Abstract
Utilizing panel data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2010–2022, this study identifies parental migration experience between ages 0 and 12 and constructs an Individual Multidimensional Development Index (IMDI) using the entropy-weighting method to examine the long-term association between childhood left-behind experience and individual development. The results show that early left-behind experience is significantly and negatively associated with individuals’ multidimensional development in adulthood, and this association remains robust after controlling for individual, household, and regional characteristics. Regarding migration patterns, the negative association for dual-parent migration is stronger than that for single-parent migration; when parental roles are distinguished, maternal migration is associated with a significant negative association, whereas paternal migration shows limited compensatory patterns. Heterogeneity analyses further reveal that the long-term adverse consequences of left-behind experience are primarily concentrated in cognitive ability, mental health, and educational attainment, with no significant effect observed for non-cognitive skills; moreover, these negative effects are more pronounced among individuals from urban hukou backgrounds, males, and those residing in the eastern region. These findings highlight the need to reduce parent–child separation and provide targeted support for left-behind children and their families to mitigate long-term disadvantage.