title: Association between Spouse/Child Separation and Migration-Related Stress among a Random Sample of Rural-to-Urban Migrants in Wuhan, China.
abstract: Millions of people move from rural areas to urban areas in China to pursue new opportunities while leaving their spouses and children at rural homes. Little is known about the impact of migration-related separation on mental health of these rural migrants in urban China.
  
  
  
  Survey data from a random sample of rural-to-urban migrants (n = 1113, aged 18-45) from Wuhan were analyzed. The Domestic Migration Stress Questionnaire (DMSQ), an instrument with four subconstructs, was used to measure migration-related stress. The relationship between spouse/child separation and stress was assessed using survey estimation methods to account for the multi-level sampling design.
  
  
  
  16.46% of couples were separated from their spouses (spouse-separation only), 25.81% of parents were separated from their children (child separation only). Among the participants who married and had children, 5.97% were separated from both their spouses and children (double separation). Spouse-separation only and double separation did not scored significantly higher on DMSQ than those with no separation. Compared to parents without child separation, parents with child separation scored significantly higher on DMSQ (mean score = 2.88, 95% CI: [2.81, 2.95] vs. 2.60 [2.53, 2.67], p < .05). Stratified analysis by separation type and by gender indicated that the association was stronger for child-separation only and for female participants.
  
  
  
  Child-separation is an important source of migration-related stress, and the effect is particularly strong for migrant women. Public policies and intervention programs should consider these factors to encourage and facilitate the co-migration of parents with their children to mitigate migration-related stress.
authors.affiliation: Wuhan Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Wuhan Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, Wuhan, China.|Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.|Pediatric Prevention Research Center, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States of America.
authors.forename: Xinguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Wuhan Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Wuhan Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Wuhan Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Chaoyang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Wuhan Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Yaqiong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Wuhan Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002681:China; D002947:Cities; D004243:Divorce / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D011157:Population Dynamics / Q000639:trends*; D012424:Rural Population; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data