How Migrant Families Support Children's Trust in Themselves and Their Caregivers in Rural China

To inform policy making and programs targeting the welfare of Chinese families from rural communities who face parental migration, I explored how caregivers and other possible significant others fostered children’s attachment security and socioemotional and academic wellbeing. In an ethnic village located in the Southwest of China, thirty children and their parents (n=21) and grandparents (n=24) volunteered to share their understanding of optimal care, relational experiences, and naturalistic interactions. Observational and iterative thematic analyses revealed six forms of secure base support, such as supporting educational attainment, providing daily life necessities, and ensuring health and hygiene. They were positively related to children’s attachment security, emotional balance, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and academic achievement motivations to various degrees. Practices adapted from Western industrialized families also showed some applicability to the families. Additionally, a network of support was detected, including parents, grandparents, siblings, and peers. They contributed to children’s sense of security in various ways, such as quality communications and doing activities together. These patterns provided evidence-based suggestions for policy making in promoting rural Chinese families’ welfare. They also supported the ecocultural framework of attachment theory, indicating that the forms of secure base support vary by cultures.