The well-being of China’s rural to urban migrant children: Dual impact of discriminatory abuse and poverty

Abstract

BackgroundPost-migration experiences of discriminatory abuse and poverty have been recognized as key risk factors for psychopathology and health problems among children. However, little research has explored these associations among children participating in the internal migration process. Building on the stress and coping framework (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), this study investigated the influence of discriminatory abuse and poverty on depressive symptoms and health problems in a group of Chinese migrant children. It also examined how a culturally based meaning-focused coping, as measured by Chinese beliefs about adversity scale, moderates the stress-distress associations. ParticipantsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 1714 migrant youth (Mean Age = 13; Range = 10–16; 45.6 % Female). MethodsThe latent variable interaction structural equation modeling was conducted to explore the main and interaction effects among studied variables. ResultsHigh prevalence of depressive symptoms (49.6 %) was found for this sample. More than 90% of respondents reported on an average of 0–2 days as being sick over the past 30 days. Migrant youth were found to experience moderate levels of discriminatory abuse (M = 1.29, SD = 0.51; Range = 1–4) and economic stress (M = 1.38, SD = 1.25; Range = 1–4). The findings further revealed that discriminatory abuse and economic stress possessed severe consequences on their mental and physical health. The meaning-focused coping strategy weakened the relationship between discriminatory abuse and depressive symptoms (β=-0.07, p<.001). Among migrant youth who encountered discriminatory abuse those who adhered more to meaning-focused coping reported less depressive symptoms. ConclusionFindings shed light on the protective role of cultural factors in stress management for young people from migrant backgrounds.