The effects of social connections on self-rated physical and mental health among internal migrant and local adolescents in Shanghai, China

Abstract

BackgroundChina is in the midst of history's largest flow of rural-urban migration in the world; a flow that includes growing numbers of children and adolescents. Their health status is an important public health issue. This study compares self-rated physical and mental health of migrant and local adolescents in China, and examines to what extent layered social connections account for health outcomes.MethodsIn 2010, we conducted a cross-sectional study among middle school students in Pudong New Area, Shanghai. Information about health status, social connections, and demographic factors were collected using a questionnaire survey. After controlling for sociodemographic factors, we used the t-test, Chi-square analysis, and a series of regression models to compare differences in health outcomes and explore the effects of social connections.ResultsMigrant adolescents reported significantly higher rates of good physical health. However, they also had significantly fewer social connections, lower self-esteem, and higher levels of depression than their native peers. Family cohesion was associated with depressive symptoms and low self-esteem among all adolescents; peer association and social cohesion played major roles in migrants' well-being. Gender, age, and socioeconomic (SES) factors also affected adolescents' self-rated physical and mental health.ConclusionsSelf-rated data suggest that migrant adolescents enjoy a physical health advantage and a mental health disadvantage. Layered social connections, such as peer association and social cohesion, may be particularly important for migrants. A public health effort is required to improve the health status of migrant youth.

Poverty and Health: Children of Rural-to-Urban Migrant Workers in Beijing, China

“…Despite the number of such recent studies focused on the health status of internal migrants in China, empirical data on the relationship between poverty and health are lacking even in research targeted specifically at migrant children in urban areas (Fu and Chen 2012;Mao and Zhao 2012;Wang et al 2007;Wong et al 2009), perhaps because sampling difficulties have limited prior studies to small sample sizes at best of the urban poor. It is not feasible, for example, to use children's addresses, obtained from schools, for household-visit interview surveys or questionnaire surveys sent through the mail, because poor rural-to-urban migrants often dwell in housing that does not meet building codes, and is therefore illegal.…”

“…The second is to investigate factors affecting the maintenance of health of these migrant children, and the processes through which such influence is exerted. Unfortunately, the majority of prior studies within China have simply gathered empirical data as to whether migrant children were healthy or not, as for example recent reports from Shanghai and Guangzhou that migrant children experience lower self-esteem and life satisfaction, and display more symptoms of depression, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety and hostility than their urbanite counterparts (Mao and Zhao 2012;Mou et al2013;Wong et al 2009;Wu et al 2011). Only a limited number of studies have investigated factors or processes involved in health maintenance, such as relationships between social stress, social ties linking migrants to their host cities and rural home communities, and the mental health of migrants and their children (Cheung 2013(Cheung , 2014.…”

“…The growing literature on internal migration within China has also recognized this healthy migrant phenomenon. In a questionnaire survey of children aged 11-17 years in Shanghai, Mao and Zhao (2012) found that migrant adolescents (n = 712) reported better physical health than did their native peers, despite having fewer social connections, lower selfesteem, and higher levels of depression. Similarly, Chen (2011) observed the healthy migrant phenomenon for self-rated physical health but not for psychological distress among 1,440 migrants aged 18-70 interviewed in Beijing.…”

The consequences of parental labor migration in China for children's emotional wellbeing

“…Their rights to medical care, education and social participation are limited, leading to a higher incidence of physical and psychological problems, and a greater vulnerability to crime." Mao and Zhao (2012) in a comparison of local and migrant middle school students living in Pudong, Shanghai, show that migrant children experience lower self-esteem, with and without controls for socioeconomic status and other factors, and also experience greater observed depression but that the depression effect becomes non-significant when controls are introduced. Finally, a systematic comparison of 20 studies of the mental health of international migrant children with that of native children in (mainly European) receiving nations reveals no consistent results; in some studies migrants show mental health deficits, in others superior mental health, and in still others no significant difference from native-born children (Stevens and Vollebergh, 2008).…”

Women Are More at Risk of Poor Mental Health: Mental Health of Spanish Nurses Measured by the GHQ-12

“…Factors such as night shifts can lead to a reduction in the amount and quality of sleep among nurses (4) and can affect their health, increasing their stress level (5). Countering this effect, variables such as work satisfaction (6,7) and perceived health (8,9) have shown a direct and positive effect on mental health.…”