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Correlations Between Health-Related Quality of Life and Interpersonal Trust: Comparisons Between Two Generations of Chinese Rural-to-Urban Migrants

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Abstract

The new generation of Chinese rural-to-urban migrants, who were born after the 1980s, has played an increasingly significant role in the development of China. This paper explores the correlations between interpersonal trust and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of Chinese rural-to-urban migrants by comparing two generations. A survey (N = 769) was conducted on rural-to-urban migrants in Wuhan in 2012. Significant differences between the two generations emerged in terms of education, working hours, and other factors. First-generation migrants reported a higher level of trust in family, relatives, and neighbors compared with new-generation migrants. The new generation had better physical health and worse mental health. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model were employed. Results indicated that the new generation obtained more path coefficients that passed the significance tests; that is, interpersonal trust obtained more significant correlations with the new generation. The coefficient between workmate trust and vitality among new-generation migrants was the largest (5.293, P < 0.001), whereas the coefficient between family trust and vitality among first-generation migrants was the smallest (1.639, P < 0.05). The correlations between the six domains of interpersonal trust and HRQOL were balanced. The different backgrounds in upbringing, occupational and living conditions, changed values, and psychological characteristics were associated with these. This study highlighted the need to address the psychological concerns, treatment, and intervention of the new generation of Chinese rural-to-urban migrants.

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Acknowledgments

This paper is supported by the General Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (71173099 & 71473117), the projects funded by “New urbanization and social governance collaborative innovation center, Jiangsu province”, the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-11-0228) and the key project of the National Social Science Fund entitled Social stability risk assessment of major policies and projects (11AZD108). The authors also want to thank Peiyi Lu, a student of Sun Yat-sen University, for her contribution to this study.

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  1. Department of Social Work and Social Policy, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China

    Ying Liang

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Liang, Y. Correlations Between Health-Related Quality of Life and Interpersonal Trust: Comparisons Between Two Generations of Chinese Rural-to-Urban Migrants. Soc Indic Res 123, 677–700 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0755-y

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