Mental health of rural-to-urban migrant workers in China : general assessment, labor rights deficit and social exclusion

Abstract

Background: Since the occurrence of a spate of worker suicides within the technology company Foxconn in 2010, the mental health status of rural-to-urban migrant workers in China has received increasing attention in academia and practical fields. However, differences in theoretical perspectives and research methodologies have elicited conflicting results. Considering the unique institutional environment that migrant workers confront, the present study employed the stress-coping model as its theoretical basis and explored the potential influences of labor rights deficit (work-related stressor) and social exclusion (life-related stressor) on the workers’ mental health status. The study also investigated the effects of migrant workers’ inner psychological mechanism and coping strategies on their mental health status, which are overlooked in previous literatures. Methods: Data were obtained from a cross-sectional survey in 13 cities in mainland China, comprising 2017 rural-to-urban migrant workers and 1317 urban residents. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was employed to measure the mental health status of the respondents. Study 1 applied the bivariate analysis to compare the mental health status of migrant workers and urban residents and the principal component analysis to examine the reliability and applicability of the GHQ-12 among migrant workers. Study 2 used the propensity score analysis to address the sample’s potential selection bias. Study 3 employed the latent class analysis to generate a comprehensive measurement of social exclusion. Multiple linear regressions involving mediating effect and interaction analyses were employed in studies 2 and 3, respectively. Results: Study 1 revealed that the application of GHQ-12 among migrant workers is consistent with that among other Chinese populations. Migrant workers had higher GHQ-12 scores than urban residents, indicating a poorer mental health status. Study 2 confirmed the occurrence of various rights infringements and a certain level of perceived exploitation among migrant workers. It illustrated the negative influence of rights deficit on mental health status and the mediating effect of perceived exploitation on the relationship between rights deficit and mental health status. In Study 3, three distinct profiles of social exclusion that migrant workers encounter in urban societies were identified, namely least exclusion, deep exclusion, and medium exclusion. Study 3 also demonstrated the negative effect of social exclusion on migrant workers’ mental health status. Furthermore, migrant workers’ coping strategies moderated the effects of social exclusion on mental health status. Discussion: Labor rights deficit, perceived exploitation, social exclusion and coping strategies are crucial factors in understanding migrant workers’ mental health status in the Chinese context, in which the hukou system plays a critical role in generating the dualistic identities of migrant workers. Policymakers, employees, and practitioners are tasked with asserting migrant workers’ legal labor rights to improve their mental well-being. Moreover, the future hukou system reform in middle- and small-sized cities should facilitate those migrant workers who want to settle down in cities obtain an urban hukou, have access to the same social welfare as urban residents, and gradually integrate into urban society. (480 words)