Experiences of discrimination and self-reported health in Chinese migrants: a structural equation model

BMC Public Health

Lian Tong¹  Ichiro Kawachi² 

[1] Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China;Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA;Key Laboratory Public Health Safety, Chinese Ministry of Education, P.O. Box 244, 138 Yixueyuan Road, 200032, Shanghai, China;Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA;

关键词: Migrants;    Discrimination;    Social integration;    Stress;    Health;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-020-09588-3

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundMany migrants suffer from discrimination and poor health in China. We sought to examine the associations between experiences of discrimination and self-reported health among internal migrants in China, as well as the mediators of social integration and perceived stress.MethodsThe data was obtained from a specific survey of migrants, as a part of the National Health and Family Planning Dynamic Monitoring for Migrants conducted in 2014. A total of 15,999 migrants aged 15 to 59 years were recruited by a stratified, multistage clustered sampling procedure in eight Chinese cities. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted.ResultsThe results indicated that experiences of discrimination were associated with worse self-reported health (β = − 0.32, P < 0.001), less social integration (β = − 0.25, P < 0.001), as well as higher perceived stress (β = 0.21, P < 0.01). Both objectively measured socioeconomic status (β = 0.21, P < 0.001) and subjective social status (β = 0.21, P < 0.01) had significantly positive correlations with self-reported health.ConclusionsThe discrimination, social exclusion and perceived stress experienced by migrants have significant implications on their health.

【 授权许可】

CC BY