Social integration, physical and mental health and subjective well-being in the floating population—a moderated mediation analysis

Abstract

BackgroundIndividuals of domestic migrant populations in China (specifically, migration that is economically driven) often face difficulties in social integration. They are suffering from discrimination and unfair treatment in work and life, which do harm to their physical/mental health and Subjective Well-Being (SWB).MethodsThe current study utilized a stratified sampling survey in the Yangtze River Delta region of China, in October and November 2022. Six hundred and eleven useful self-reported questionnaires were collected. Questionnaires include questions about social integration, social capital, physical/mental health, and SWB; Bootstrapping method was used to test the mediating effect of physical health and mental health. Multiple hierarchical regression was used to test the moderating effect of social capital.ResultsSocial integration had positive impact on the SWB (r = 0.523, p < 0.01). Bootstrap analysis showed that physical health and mental health partially mediated the correlation between social integration and SWB of Floating Population with a mediation effect of 0.149 and 0.192. Social capital can positively moderate the relationship between two pair of variables: social integration and SWB (β = 0.152, t = 4.42, p < 0.001), physical health and SWB (β = 0.148, t = 4.39, p < 0.01). However, social capital does not play a significant moderating role in the association between the effect of mental health on SWB (β = 0.032, t = 0.973, p > 0.05).ConclusionThis study proved a significant correlation between social integration and SWB of Floating Population, with physical/mental health playing a mediating role. Enhancing the social integration of floating population and keeping healthy physically and mentally are key to improving their SWB.

Social integration as a mediator of the association between housing tenure and health inequalities among China's migrants: A housing discrimination perspective

“…Indeed, it can significantly impact health outcomes through social mentality and perceived stress ( Xia & Ma, 2020 ; Zhou et al, 2022 ). Previous research further found that social integration can also improve migrants' physical health via increasing utilization of health services ( Fei et al, 2023 ). On the other hand, due to the unequal rights between homeowners and renters resulting from discrimination in China's housing system, migrant renters cannot obtain equal access to public services (e.g., children education, healthcare, and social welfare) like migrant owners, which has become a barrier for them to integrate into society in host cities ( Zhong et al, 2017 ).…”