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<p>China’s urban-rural dual structure creates unequal developmental environments for children and adolescents, yet research on urban-rural differences in child abuse and its effects remains limited. This research addressed this gap by analyzing survey data collected from 8,612 adolescents (M <sub>age</sub> = 12.82 years, SD = 1.22; 49.47% girls) from ten Chinese provinces. The study’s findings revealed three principal insights. First, emotional abuse was significantly more prevalent among rural adolescents compared to their urban counterparts. Second, both physical and emotional abuse demonstrated positive associations with mental health problems and increased delinquent behaviors among Chinese adolescents. Third, urban adolescents exhibit a greater vulnerability to mental health problems following emotional abuse, whereas rural adolescents are more prone to delinquent behavior after experiencing such abuse. Notably, no such heterogeneity was observed in physical abuse. Policymakers and frontline practitioners must develop and implement context-specific intervention strategies that acknowledge and address the unique sociocultural environments of both urban and rural areas.</p>

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Child Abuse, Mental health, and Delinquent Behaviors among Chinese Adolescents: Rural and Urban Differences

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月10日

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  • Gaoran Chen,
  • Guowei Wan,
  • Muyuan Luo,
  • Wei Guo

摘要

China’s urban-rural dual structure creates unequal developmental environments for children and adolescents, yet research on urban-rural differences in child abuse and its effects remains limited. This research addressed this gap by analyzing survey data collected from 8,612 adolescents (M age = 12.82 years, SD = 1.22; 49.47% girls) from ten Chinese provinces. The study’s findings revealed three principal insights. First, emotional abuse was significantly more prevalent among rural adolescents compared to their urban counterparts. Second, both physical and emotional abuse demonstrated positive associations with mental health problems and increased delinquent behaviors among Chinese adolescents. Third, urban adolescents exhibit a greater vulnerability to mental health problems following emotional abuse, whereas rural adolescents are more prone to delinquent behavior after experiencing such abuse. Notably, no such heterogeneity was observed in physical abuse. Policymakers and frontline practitioners must develop and implement context-specific intervention strategies that acknowledge and address the unique sociocultural environments of both urban and rural areas.