Maternal Absence and Preschoolers’ Social-Emotional Development In Father-Migrant Families: The Role of Parent-Child Interaction and Relational Support

Background and Aims: In rural China, rapid labor migration has reshaped parenting arrangements and caregiving norms in families, resulting in increasing numbers of young children experiencing prolonged parental separation (Shi et al., 2021a; UNICEF, 2020). Within a sociocultural context where mothers traditionally serve as primary caregivers and emotional anchors in early childhood (Bai et al., 2022), maternal non-residence may represent a significant reorganization of children’s relational environments. While developmental risks among left-behind children are well documented (Fellmeth et al., 2018; Shi et al., 2021a; Shi et al., 2021b), fewer studies isolate the additional association of maternal non-residence within father-migrant families. Moreover, limited attention has been given to relational processes linking maternal absence and early socio-emotional development (Bai et al., 2022; Chen et al., 2019; Qu et al., 2020; Yue et al., 2020). Drawing on a relational perspective, this study examines (1) whether maternal non-residence is associated with preschoolers’ social-emotional development within father-migrant families, (2) whether parent–child interaction functions as a mediating pathway, and (3) whether this pathway varies across levels of extended family caregiving, community support, and peer interaction.

Methods: Our data were drawn from the 2022-2024 Survey of Early Education, Development, and Strengths (SEEDS) in China. The analytic sample included 1,082 preschool-aged (3–5 years) left-behind children whose fathers were non-resident; 440 also experienced maternal absence.We employed Structural equation modeling (SEM) to estimate mediation pathways linking maternal non-residence, parent–child interaction time, and children’s social-emotional development. Bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals (1,000 resamples) were used to estimate indirect effects. Multi-group SEM analyses were conducted to examine heterogeneity across relational contexts. All Analyses were conducted in Stata 18.0 using two-tailed tests for statistical significance (p < .05).

Results: Descriptive statistics showed children experiencing maternal absence had significantly lower socio-emotional scores (M = −0.37 vs. −0.14, p < .001) and less parent–child interaction time (2.29 vs. 4.97 hours) than those living with mothers. Mediation model revealed that maternal non-residence was significantly associated with lower levels of social-emotional competence (β = −0.35, SE = 0.03, p < .001). This association operated indirectly through reduced parent–child interaction (indirect effect: β = −0.05, p < .05), accounting for 27.78% of the total effect. Group comparisons in SEM analyses represented descriptive differences in mediation patterns across levels of grandparent-based caregiving, community resources, and peer interaction, with weaker patterns observed in some higher-support groups. However, additional formal tests did not indicate statistically significant differences in indirect effects across groups.

Conclusion and Implications: The findings highlight the importance of parent–child engagement and broader relational environments in understanding developmental variation among preschool children in father-migrant families. Social work practice may prioritize strengthening family-centered supports, caregiver capacity, and community-based relational resources to promote early socio-emotional well-being, while recognizing that implications derive from associative evidence rather than causal inference.