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