Suchergebnisse

China&rsquo ; s competitive education system has produced notably high learning outcomes, but they may be costly. One potential cost is high levels of anxiety. China has launched several initiatives aimed at improving student mental health. However, little is known about how effective these programs and policies are. The goal of this paper was to examine anxiety levels among children and adolescents in rural China, and to identify which subpopulations were particularly vulnerable to anxiety. Data were aggregated from 10 different school-level surveys conducted in rural areas of five provinces between 2008 and 2015. In total, 50,361 students were evaluated using the 100-item, nine-subcategory Mental Health Test (a variation of the Children&rsquo ; s Manifest Anxiety Scale). Seven percent of students were at risk for overall anxiety. However, over half of students were at risk for at least one subcategory of anxiety. Students at higher risk for anxiety included students from poorer counties and families, female students, secondary school students, and students with lower levels of academic performance. Many students in rural China are at risk for anxiety, and certain student subpopulations are particularly vulnerable. We suggest that China&rsquo ; s government review and update student mental health programs and policies.

Between 1979 and 2010 local leaders and rural families across China concealed the existence of millions of girls from government officials and the national census. The single child policy (1979-2015) was introduced in 1979, and the central government's goal was to reduce population growth through strict birth control. Yet, at the same time, many rural parents had strong incentives not to comply with the birth control policy because under economic reforms in the 1980s and 1990s, larger families meant increased labour and income. This book examines the effects of the policy and the status of China's 'missing' girls.

AbstractIn 2010, according to the sixth Chinese census, the sex ratio at birth (SRB) was 118 males for every 100 females. The global SRB average is about 105. Thus, the gap between 118 and 105 is made up of "missing girls." Scholars present three main explanations for the skewed SRB statistic: sex-selective abortion, infanticide and delayed or late registration. Most studies take a demographic and cultural approach to explain the high SRB. However, we believe the story of the "missing girls" is also an administrative one and adopt the street-level bureaucrat theory of policy implementation to explain the pervasiveness of late registration in rural China. We use descriptive statistics derived from the 1990, 2000 and 2010 census data to identify the "missing girls." We believe the combination of late registration and unreported births may point to a larger proportion of "missing girls" than previously reported from the SRB statistic.

In 2010, according to the sixth Chinese census, the sex ratio at birth (SRB) was 118 males for every 100 females. The global SRB average is about 105. Thus, the gap between 118 and 105 is made up of "missing girls." Scholars present three main explanations for the skewed SRB statistic: sex-selective abortion, infanticide and delayed or late registration. Most studies take a demographic and cultural approach to explain the high SRB. However, we believe the story of the "missing girls" is also an administrative one and adopt the street-level bureaucrat theory of policy implementation to explain the pervasiveness of late registration in rural China. We use descriptive statistics derived from the 1990, 2000 and 2010 census data to identify the "missing girls." We believe the combination of late registration and unreported births may point to a larger proportion of "missing girls" than previously reported from the SRB statistic. (China Q/GIGA)

Visual impairment is common among rural Chinese children, but fewer than a quarter of children who need glasses actually own and use them. To study the effect of rural county hospital vision centers (VC) on self-reported glasses ownership and wearing behavior (primary outcome) among rural children in China, we conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial at a VC in the government hospital of Qinan County, a nationally-designated poor county. All rural primary schools (n = 164) in the county were invited to participate. Schools were randomly assigned to either the treatment group to receive free vision care and eyeglasses, if needed, or control group, who received glasses only at the end of the study. Among 2806 eligible children with visiual impairment (visual acuity &le ; 6/12 in either eye), 93 (3.31%) were lost to follow-up, leaving 2713 students (45.0% boys). Among these, glasses ownership at the end of the school year was 68.6% among 1252 treatment group students (82 schools), and 26.4% (p < ; 0.01) among 1461 controls (82 schools). The rate of wearing glasses was 55.2% in the treatment group and 23.4% (p < ; 0.01) among the control group. In logistic regression models, treatment group membership was significantly associated with spectacle ownership (Odds Ratio [OR] = 11.9, p < ; 0.001) and wearing behavior (OR = 7.2, p < ; 0.001). County hospital-based vision centers appear effective in delivering childrens&rsquo ; glasses in rural China.