Psychological Well-being of Rural Left-behind Women in Northwest China and Its Associated Factors: a Regional, Population-based Study

Overview

Journal Front Public Health

Specialty Public Health

Date 2025 Jan 3

PMID 39749234

Authors

Fang Niu

Xiang Wang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: Growing awareness has highlighted the challenging living condition faced by rural left-behind women (RLW), yet their psychological well-being has not been fully investigated. This study aims to investigate the psychological well-being of RLW in Northwest China and exploring its associated factors.

Samples And Methods: A total of 697 RLW from five provincial regions were enrolled. Sociodemographic characteristics were collected using a set of researcher-designed questionnaires. Depression, anxiety, and feeling of security were assessed using the Zung's self-rating depression scale (SDS), Zung's self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), and security questionnaire (SQ), respectively.

Results: The prevalences of depression and anxiety among RLW were 35.7 and 37.6%, respectively, and feelings of security was relatively low in RLW, with a mean SQ score of 50.16 ± 11.37. Chi-square tests and multiple linear regression analyses indicated that labor intensity, physical health conditions, marital satisfaction and stability, relationships with children, frequency of husband coming home, left-behind duration, domestic violence, and sexual harassment after husbands left were risk factors of psychological well-being of RLW.

Conclusion: These findings revealed that the psychological well-being of RLW in Northwest China is not promising, which should therefore, be given special attention. It is essential to prioritize the improvement of the psychological well-being for RLW by providing accessible and targeted supports and interventions tailored to cope with their challenges.

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