Cumulative risk and mental health of left-behind children in China

This study investigated the association between cumulative risk (CR) and mental health of left-behind children in China and the underlying mechanism involved, specifically the mediating role of coping style and the moderating role of gratitude in this association. Random cluster sampling method was applied to collect data on CR, coping style, gratitude, life satisfaction, and depression from 705 left-behind children (374 boys, mean age=12.20±1.25). Results revealed that:(1) the moderated mediation model of CR and depression was significant: coping style mediated the relationship between CR and depression, and gratitude moderated this mediating effect with gratitude strengthening the negative association between CR and coping style; (2) Gratitude moderated the relationship between CR and life satisfaction and it also strengthened the negative association between CR and life satisfaction. The findings suggest that the mechanisms of coping style may differ in the relationships between CR and positive and negative indicators of mental health in left-behind children and gratitude as a protective factor has limited capacity to buffer the negative effect of accumulated risk.