Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jan 15;21(1):45.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-020-03018-9.

Lasting effects of residential mobility during childhood on psychopathology among Chinese University students

Yingzhe Zhang  1   2   3   4 , Jeremy Coid  1   2   3 , Xiang Liu  4 , Yamin Zhang  1   2   3 , Huan Sun  1   2   3 , Xiaojing Li  1   2   3 , Wanjie Tang  5 , Qiang Wang  1   2   3 , Wei Deng  1   2   3 , Liansheng Zhao  1   2   3 , Xiaohong Ma  1   2   3 , Yajing Meng  1   2   3 , Mingli Li  1   2   3 , Huiyao Wang  1   2   3 , Ting Chen  1 , Qiuyue Lv  1   2   3 , Wanjun Guo  1   2   3 , Tao Li  6   7   8   9
Affiliations

Lasting effects of residential mobility during childhood on psychopathology among Chinese University students

Yingzhe Zhang et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Residential mobility during childhood increases risk of psychopathology in adulthood and is a common experience among Chinese children. This study investigated associations between number and age of first move, etiological risk factors for psychopathology, and common mental disorders in adolescence and early adulthood.

Methods: The sample included 39,531 undergraduates (84.5% completion rate) age 15-34 years in their first year at a Chinese comprehensive university in annual cross-sectional surveys during 2014-2018. Common mental disorders measured using standardised self-report instruments. Data analysed using logistic regression models and interaction analysis.

Results: Half of all students experienced one or more moves of residence before age 15 years. Outcomes of Depression, Somatisation, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Hallucinations and Delusions, and Suicide attempts showed dose-response relationships with increasing number of moves. Other etiological risk factors, including childhood disadvantage and maltreatment, showed similar dose response relationships but did not confound associations with mobility. We found interactions between reporting any move and being a left-behind child on depression and somatisation; number of moves and younger age at first move on depression, somatisation, suicide attempts and hallucinations and delusions.

Conclusions: Residential mobility in childhood is associated with psychopathology in adulthood and this association increases with increasing number of moves. Mobility is also associated with childhood disadvantage and maltreatment but associations with psychopathology are independent of these factors. Multiplicative effects were shown for multiple moves starting at a younger age and if the participant had been a left-behind child.

Keywords: Childhood maltreatment; Developmental timing; Psychiatric morbidity; Residential mobility; Student mental health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Fellmeth G, Rose-Clarke K, Zhao CY, Busert LK, Zheng YT, Massazza A, et al. Health impacts of parental migration on left-behind children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. 2018;392(10164):2567–2582. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32558-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhao CY, Egger HL, Stein CR, McGregor KA. Separation and reunification: mental health of Chinese children affected by parental migration. Pediatrics. 2018;142:3. doi: 10.1542/peds.2018-0313. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Merrick MT, Henly M, Turner HA, David-Ferdon C, Hamby S, Kacha-Ochana A, et al. Beyond residential mobility: a broader conceptualization of instability and its impact on victimization risk among children. Child Abuse Negl. 2018;79:485–494. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.01.029. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rumbold AR, Giles LC, Whitrow MJ, Steele EJ, Davies CE, Davies MJ, et al. The effects of house moves during early childhood on child mental health at age 9 years. BMC Public Health. 2012;12:583. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-583. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Holmes T, Rahe R. The social readjustment rating scale. J Psychosom Res. 1967;11:213–218. doi: 10.1016/0022-3999(67)90010-4. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources