Objectives This study is to investigate the role of cognitive emotion regulation in the relationship between parenting styles and health risk behavior in left-behind children. Methods Totally, 404 left-behind children were surveyed with the Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran (EMBU), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Chinese Version (CERQ-C) and the Adolescent Health Related Risky Behavior Inventory (AHRBI). Results The results showed that: (1) The health risk behaviors of left-behind children were significantly negatively correlated with authoritative parenting styles (r = -0.46 t...