Understanding the impact of cross-border migration on children’s well-being in Mainland China and Hong Kong

Abstract

The colonial history of Hong Kong and its evolving immigration policies have shaped a unique composition of school-aged children from diverse residential and educational backgrounds. This study identified four types of students involved in the context of cross-border migration and examined the impacts of migration status, residential location, school location, and migration strategy on a wide set of indicators of children’s well-being. Based on a cross-sectional survey in mainland China and Hong Kong, a sample of 2,610 students was included in the analysis, including 348 New Immigrant Students (NIS), 445 Cross-border Students (CBS), 1,387 Hong Kong Local Students (HKLS), and 430 Hong-Kong born students in mainland China (HKMS). 25 indicators from 5 dimensions (physical health, mental health, resilience, educational outcomes, and interpersonal relationships) were selected to measure children’s well-being. Results of propensity score matching methods showed that NIS significantly outperformed HKLS, especially in indicators of mental health, resilience, educational outcomes, and interpersonal relationships; CBS and HKLS fared similarly across almost all well-being indicators; school location and family migration strategy brought both benefits and harms to children’s well-being. Findings of this study revealed that cross-border migration was complicated and its impact on children’s well-being was multi-faceted. This study contributed to the literature by providing a complete and comprehensive picture of the consequences of cross-border migration.