West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
J Affect Disord. 2011 Nov;134(1-3):198-207. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2011.05.043. Epub 2011 Jun 25.
Internal migrant workers are a large population in China. Current health related studies among this population mainly focused on infectious disease, maternal health and occupational diseases and injuries. However, very limited studies were paid attention to mental health of migrant workers though it is an important public health issue.
The current study aims to understand prevalence of depression symptoms and factors associated with depression among Chinese migrant workers using novel methods to develop a comprehensive sample.
Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) was employed to recruit the target population, who are required 1) not to hold a hukou indicative of living in central areas or near suburbs of Chengdu city; 2) to be 16 years or older; 3) not to be a student. The Center for Epidemiologic Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to measure depression symptoms of migrant workers. And then Structural Equation Model (SEM) was applied to explore factors associated with depression among Chinese migrant workers.
Among 1180 migrant workers, 23.7% of them had clinically relevant depression symptoms (CES-D score >= 16), and 12.8% were consistent with a clinical diagnosis of depression (CES-D score >= 21). Self-rated economic status, city adaptation status, and self-rated health had negative effects on depression. Social economic status (SES) affected depression, and was mediated by self-rated economic status and self-rated health. City adaptation status was affected by length of residence in the city, satisfaction with one's job, and the social support that one could obtain while living in the city.
The findings indicated a higher prevalence of depression symptoms among migrant workers comparing to general population reported by previous studies, identified possible factors associated with depression symptoms, and also explored relationships between these factors. Our study provides a model to understand mental health of Chinese internal migrant workers and to generate important research questions for the future.
外来务工人员是中国的一个庞大群体。目前针对该人群的健康相关研究主要集中在传染病、孕产妇健康和职业性疾病和伤害方面。然而，尽管精神健康是一个重要的公共卫生问题，但针对外来务工人员的心理健康研究却很少受到关注。
本研究旨在采用新方法，通过一个综合性样本，了解中国外来务工人员抑郁症状的流行情况及与抑郁相关的因素。
采用响应式抽样（RDS）招募目标人群，要求：1）无表明居住在成都市中心或近郊的户口；2）年龄在 16 岁及以上；3）非学生。采用流调中心用抑郁量表（CES-D）测量外来务工人员的抑郁症状。然后采用结构方程模型（SEM）来探讨与中国外来务工人员抑郁相关的因素。
在 1180 名外来务工人员中，23.7%的人有临床相关的抑郁症状（CES-D 得分>=16），12.8%的人符合临床抑郁诊断（CES-D 得分>=21）。自我报告的经济状况、城市适应状况和自我报告的健康状况对外来务工人员的抑郁有负面影响。社会经济地位（SES）影响抑郁，而 SES 又通过自我报告的经济状况和自我报告的健康状况来间接影响抑郁。城市适应状况受在城市居住时间、对工作的满意度和在城市生活时所能获得的社会支持的影响。
与以往研究报告的一般人群相比，本研究发现外来务工人员的抑郁症状发生率更高，确定了与抑郁症状相关的可能因素，并探讨了这些因素之间的关系。本研究提供了一个理解中国国内外来务工人员心理健康的模型，并为未来的研究提出了重要的研究问题。
