| Characteristics of children | LBC (n = 365) | NLBC (n = 721) | χ2 | P |
|---|
| N | % | N | % |
|---|
| Sex |
| Female | 186 | 51.0 | 405 | 56.2 | 2.45 | 0.117 |
| Male | 179 | 49.0 | 316 | 43.8 | | |
| Ethnicity |
| Han | 358 | 98.1 | 700 | 97.1 | 0.60 | 0.439 |
| Others | 7 | 1.9 | 21 | 2.9 | | |
| Location |
| Village | 123 | 33.7 | 223 | 30.9 | 0.73 | 0.392 |
| Town | 242 | 66.3 | 498 | 69.1 | | |
| Type of school |
| Middle school | 181 | 49.6 | 298 | 41.3 | 6.37 | 0.012 |
| High school | 184 | 50.4 | 423 | 58.7 | | |
| Boarding student |
| Yes | 286 | 78.4 | 585 | 81.1 | 1.01 | 0.315 |
| No | 79 | 21.6 | 136 | 18.9 | | |
| Having sibling(s) |
| Yes | 92 | 25.2 | 164 | 22.8 | 0.68 | 0.409 |
| No | 273 | 74.8 | 557 | 77.3 | | |
| Parents divorced or passed away |
| Yes | 43 | 11.8 | 44 | 6.1 | 9.85 | 0.002 |
| No | 322 | 88.2 | 677 | 93.9 | | |
| Household income |
| Low | 69 | 18.9 | 119 | 16.5 | 3.25 | 0.197 |
| Middle | 275 | 75.3 | 574 | 79.6 | | |
| High | 21 | 5.8 | 28 | 3.9 | | |
| Class leader |
| Yes | 127 | 34.8 | 274 | 38.0 | 0.94 | 0.333 |
| No | 238 | 65.2 | 447 | 62.0 | | |
| Self-evaluation of academic performances |
| Bad | 74 | 20.3 | 124 | 17.2 | 2.85 | 0.583 |
| Below average | 55 | 15.1 | 119 | 16.5 | | |
| Average | 126 | 34.5 | 260 | 36.1 | | |
| Above average | 94 | 25.8 | 176 | 24.4 | | |
| Good | 16 | 4.4 | 42 | 5.8 | | |
- LBC left-behind children, NLBC non-left-behind children
