Psychological distress of rural-to-urban migrants in two Chinese cities: Shanghai and Shenzhen

This study examines the prevalence rates and social determinants of two mental impairment outcomes, self-reported depressive symptoms and perceived stress, among rural-to-urban migrants in Shenzhen and Shanghai, two popular destinations of rural-to-urban migration in China. Two cross-sectional surveys were separately conducted, one in Shanghai in 2008, the other in Shenzhen in 2010. The two questionnaires were designed similarly with the purpose of making meaningful comparisons between the two samples of rural-to-urban migrants located in the two cities. The rationale of this comparison was based on the distinct socioeconomic and cultural features of the two cities with Shenzhen arguably a culturally more welcoming receiving community for migrants. Social factors examined in this study as covariates of mental health were selected based on theories of mental health of migrants including perspectives on migrants’ socioeconomic achievements, social resources, and goal-striving stress. Preliminary results show that rural-to-urban migrants in Shenzhen compared to those in Shanghai on average report higher numbers of depressive symptoms but are less stressed. Many social factors hypothesized and examined as covariates of mental health and explainers of the location differences turned out to be significant in expected directions.