Support or burden? Mental health and transnational family contact among female migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong

Abstract

A large and increasing number of female migrant domestic workers has been recorded within the Asia-Pacific region. Thanks to the development of communication technologies, these migrant women can maintain intimate relations with their family back home despite the distances separating them. However, there have been concerns recently about the effect of preserving close family contact on female migrant domestic workers' mental health. Using recently collected survey data on female migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong, our study finds that daily family communication with parents or partners brings a psychological burden, rather than support, for migrant domestic workers. In addition, the findings show the importance of the workplace environment in moderating the effect of regular family contact. Implications of our findings are discussed.