Drawing upon a sample of 806 migrant children in Beijing, China, this study investigated how community social capital, family social support, and children's resilience influenced multiple educational outcomes of Chinese migrant children. Results of structural equation modelling with latent variables suggested that higher levels of resilience were associated with better educational outcomes of migrant children, including more effort put into study, higher educational aspiration, and less intention to drop out of school. Children's resilience also mediated the effects of family social support and community social capital on educational outcomes. Family social support was predictive of migrant children's academic effort and drop-out plan, but not of their educational aspiration. Unexpectedly, community social capital was predictive of a higher intention of dropping out of school, despite its positive influences on all three educational outcomes through its significant effect on children's resilience. Implications of these findings for theory, social work practice and social policy are discussed.

The present study examines the structure and operation of social networks of information and advice and their role in making decisions as to whether to adopt new evidence-based practices (EBPs) among agency directors and other program professionals in 12 California counties participating in a large randomized controlled trial. Interviews were conducted with 38 directors, assistant directors, and program managers of county probation, mental health, and child welfare departments. Grounded-theory analytic methods were used to identify themes related to EBP adoption and network influences. A web-based survey collected additional quantitative information on members of information and advice networks of study participants. A mixed-methods approach to data analysis was used to create a sociometric data set (n = 176) for examination of associations between advice seeking and network structure. Systems leaders develop and maintain networks of information and advice based on roles, responsibility, geography, and friendship ties. Networks expose leaders to information about EBPs and opportunities to adopt EBPs; they also influence decisions to adopt EBPs. Individuals in counties at the same stage of implementation accounted for 83% of all network ties. Networks in counties that decided not to implement a specific EBP had no extra-county ties. Implementation of EBPs at the two-year follow-up was associated with the size of county, urban versus rural counties, and in-degree centrality. Collaboration was viewed as critical to implementing EBPs, especially in small, rural counties where agencies have limited resources on their own. Successful implementation of EBPs requires consideration and utilization of existing social networks of high-status systems leaders that often cut across service organizations and their geographic jurisdictions. NCT00880126

Parents are the most intimate and proximal influences on a child’s development. Migration-induced parental absence in rural China might pose a considerable threat to the educational development of left-behind children because of insufficient parent–child communication. Despite growing scholarly attention, we know little of the effect of parental migration on either parent–child communication or the educational expectations of rural students of different left-behind status (i.e., left behind by two parents; left behind by one parent; or living with both parents). Drawing upon the longitudinal data of the China Education Panel Survey (N = 2275), this study used a two-step path analysis to examine the interrelations among Chinese rural students’ left-behind status, received parent–child communication, and educational expectations. Parental migration negatively affected parent–child communication, and parent–child communication was positively correlated with rural children’s educational expectations. In addition, left-behind status moderated the association between parent–child communication and rural students’ educational expectations. We conclude that rural students’ left-behind status affects their educational expectations through parent–child communication. These results add to the existing understanding of how parental migration affects rural children’s educational expectations and indicates the protective effect of parent–child communication.

Using data from an international collaborative research project on youth resilience in the context of migration, this study aims to investigate how different acculturation patterns (i.e. integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization) influence the mental health of migrant youth, and whether resilience might function as a mediator in the association between acculturation and mental health. A cross-sectional pilot study conducted in six countries employing a common survey questionnaire. The study sample was 194 youths aged 10-17 years (median = 13.6) from six countries (Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, South Africa, and United Kingdom) and included cross-border and internal migrants. Mental health and well-being was measured by the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS). Resilience was measured by the Child and Youth Resilience Measure-28 (CYRM-28). Acculturation was assessed using the Acculturation, Habits, and Interests Multicultural Scale for Adolescents (AHIMSA). Multivariate regression and path analysis were performed to examine the hypothesized mediation model. Resilience scores correlated strongly with mental health and well-being. Acculturation exerted no significant direct effects on the mental health of migrant youths. Nevertheless, compared to youths who were integration-oriented, assimilation-oriented youths tended to exhibit lower levels of resilience, resulting in poorer mental health. Compared to youths from other countries, migrant youths from China also reported lower levels of resilience, which led to poorer mental health outcome. Acculturation plays a significant role in the mental health of migrant youth, with different acculturative orientations exhibiting different influences through the mediation effect of resilience. Fostering resilience and facilitating integration-oriented acculturation are recommended public health strategies for migrant youth.

Drawing upon a sample of 772 migrant children and their parents in Shanghai, China, this study employed an ecological framework to investigate how social capital embedded in a range of social contexts (family, school, peer and community) influenced the academic achievement of Chinese migrant children. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), the study results suggested that higher levels of family and school social capital were associated with better academic achievement of migrant children. Community social capital did not present a significant direct effect; however, it predicted children's academic performance indirectly through the mediating effects of family and school social capital. Unexpectedly, peer social capital appeared not to be associated with children's academic achievements. This research advances social capital theory by unravelling the mechanism through which multiple dimensions of social capital operate on youth development. The findings imply utilising social capital building as an innovative approach in social work practice and policy to improving the education of migrant children.