Substance use among rural-to-urban migrants in China: a moderation effect model analysis

Substance use represents a public health challenge in China. The rapidly growing rural-to-urban migrants, currently numbering 88 million, may be especially vulnerable to substance use.

Levels of and risk factors for substance use were examined among 3,752 rural-to-urban migrants using cross-sectional data collected in 2002 in China. A moderation effect modeling analysis was applied to examine interactions of workplace with income and income with depression in predicting substance use.

Respondents (41.7% females) were 18 to 30 years of age (mean = 23.3, SD = 3.5) with an average of 4.26 years of migratory experience. The nine workplaces for migrants were construction companies, restaurants, barber shops/hair salons, stalls/small shops, massage parlors, factories, night clubs, hotels, domestic services. The 30-day smoking rate was 10.5% for females and 56.5% for males; the 30-day alcohol intoxication rate was 16.8% for females and 36.7% for males; and lifetime use of illegal drugs was 1.8% for females and 1.6% for males. Hair salons and massage parlors were associated with increased levels of substance use for both sexes; construction companies and night clubs were associated with more substance use among females. Differences in levels of substance use by workplace were associated with differences in income and depression, but the effect was neither linear nor homogenous.

Substance use is prevalent among rural-to-urban migrants, especially among female migrants. Workplace, income, and depression are associated with substance use interactively. Tailored substance use prevention is needed to target high-risk workplaces with specific efforts devoted to female migrants.