Measuring the sense of security of children left behind in China

Our primary purpose in this study was to determine the structure of sense of security of children left behind in China, and to develop and validate a suitable measure for this. Participants were 1,836 pupils at rural Chinese schools, 100 of whom completed open surveys and semistructured interviews, 289 of whom completed the preliminary survey, and 1,447 of whom completed the final survey. An exploratory factor analysis resulted in a 5-factor solution, comprising 26 items that explained 56.08% of the variance. A confirmatory factor analysis replicated the initial factor structure, indicating satisfactory goodness-of-fit and internal consistency. The reliability and validity of the resulting Questionnaire of Sense of Security for Children Left Behind has considerable potential for use in the context of rural China for research about children who have been left behind.