Life Satisfaction and General Well-being of Migrant Workers' Children

Aims: To explore general well-being and mental health status of migrant workers' children in cities in order to better promote a healthy development of Chinese urbanization process. Study design and Method: A questionnaire was developed, together with the Huebner Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (1991), to investigate the overall well-being, mental health, and life satisfaction in elementary students in Qiuzhi Elementary School, Hangzhou, and Yiwu Lantian Elementary School, Yiwu, Zhejiang, China. A total of 288 students from Grades 1 to 6 were recruited between Sept. 2012 and Aug. 2013 and a comparative analysis was conducted. Results: In life satisfaction, the overall score was 21 out of 33 and in general well-being it was 24 out of 28, higher than average level. It was observed that students in Hangzhou reported a significantly higher degree in life satisfaction (t test 5.78, p<0.001) and general well-being (t test 5.59, p<0.001) than those from Yiwu. It was also found that the level of life satisfaction (F test 10.96, p<0.001) and general well-being (F test 3.15, p<0.01) were significantly different among grades. Conclusion: Generally, children from migrant families are living in a relatively happy life in Hangzhou and Yiwu, enjoying equal opportunity in education and other life aspects, due to all the efforts from provincial and municipal governments. However, some migrant students are still suffering from poor adaptation and a further attention and more effective measures will be needed.