Mental wellbeing amongst younger and older migrant workers in comparison to their urban counterparts in Guangzhou city, China: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundThere has been a dramatic increase in internal migrant workers in China over recent decades, and there is a recent concern of poor mental health particularly amongst younger or “new generation” migrants who were born in 1980 or later.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in Guangzhou city between May and July in 2012. Mental wellbeing was measured using the World Health Organization Five-item Well-Being Index Scale and the 36 Item Short Form Health Survey mental health scale. Linear and logistic regression models were used to investigate the differences between migrant workers and their urban counterparts and between younger and older migrants.ResultsMigrant workers (n = 914) showed a small but significant advantage in mental wellbeing compared to their urban counterparts (n = 814). There was some evidence for age modification effect (p for interaction = 0.055-0.095); better mental wellbeing in migrants than urbanites were mainly seen in the older compared to the younger group, and the difference attenuated somewhat after controlling for income satisfaction. Older migrants showed better mental health than younger migrants. Factors that were independently associated with poor mental health in migrants included being male, longer working hours, and income dissatisfaction, whilst older age, factory job, high income, and increased use of social support resources were associated with reduced risk.ConclusionsEfforts to promote mental health amongst migrant workers may be usefully targeted on younger migrants and include measures aimed to improve working conditions, strengthen the social support network, and address age-specific needs.

Intimate partner violence against married rural-to-urban migrant workers in eastern China: prevalence, patterns, and associated factors

“…Migrant workers could be divided into “first-generation” and “second-generation or new generation” migrant workers [18]. The first-generation migrant workers refer to those migrant workers born before 1980, who began to flow from the rural situation into the migrant situation in the city in the 1980s and 1990s [18].…”

“…Migrant workers could be divided into “first-generation” and “second-generation or new generation” migrant workers [18]. The first-generation migrant workers refer to those migrant workers born before 1980, who began to flow from the rural situation into the migrant situation in the city in the 1980s and 1990s [18]. The second-generation migrant workers refer to those who were born after 1980s with their registered permanent residence being in the countryside, but they have been coming to work in the city in 1990s [18, 28].…”

“…Migration is an extremely stressful experience since being away from home is associated with an increase in risk behaviors including all forms of violence. Furthermore, migrant workers often have to move from place to place with constant changes in job or living conditions, and some of them even have to be separated from their spouses for long periods of time [18, 19]. Is it possible for rural-to-urban migrant workers to have higher incidence and level of IPV compared with the general population?…”

“…Among them, an estimated 203 million were married [20]. Although rural-to-urban migrant workers make up half of urban workforce and account for half of the country’s GDP in China, most of them have to face negative conditions including high pressure from work, poverty, low social status, unsure self-identification, wandering life and so on [18, 19, 21, 22]. Furthermore, many of married rural-to-urban migrant workers have to be separated from their spouses for long periods of time.…”

Measuring the effects of socioeconomic factors on mental health among migrants in urban China: a multiple indicators multiple causes model

“…Studies conducted in Shanghai, China suggested that financial and employment difficulties [17] and marital status [18] contributed substantially to the mental health of migrant workers. Regarding age, there was mental health gap between older and younger migrants [19]. The self-reported mental health status in migrant workers was poor and was associated with age [20].…”