Gender differences in anomie among China’s rural migrant workers in the context of gender imbalance and population migration*

Most research findings agree that women have higher levels of anomie than men; that is, socially derived feelings of depression and alienation that sometimes result in deviance. These conclusions are derived from general population samples in industrialized western countries and may or may not apply to China for various reasons. At present, Chinese society is undergoing two major structural changes: gender imbalance resulting from the One-child Policy, and population migration. This article studies the factors that determine anomie and its gender difference among rural migrant workers in the context of gender imbalance in China. Multivariate analyses of data from a survey of rural migrant workers in Xiamen city, Fujian province, conducted in 2009 show that gender, marital status, social role, and characteristics related to breadwinning have significant influences on anomie among rural migrant workers; men have higher levels of anomie than women, and unmarried people, especially older unmarried people have higher levels of anomie than married people, but there is little gender difference in the influence of marital status on anomie. There are gender differences in the influence of social role and characteristics relating to breadwinning on anomie.

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