Self-Esteem among Migrant Children in China

Bo Zhou, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY)

In 2012, there were over 18 million migrant children in China. Studies showed that rural-to-urban migrant children had significantly lower self-esteem than the urban non-migrant children, but the determinant factors have not been analyzed thoroughly. In this paper, I used data from the 2002 China Nine-City Survey of Migrant Children to examine what factors may affect migrant children's self-esteem. The results of data analysis showed that poor living condition, anxiety of being discriminated against and exposure to neighborhood crime can lead to lower self-esteem migrant children. My findings suggested that if the government gradually allow more migrants to enjoy the benefits for locals, such as state-owned low-rent apartments, rural-to-urban migrant children would have less low self-esteem problem.