Abstract
Perceived discrimination can be harmful to migrant adolescents in China. However, little is known about the processes through which discrimination may be linked to decreased well-being in Chinese migrant adolescents. This study examined the relationship between perceived discrimination and three indices of psychological well-being (self-esteem, life satisfaction, collective self-esteem) in 798 Chinese migrant adolescents (49.4% from public schools). Group identity affirmation and belonging (GIAB) was examined as a protective factor that was expected to alleviate the negative effects of perceived discrimination on well-being, and the type of school was investigated as a potential moderator of the associations of interest. The results indicate that perceived discrimination was negatively linked to the three indices of psychological well-being and that the negative effects of perceived discrimination on psychological well-being were particularly salient for migrant adolescents attending public schools. Additionally, GIAB emerged as a protective buffer against perceived discrimination’s negative effects on collective well-being.
Highlights
Internal migration in mainland China is characterized by population flows from rural to urban areas, where individuals hope to find better living conditions
Grounded in the risk and resilience framework, which posits that individuals may have access to resources that can help them overcome the risks associated with adverse experiences [15,16], the purpose of this study was to examine whether group identity might minimize the negative effects of perceived discrimination on Chinese migrant adolescents’ psychological well-being
T-tests were conducted to assess the type of school and gender differences in the variables of interest (Table 2), and the results indicated that adolescents in migrant schools perceived more discrimination and had lower levels of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and collective self-esteem than migrant
Summary
Internal migration in mainland China is characterized by population flows from rural to urban areas, where individuals hope to find better living conditions. The 2010 census estimated that there were 236 million migrants in China, of which 35.81 million were children under the age of 18 [1,2]. 17.54 million were children ranging in age from 12 to 17 years old [1]. In 2010, the 1.06 million migrant children in the city of Beijing alone accounted for 36.28% of the city’s total population of children [1]. Urban residents in China obtain household registration (HuKou) credentials, which associates them with a particular town or city. The household registration system was designed to control rural-urban mobility for economic and political purposes, but it permits residents
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