Doctoral Dissertation Research: Development and Use of Social Capital in the Psychosocial Adjustment of Migrant Children

吴乔兵南加州大学沿着大批农村居民迁移到城市寻找就业机会和更好的生活质量，流动儿童已成为中国大陆人口中增长最快的群体之一。然而，政府旨在控制移民流动的政策使这些儿童没有资格获得基本社会服务，使他们更有可能出现心理社会问题，如抑郁、攻击性、自尊心低和生活满意度差，这可能损害他们的未来发展，并造成其他社会问题。不幸的是，迄今为止，很少有研究来了解他们的心理社会调整及其社会决定因素。本研究运用社会资本理论框架，考察了流动儿童的心理社会适应状况。它有两个具体目标：1）确定家庭、同伴、学校和社区中的社会资本影响流动儿童心理社会适应的机制; 2）调查流动儿童的个人能动性，即他们在创造和调动社会资本方面的主动性和实际努力，如何影响社会资本的发展和使用及其对他们心理社会适应的影响。研究问题包括：家庭、同伴、学校和社区社会资本如何影响中国社会背景下流动儿童的心理社会适应？它们的效果有何不同？它们如何通过中介或调节途径相互作用以产生特定的效果？儿童的个人能动性如何影响社会资本在其心理社会适应中的作用？ 本研究将采用混合方法设计。首先将进行半结构化访谈和焦点小组，以制定和完善社会资本和儿童个人能动性的衡量标准。然后将对上海810名4 - 9年级的流动儿童进行调查，上海是中国城市地区最大的农村流动人口的家园。本论文的研究将通过阐明社会资本的多维度性质及其影响，并通过阐明儿童的个人能动性在社会资本对儿童心理社会适应的作用中的作用，推进社会资本理论。它还通过在非西方社会文化背景下验证该理论来推进该理论，从而可能增强其普遍适用性。更好地了解社会资本的功能，将为负责以最有效的方式分配有限资源和努力促进移徙儿童健康和福祉的政策制定者和从业人员提供信息。了解儿童个人能动性的作用，对于制定鼓励移徙儿童更多地参与家庭、同伴、学校和社区关系的方案至关重要，从而为增进他们的福祉和社会利益积累社会资本。这些知识和对政策和实践的影响不仅限于中国，而且对美国和其他受移民影响的国家也是有益的。最后，研究过程也将促进与中国大陆学者和机构建立更紧密的联系，为未来更广泛领域的研究合作铺平道路。

SES-0728384Lawrence PalinkasQiaobing WuUniversity 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.