Gender Difference in Anomia among China’s Rural Migrant Workers in the Context of Gender Imbalance and Population Migration

Most research findings agree that women have higher levels of depression or anomia than men. These conclusions are derived from general population samples in industrialized western countries. However, contemporary Chinese society is undergoing two major structural changes: gender imbalance and population migration. This paper studies the factors that determine anomia and its gender difference among rural migrant worker in the context of gender imbalance and large scale population migration in China.
Multivariate analyses of data from a survey of rural migrant workers in X city, Fujian province, which was conducted in 2009, show that gender, marital status, social role and characteristics related to family support have significant influences on anomia among rural migrant workers; men have higher levels of anomia than women; unmarried people, especially older unmarried people, have higher levels of anomia than married people, but there is little gender difference in the influence of marital status on anomia. There are gender differences in the influence of social role and characteristics related to family support on anomia.