There are approximately 47.5 million female migrant workers living in major cities in China. Numerous studies have documented the marginalized living conditions confronting migrant workers in cities, such as employment difficulties, unjustifiably demanding working conditions, lack of medical insurance and social provision, poor housing conditions, unfavourable educational arrangements for migrant children, and discrimination by urban residents. In addition, female migrant workers may suffer from discrimination, exploitation and oppression.
Aim:
This study aimed to explore the difficulties and perceived meaningfulness of migration and their effect on the mental health status of female migrant workers in Shanghai, Kunshan, Dongguan and Shenzhen.
Methods:
A total of 959 female migrant workers from 12 factories completed the questionnaires, which included the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Migration Stress Scale and the Meaning in Migration Scale.
Results:
The findings indicate that 24% of female migrant workers could be classified as having poor mental health and the percentage in Shenzhen (35%) was far greater than in the three other cities in China. ‘Financial and employment-related difficulties’, ‘cultural differences’, gender-specific stressors and ‘better future for self and children’ significantly accounted for the mental health outcomes of female migrant workers.
Conclusion:
Recommendations for policy change and service initiatives targeted at improving the mental health of female migrant workers are discussed.
AroianK. J.NorrisA. E.PatsdaughterC. A.TranT. V. (1998). Predicting psychological distress among former Soviet immigrants. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 44, 284–294.
ChengD.LeongF.GeistR. (1993). Cultural differences in psychological distress between Asian and Caucasian American college students. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 21, 182–190.
4.
CrollE.HuangP. (1997). Migration for and against agriculture in eight Chinese villages. The China Quarterly, 149, 128–146.
5.
DerogatisL.MelisaratosN. (1983). The Brief Symptom Inventory: An introductory report. Psychological Medicine, 13, 595–605.
6.
Dongguan Bureau of Statistics. (2010). The yearbook of Dongguan statistics. Beijing: China Statistics Press.
7.
GaetanoA. (2004). Filial daughters, modern women: Migrant domestic workers in post-Mao Beijing. In GaetanoA.JackaT. (Eds), On the move: Women in rural–urban migration in contemporary China (pp. 41–79). New York: Columbia University.
8.
GaetanoA.JackaT. (Eds) (2004). On the move: Women in rural–urban migration in contemporary China. New York: Columbia University.
9.
Kunshan Bureau of Statistics. (2010). The yearbook of Kunshan statistics. Beijing: China Statistics Press.
10.
LeeC. K. (1998). Gendering the South China miracles: Two worlds of factory women. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press
11.
LiL.WangH.YeX.JiangM.LouQ.HeskethT. (2007). The mental health status of Chinese rural–urban migrant workers: Comparison with permanent urban and rural dwellers. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 42, 716–722.
12.
LiX.StantonB.FangX.LinD. (2006). Social stigma and mental health among rural-to-urban migrants in China: A conceptual framework and future research needs. World Health & Population, 8, 14–31.
13.
National Bureau of Statistics. (2008). Main results from the Second Agricultural Census (No. 5). Beijing: National Bureau of Statistics.
14.
National Bureau of Statistics. (2010). Monitoring report of China’s migrant workers. Beijing: National Bureau of Statistics.
15.
NicassioP. M.SolomonG. S.McCulloughJ. E. (1986). Emigration stress and language proficiency as correlates of depression in a sample of Southeast Asian refugees. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 32, 22–28.
16.
PapadopoulosI.LeesS.LayM.GebrehiwotA. (2004). Ethiopian refugees in the UK: Migration, adaptation and settlement experiences and their relevance to health. Ethnicity & Health, 9, 55–73.
17.
ParkA.WangD. (2007). Migration and urban poverty and income inequality in China. Bonn, Germany: Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA).
18.
PunN. (2006). Made in China: Women factory workers in a global workplace. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
19.
PuriM.ClelandJ. (2007). Assessing the factors associated with sexual harassment among young female migrant workers in Nepal. International Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 11, 1363–1381.
20.
RitsnerM.PonizovskyA.KursR.ModiaI. (2000). Somatization in an immigrant population in Israel: A community survey of prevalence, risk factors and help-seeking behavior. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 385–392.
21.
RobertsK. (2002). Female labor migrants to Shanghai: Temporary ‘floaters’ or potential settlers?International Migration Review, 36, 492–519.
22.
RubackR. B.PandeyJ.BegumH. A.TariqN. (2004). Motivations for and satisfaction with migration: An analysis of migrants to New Delhi, Dhaka, and Islamabad. Environment and Behavior, 36, 814–838.
23.
Shanghai Bureau of Statistics. (2010). The yearbook of Shanghai statistics. Beijing: China Statistics Press.
24.
Shenzhen Bureau of Statistics. (2010). The yearbook of Shenzhen statistics. Beijing: China Statistics Press.
25.
SolingerD. J. (1999). Contesting citizenship in urban China: Peasant migrants, the state and the logic of the market. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
26.
TanS. (2000). The relationship between foreign enterprises, local governments, and women migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta. In WestL. A.ZhaoY. H. (Eds), Rural labor flows in China (pp. 292–309). Berkeley, CA: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California.
27.
ThireauI.HuaL. (2003). The moral universe of aggrieved Chinese workers: Workers’ appeals to arbitration committees and letters and visits offices. China Journal, 50, 83–103.
28.
ThompsonS.HartelG.MandersonL.Woelz-StirlingN.KelaherM. (2002). The mental health status of Filipinas in Queensland. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 36, 674–680.
29.
VedderP.VirtaE. (2005). Language, ethnic identity, and adaptation of Turkish immigrant youth in the Netherlands and Sweden. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29, 317–337.
30.
WanX. D.LiuL. P. (2007). Comparison of migrant workers between the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta: Migrate, work, live and status of right. South China Review, 4, 28–39.
31.
WardC.SearleW. (1991). The impact of value discrepancies and cultural identity on psychological and sociocultural adjustment of sojourners. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 15, 209–225.
32.
WatkinsR.PlantA. J.SangD.O’RourkeT.LeV.NguyenH.GushulakB. (2003). Individual characteristics and expectations about opportunities in Australia among prospective Vietnamese migrants. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 29, 157–166.
33.
WenM.WangG. X. (2009). Demographic, psychological, and social environmental factors of loneliness and satisfaction among rural-to-urban migrants in Shanghai, China. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 50, 155–182.
34.
WongD. F.HeX. S.LeungG.LauY.ChangY. L. (2008). Mental health of migrant workers in China: Prevalence and correlates. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 43, 483–489.
35.
WongF. K.LeeC. M. (2003). China blue collar workers: Work stress, coping and mental health. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
36.
WongD. F. K.ChangY. L.HeX. S. (2007). Rural migrant workers in urban China: Living a marginalised life. International Journal of Social Welfare, 16, 32–40.
37.
WongD. F. K.HeX. S. (2008). The resilience of migrant workers in Shanghai, China: The roles of migration stress and meaning of migration. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 54, 131–143.
38.
XinM.FrancesP. (1998). Wage determination differences between Chinese state and non-state firms. Asian Economic Journal, 12, 295–316.
39.
YehC. J.AroraA. K.InoseM.OkuboY.LiR. H.GreeneP. (2003). The cultural adjustment and mental health of Japanese immigrant youth. Adolescence, 38, 481–500.
