Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2012, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (6): 135-157.

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Social Factors Influencing Peasant Workers’ Mental Health

  

  1. HU Rong,  Department of Sociology and Social Work, Xiamen University; CHEN Sishi, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Xiamen University
  • Online:2012-11-20 Published:2012-11-20
  • Contact: HU Rong, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Xiamen University) E-mail： hurong@xmu.edu.cn E-mail:hurong@xmu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:

    This is the result of 2008 National Social Science Foundation Project “A Sociological Study of Peasant Workers’ Mental Health Problem”（08BSH022）.

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Abstract:

Base on the survey data collected in Xiamen in 2008, this study analyzed peasant workers’ health status and the influencing social factors. The SCL90 scale was applied to measure peasant workers’ mental health, which showed that peasant workers’ mental health did not measure up with that of other groups in our society. Using the SCL90 score as the dependent variable, and three factors of individual SES (sex, age, income, and relative socioeconomic status), migrant pressure and social capital (trust, network) as predictors, a regression model was constructed, which yielded the following outcomes:1) gender, age and marriage influenced mental health significantly, with male peasant workers better than their female counterparts, elder peasant workers better than their younger counterparts, and those married or divorced better than singles; 2) individuals’ absolute SES did not have significant impact on mental health but their relative SES did; 3) the factor of migrant pressure significantly influenced mental health, and it was a strong predictor – peasant workers as a group migrating to cities for employment turned out to be a main cause for their low mental health as compared with other groups as they might have suffered from the negative impact of all kinds of pressures they had to face in the migration process such as exclusion and unfair treatments from local groups; and 4) the influences of different factors in social capital on mental health varied, some positive, some negative. Network density that indicated interaction with colleagues and neighbors had positive influences on mental health, i.e., the higher the frequency, the lower score of their SCL90 measure and fewer neurotic symptoms. Although not reaching the significance level, the impact of trust on this group’s mental health was in the positive direction.

Key words: peasant worker, mental health, social capital