Abstract:

Using the survey data of 2,385 new generation migrant workers, the relationship between left-behind experience in childhood and individual withdrawal personality was investigated through relevant behavioral tendency variables. The results showed that those with left-behind experience were more likely to “not express labor rights complaints for fear of being fired or being dealt with despitely”, showing a relatively withdrawal personality characteristics. Among them, those who had been left-behind during preschool period are most significant influenced, and the longer been left-behind, the greater the influence. The robustness of the above conclusion was verified by comparison analysis before and after propensity score matching and reference analysis of the willingness variable of “whether or not willing to participate in rights movement to fight for oneself” and the behavior variable of “not to complain about the infringement of rights for fear of revenge”. This paper focuses on the measurement of behavioral tendency in real situations to verify the conclusions drawn from psychological scale and qualitative research, and shows that the long-term influence of left-behind experience on withdrawal personality can be extended from college students and other groups to ordinary migrant workers. The results also indicate that in addition to structural logic and historical logic, the study of new generation of migrant workers should be integrated into the ecological logic to pay attention to the developmental ecosystem in childhood. Because withdrawal personality will directly affect social integration and probably lead to social structure tension of “semi-urbanization”, the future care and protection of left-behind children should pay more attention to their personality development, and special attention should be paid to those children left-behind in preschool stage.

Key words: left-behind experience, left-behind children, withdrawal personality, new generation migrant workers, floating population