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BackgroundAlthough the health benefits of volunteering have been well documented, no research has examined its cumulative effects according to other-oriented and self-oriented volunteering on multiple health outcomes in the general adult public. This study examined other-oriented and self-oriented volunteering in cumulative contribution to health outcomes (mental and physical health, life satisfaction, social well-being and depression).MethodsData were drawn from the Survey of Texas Adults 2004, which contains a statewide population-based sample of adults (n = 1504). Multivariate linear regression and Wald test of parameters equivalence constraint were used to test the relationships.ResultsBoth forms of volunteering were significantly related to better health outcomes (odds ratios = 3.66% to 11.11%), except the effect of self-oriented volunteering on depression. Other-oriented volunteering was found to have better health benefits than did self-volunteering.ConclusionVolunteering should be promoted by public health, education and policy practitioners as a kind of healthy lifestyle, especially for the social subgroups of elders, ethnic minorities, those with little education, single people, and unemployed people, who generally have poorer health and less participation in volunteering.

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This paper analyzes a series of population census and by-census data from 1991 to 2006 to examine the economic adaptation of Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong, focusing on their employment, occupational and earnings attainment. We pay particular attention to the adaptation of immigrants over time, and the effect of changes in the (overall) quality of the immigration cohort as a result of the immigration policy shift after Hong Kong's reunification with China in 1997. Results show that at the time of entry, mainland immigrants were less likely to be employed, more likely to be trapped in elementary occupations and to be earning much less than the natives. As they stayed longer, the gaps tended to decrease, but most immigrants were unable to reach parity with the natives with respect to earnings throughout their working lives. Men generally adapted at a faster pace than women. While new immigrants after 1997 fared worse in terms of employment and occupational attainment compared to those who arrived earlier (before 1997), there is no evidence to suggest that the changing cohort quality had any significant effect on overall income inequality.

This paper examines the impact of migration on children's educational well-being by analyzing the micro-data from Chinese population censuses in 1990 and 2000 and minicensus in 2005. We match school-age children (6-15 years old) with their parents, and examine how migration status and parents' absence affect children's school enrollment. We also compare migrant children with their peers in both origin and destination counties. Results show that cross-county and cross-provincial migrant children are less likely to be enrolled in school than local children and within-county migrant children, and that children of rural hukou status are particularly disadvantaged in school enrollment over the whole examined period. Migrant children fare significantly worse than non-migrant children in both origins and destinations, although their disadvantages in school attendance tend to diminish as they spend more time in destinations.

BACKGROUND The complex impact of migration on children's development has received extensive attention in both developed and developing countries. In China, more than 100 million children are directly affected by the massive internal migration. OBJECTIVE This study investigates the impact of different migration processes (parental migration, child migration, and hukou conversion) on Chinese children's developmental outcomes, measured by their cognitive abilities, school engagement, school attachment, physical and mental health, educational aspirations, and confidence about the future. METHODS We analyze the data from a nationally representative, school-based survey covering approximately 20,000 children aged 12 to 16 in both rural and urban areas. We employ the propensity score matching method to ensure different groups of children are intrinsically comparable to each other. RESULTS Migration both brings benefits and imposes costs on children. Bringing rural children to cities significantly improves their school performance and physical health but also reduces their educational aspirations and increases their anxiety toward the future.

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