Mental health of migrant workers in China: prevalence and correlates

• Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 2008-06, Vol.43 (6), p.483-489
• Main Authors: Wong, Daniel Fu Keung, He, Xuesong, Leung, Grace, Lau, Ying, Chang, Yingli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; China - epidemiology; Education; Employers; Employment; Epidemiology; Female; Health insurance; Health Surveys; Housing conditions; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - diagnosis; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Disorders - psychology; Mental health; Mental Health - statistics & numerical data; Middle Aged; Migrant workers; Migration; Miscellaneous; Odds Ratio; Original Paper; Pension plans; Prevalence; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - statistics & numerical data; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Public schools; Sex Distribution; Social work; Sociodemographics; Socioeconomic Factors; Stress; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Transients and Migrants - psychology; Transients and Migrants - statistics & numerical data; Working conditions
• ISSN: 0933-7954; 1433-9285
• DOI: 10.1007/s00127-008-0341-1

Background This study aimed to examine the prevalence and the socio-demographic correlates of mental health of migrant workers in Shanghai China. Methods A total of 475 migrant workers from four major districts in Shanghai were recruited through a survey design with stratified random sampling. Male and female migrant workers were identified as mentally healthy or unhealthy using the brief symptom inventory. Socio-demographic characteristics and migration stress were explored as correlates of the mental health of the migrant workers. Results A total of 73 migrant workers could be classified as mentally unhealthy (25% for men and 6% for women). Male migrant workers who were married (OR 6.16, 95% CI 1.83–20.70), manual laborers (OR 1.56, 95% CI 0.97–2.51), and experienced more stress in “financial and employment-related difficulties” (OR 2.75, 95% CI 1.47–5.14) and “interpersonal tensions and conflicts” (OR 4.18, 95% CI 1.55–11.25) were more likely to be mentally unhealthy, whereas the female migrant workers who experienced more stress in “interpersonal tensions and conflicts” (OR 6.52, 95% CI 0.83–51.14) were more likely to have poor mental health. Conclusion The findings provide information for the prevention of mental illness among migrant workers in China. The implications and limitations are also discussed.