ABSTRACT
Objective@#A longitudinal study design was used to explore the effect of perceived discrimination on the psychological adaptation of children relocated to alleviate poverty.@*Methods@#Four hundred twenty six children who were relocated to alleviate poverty were measured three times using a perceived discrimination questionnaire, childhood depression inventory, and the Illinois loneliness questionnaire, the data were analyzed using a cross lag model.@*Results@#Depression and loneliness of children relocated to alleviate poverty had an increasing trend during the three surveys( F=18.79, 8.69, P <0.01). Perceived discrimination was positively correlated with depression and loneliness at the time points for the three surveys( r=0.23~0.55, P <0.01). Cross lag analysis showed that perceived discrimination in the pretest (Tn) significantly predicted posttest (Tn+1) depression ( β=0.16, 0.20, P < 0.01 ) and perceived discrimination at time 2 significantly predicted loneliness ( β=0.25, P <0.01) at time 3.@*Conclusion@#Perceived discrimination was shown to be an important factor affecting the psychological adaptation of children relocated to alleviate poverty.