Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Problem Statement and Rationale of the Study
1.2 The Goal of the Study
Chapter 2 Literature Review
2.1 Left-Behind Children and Migrant Parents in China
2.1.1 Phenomenon of Left-Behind Children
2.1.2 Definition of Left-Behind Children
2.1.3 Communication Between Left-Behind Children and Migrant Parents
2.2 Theoretical Perspective: Four-Level Metaperspective on Relational Maintenance
2.2.1 Definition of Relational Maintenance
2.2.2 Four-Level Context of Maintenance
2.3 The Self Context: Imagined Interactions
2.3.1 Definitions and Theoretical Foundations of IIs
2.3.2 Functions of IIs
2.3.3 Attributes of IIs
2.3.4 IIs in Maintaining Relationships
2.4 The System Context. Relational Maintenance Behaviors
2.4.1 Perspectives on Relational Maintenance
2.4.2 Types of Relational Maintenance Behaviors
2.4.3 Maintaining Long Distance Parent-Child Relationships
2.4.4 Relational Maintenance Behaviors and Relationship Outcomes
2.5 The Network Context: Grandparents' Support
2.5.1 Family Support
2.5.2 Grandparents as Caregivers
2.6 Hypotheses and Research Questions
2.6.1 IIs and Their Association With Relationship Quality
2.6.2 Relational Maintenance Behaviors and Their Association With Relationship Quality
2.6.3 Support and Relationship Quality
2.6.4 Communication and Its Association With IIs and Relationship Quality
2.6.5 IIs, Relational Maintenance Behaviors, Support, and Relationship Quality
Chapter 3 Methodology
3.1 Pilot Study
3.1.1 Participants and Procedures
3.1.2 Measurements
3.1.3 Results of the Pilot Study
3.2 Main Study
3.2.1 Participants and Procedures
3.2.2 Measurements
3.2.3 Statistical Analysis
Chapter 4 Results
4.1 Background Characteristics
4.1.1 Participants' Demographic Information
4.1.2 Parent-Child Communication
4.2 Findings of the Proposed Research Questions and Hypotheses
4.2.1 IIs and Their Association With Relationship Quality
4.2.2 Relational Maintenance Behaviors and Their Association With Relationship Quality
4.2.3 Support and Relationship Quality
4.2.4 Communication and Its Association With IIs and Relationship Quality
4.2.5 IIs, Relational Maintenance Behaviors, Support, and Relationship Quality
Chapter 5 Discussion
5.1 Theoretical Implications
5.1.1 A Systems Approach to Parent-Child Relationship Maintenance
5.1.2 Three-Level Maintenance and Relationship Quality
5.1.3 Other Important Findings
5.2 Practical Applications
5.3 Limitations and Directions for Future Research
5.3.1 Culture Level of Relational Maintenance
5.3.2 Developmental Issues in Parent-Child Relationship Maintenance
5.3.3 Research Frame and Design
5.4 Conclusion
Appendices
Appendix A Demographic Information and Communication Between Left-Behind Children and Migrant Parents
Appendix B Modified Survey of Imagined Interactions
Appendix C Perceptions of Parents' Relational Maintenance
Appendix D Modified Family Subscale from the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support
Appendix E The Perceived Relationship Quality Component (PRQC) Inventory
References