XJ Zhang, Y Zhang, H Yang, YJ Zhang, LQ Jiang, SL Liu, Y Bi, YX Liu, J Chen, XP Wei, TY Li

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the neurodevelopment of left-behind children younger than 3 years old, a total of 289 children under 3 years old in a town in China enrolled in this study. Methods: We measure children's developmental quotients (DQs) in motor, adaptive, language, and social areas by the Gesell Developmental Schedules (GDS) for 0- to 3-year-old children. Results: For children under 3 years, It was found that comparisons of the mean scores showed that mean DQs were higher in control group but not significantly except adaptive area in this study. There was higher frequencies of developmental delay in all DQ areas in left-behind group compared to control group, with the difference was significant for delay in the adaptive, social areas and average. Conclusion: The findings suggest that, in a certain degree, non-parental care may affect the neurodevelopment of left-behind children under 3 years old living in the town. Effective measures should be taken to improve the life quality of left-behind children.