Acculturative Stress of Chinese Rural-To-Urban Migrant Workers: A Qualitative Study.
BACKGROUND
Global literature has suggested a negative impact of acculturative stress on both physical and mental health among international migrants. In China, approximately 20 percent of its population is rural-to-urban migrant workers and there are significant cultural differences between rural and urban societies, but no data are available regarding the acculturative stress of Chinese migrant workers. This study aimed to explore the forms and contexts of acculturative stress among Chinese migrant workers.


METHODS
Qualitative data were collected from four focus group discussions with 17 Chinese rural-to-urban migrant workers and three individual interviews with three medical professionals who provided mental health services for factory-workers in Shenzhen, China.


RESULTS
The data in the current study showed that rural-to-urban migrant workers in China had experienced various forms of acculturative stress including difficulties in adapting to the environment, work-related stress, family-related stress, financial hardship, and lack of sense of belonging to cities.


CONCLUSIONS
Rural-to-urban migration in China is a challenging transition with significant acculturative stress and demands for major adjustments among migrant workers. The assessment and management of acculturative stress is a necessary first step in providing mental health services to migrant workers.
Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.|Affiliated Mental Health Center, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, P. R. China.
Bao-Liang
BL
Zhong
Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Psychological Healthcare, Shenzhen Institute of Mental Health, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital, Shenzhen Mental Health Center, Shenzhen, P. R. China.
Tie-Bang
TB
Liu
Centre for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.|College of Social Development, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, P. R. China.
Jian-Xing
JX
Huang
Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, P. R. China.
Helene H
HH
Fung
Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.
Sandra S M
SS
Chan
Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States of America.
Yeates
Y
Conwell
Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.
Helen F K
HF
Chiu
D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012934:Social Isolation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult