Life quality study for grandparents-raised college students by means of SF-36 Scale

ObjectiveTo compare the college students' quality of life between grandparents-raised college students and parents-raised students.

MethodsA total of 492 undergraduates were randomly selected from Anhui Medical University, including 46 grandparents-raised college students, and 446 parents-raised college students. Nominative questionnaires were done for quality of life status and its influencing factors.

ResultsWith the included college students, the differences between grandparents-raised college students and parents-raised ones in the fields of physiological function (RF) and general health (GH) were statistically significant (P < 0.05). And in terms of gender, self-confidence, and the frequency of telephone-communication with their families, the differences between the two groups of students were also statistically significant (P < 0.05).

ConclusionGrandparents-raised students in the fields of physiological function and general health scores were lower than the parents-raised college students. Among them, there was higher proportion of females, lower self-confidence and more prolonged family calls, which might lead to the lower level of their living quality compared with the parents-raised students. It is held that enhancing grandparents-raised students' self-confidence and interpersonal skills is an effective way to improve their quality of life.