Abstract
BackgroundSocial change, intensified by industrialization and globalization, has not only changed people’s work lives but also their personal lives, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to provide evidence and recommendations regarding family structure, function, and mental health to actively respond to rapid social change.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted face-to-face and door-to-door from July 2011 to September 2012 in Hubei Province, central China. Family structure comprised alone, couple, nuclear family, and extended family; family function was measured using the family APGAR (Adaptation, Partnership, Growth, Affection, and Resolve) scale, and mental health was measured using the Chinese version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).ResultsThe urban-vs-rural difference of family structure among alone, couple, nuclear family, and extended family was statistically significant (5.21% vs 4.62%; 27.36% vs 13.14%; 33.22% vs 27.74%; 34.20% vs 54.50%, respectively; p < 0.0001); and those difference of family function was not statistically significant (8.11 ± 2.13 vs 8.09 ± 2.27, p = 0.9372). The general linear regression showed that the effect of family structure on mental health, whether urban or rural, was not significant, however, the effect of family function was significant, especially regarding better family functioning with better mental health.ConclusionsCombined the effects of family structure and function on mental health, the external form of family (family structure) may not be important; while the internal quality of role (family function) might be key. Improving the residents’ family function would be a priority strategy for family practice with their mental health.
Highlights
Social change, intensified by industrialization and globalization, has changed people’s work lives and their personal lives, especially in developing countries
The aim of this study is to provide evidence and recommendations regarding family structure, function, and mental health to actively respond to rapid social change
The urban-vs-rural difference of family structure among alone, couple, nuclear family, and extended family was statistically significant (5.21% vs 4.62%; 27.36% vs 13.14%; 33.22% vs 27.74%; 34.20% vs 54.50%, respectively; p < 0.0001)
Summary
Social change, intensified by industrialization and globalization, has changed people’s work lives and their personal lives, especially in developing countries. In the 1982 Chinese Census, the urban population accounted for 20.02% of the total population, increasing to 36.09% by 2000 and to. The growth of the urban population has brought about rapid economic development, it has resulted in increased pressure on employment, transportation, housing, education, and public health, especially mental health [3]. A rapid decline in the rural population combined with the widening urban–rural gap has affected agricultural labor, and the lives of farmers, including their mental health [4]. Another change has been observed in the family structure. This fact is depicted in the reduction of the number of the traditional extended and nuclear families and the increase in the number of alone and couple families [5,6,7]
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