Work-related factors on mental health among migrant factory workers in china: Application of the Demand-Control and Effort-Reward Imbalance Model

Mental health problems are prevalent among migrant workers in China. The present study examined the prevalence of mental health problems (depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation) among migrant workers in China, and identified the work-related factors associated with their mental health problems based on the Demand-Control and Effort-Reward Imbalance Model. A total of 807 migrant workers were recruited from three factories in Shenzhen using stratified randomized sampling. The prevalence of moderate-to-severe anxiety, mild-to-severe depression and suicidal ideation in the past year was 17.8%, 60.3% and 4.8% respectively. Results from stepwise regression analyses reported that role conflict and effort were risk factors, whereas utilization of job skills and reward were protective factors for anxiety and depression. Social support was also associated with lower level of depression. Effort was the only factor associated with suicidal ideation in the stepwise analysis. Interventions to improve their mental health are warranted and they should work to reduce their role conflict, improve effort-reward balance, promote utilization of skills and increase social support.