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.

目的：為研究3歲以下留守兒童的神經發育狀況，本課題在中國一個城鎮納入總共289名3歲以下兒童進行研究。方法：根據0-3歲兒童Gesell發育量表（GDS, Gesell Developmental Schedules），我們測量了這些兒童在運動、適應性能力、語言和社交領域的發育商數（DQs, developmental quotients）。結果：與留守兒童相比，除適應性能力外，對照組的平均DQs較高，但無顯著性。在所有DQ領域，留守兒童組比對照組有更高頻率的發育遲滯，並且在適應性能力和社交領域的發育遲滯較為顯著。結論：研究結果顯示，在缺乏父母關懷的情況下，這對3歲以下留守兒童的神經發育有一定程度上的影響。有關方面應該採取有效措施改善留守兒童的生活質素和成長所需。