Children migrating to cities with their parents and children left
behind in rural counties are two vulnerable populations resulting
from the ruraleurban migration in mainland China. Some of these
children have even experienced both conditions due to their par-
ents' return migration or other family decisions. Despite a growing
body of literature on the mental health of migrant and left-behind
children, no previous study has tried to distinguish the various
experiences of migrant or being left-behind, or both, that might
contribute to children's well-being. This study aimed to investigate
how the different experiences of parental migration influenced the
mental health status of children living in rural China. Moreover, it
investigated how the effects of the left-behind/migrant experiences
on mental health might be mediated by the stock of social capital in
their family and neighborhood.