Exploring Relational Dynamics Affecting Developmental Outcomes Among Rural Chinese Children

ABSTRACT Background Large‐scale parental migration has profoundly reshaped the relational environments of Chinese rural children, yet little is known about how their relationships across family, school, peers, and community jointly influence their academic and psychological adjustments. Objectives Anchored in spillover theory and the compensatory hypothesis, this study adopted a person‐centered approach to identify latent relationship classes among rural non‐left‐behind (NLB) students and those left behind by two parents (LBT), and to examine their associations with educational and psychological outcomes. Methods Survey data were collected from 2501 junior high school students ( M age = 13.47) in rural China, including 763 NLB and 1738 LBT students. Results Latent class analyses revealed five distinct relationship profiles in both groups, ranging from broadly supportive relationships across all systems to profiles marked by diffuse or school‐based relational difficulties. Across NLB and LBT samples, adolescents in profiles characterized by consistently close relationships reported better educational and psychological outcomes than other profiles. Two‐way ANOVA further indicated a significant class × group interaction for educational aspiration, with class‐based differences being smaller among LBT than NLB. Conclusion The findings highlight the developmental importance of relational configurations and underscore how parental migration might shape rural children's social relationships and further the implications of the social relationship on children's academic and psychological outcomes.