse residential and educational backgrounds. This study identified four types of students involved in the context of cross-border migration and examined the impacts of migration status, residential location, school location, and migration strategy on a wide set of indicators of children’s well-being. Based on a cross-sectional survey in mainland China and Hong Kong, a sample of 2,610 students was included in the analysis, including 348 New Immigrant Students (NIS), 445 Cross-border Students (CBS), 1,387 Hong Kong Local Students (HKLS), and 430 Hong-Kong born students in mainland China (HKMS). 25 indicators from 5 dimensions (physical health, mental health, resilience, educational outcomes, and interpersonal relationships) were selected to measure children’s well-being. Results of propensity score matching methods showed that NIS significantly outperformed HKLS, especially in indicators of mental health, resilience, educational outcomes, and interpersonal relationships; CBS and HKLS fared similarly across almost all well-being indicators; school location and family migration strategy brought both benefits and harms to children’s well-being. Findings of this study revealed that cross-border migration was complicated and its impact on children’s well-being was multi-faceted. This study contributed to the literature by providing a complete and comprehensive picture of the consequences of cross-border migration
China · Development economics · Economic geography · Economics · Geography · Mainland China · Political science · Public health · Quality of Life Research · Regional science · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies
Society and the Adolescent Self-Image
Ecological Systems Theory
Advancing acculturation theory and research
The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS)
The Satisfaction With Life Scale
Assimilation, Integration and the Construction of Identity
The development of Hong Kong housing market
Frequent border‐crossing children and cultural membership
Mental Health and Social Competence of Mainland Chinese Immigrant and Local Youth in Hong Kong
Nested or Networked? Future Directions for Ecological Systems Theory
Diaspora at home’
Ethnicity, cultural disparity and residential mobility
Educational Aspirations of Minority Youth
Mobility, belongingness and schooling experiences of Chinese cross-border students
Contribution of family and school factors to the health and wellbeing of cross-border, new immigrant and local students in Hong Kong
Differential Impacts of Stressful Life Events and Social Support on the Mental Health of Mainland Chinese Immigrant and Local Youth in Hong Kong
Making ways for ‘better education’
Investigating challenges and family resilience among Chinese families with cross‐boundary students
Acculturation
Trapped in the current of mobilities
Investigating the differential mobility experiences of Chinese cross-border students
Assimilation in American Life
Social capital and the mental health of children in rural China with different experiences of parental migration
Envisioned Belonging
Effects of Parental Involvement on Eighth-Grade Achievement
Stress and Coping among Migrant and Local-Born Adolescents in Hong Kong
Divergent Destinies
The Causal Effects of Rural-to-Urban Migration on Children's Well-being in China
Hopes and Hurdles
Trends in Child Poverty in Hong Kong Immigrant Families
| Highly cited | No |
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