Search

In recent years, while scholarly work on new immigrant destinations (NIDs) within the United States and Europe has increased, little attention has been given the role and significance of the migration industry in promoting the emergence of NIDs. This is a particularly significant lacuna as some Asian nations are undergoing dramatic migration transition despite the lack of immigration regulatory infrastructure. In this context, focusing on the role of commercial intermediaries play in the formation of NIDs is an important perspective in understanding migration transition in Asia. Drawing on qualitative interviews with Filipino domestic workers and intermediaries, this paper analyzes how intermediaries promote Mainland China as a new destination for the Filipino domestic workers by creating a new promising market, border-crossing tactics, as well as managing migrant workers using training and control strategies at ground level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the position of the Chinese elite in both national and international contexts. I show that the Chinese elite has converged with the global elite in terms of their incomes, and that many senior Chinese executives are at least as well paid as their counterparts in rich countries. Their insertion into the global elite is further demonstrated by their increasing participation in the World Economic Forum. But this international convergence has been mirrored by national divergence: economic inequality has risen within China, extending the distance between elites and the rest of the population. I show that for top income groups, the relative cost of employing a median wage worker for their personal service has plummeted, increasing their entitlements over labor and thus their capacity to dominate their compatriots. This has been accompanied by a dramatic rise in the reliance of the elite on domestic workers, a traditional symbol of social inequality. Thus the convergence of Chinese elites with their international counterparts has gone hand in hand with both rising economic inequality and rising social inequality within China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labour migrants are exposed to potentially traumatic events throughout the migration cycle, making them susceptible to developing mental disorders. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often comorbid with depression. Comorbidity worsens the course of illness, prognosis, treatment response, and increases suicidal risk. Using network analysis, this study examined the structure of PTSD and depression in a sample of migrant domestic workers, an especially vulnerable community of labour migrants. This study sought to derive the central or most important symptoms, strongest edges or relationships among symptoms, and bridge symptoms between PTSD and depression. Data were obtained from 1,375 Filipina domestic workers in Macao SAR, China. Data from a subsample of 1,258 trauma-exposed participants were analysed using R software. Most of the strongest edges were within the same disorder and, for PTSD, within the same symptom cluster. Highest node centrality were PCL-5's 'avoid thoughts', 'lose interest', 'negative emotions', and 'not concentrate', and PHQ-9's 'sleep difficulties'. The bridge symptoms were PHQ-9's 'sleep difficulties,' 'psychomotor agitation/retardation,' and 'fatigue,' PCL-5's 'not concentrate', and PHQ-9's 'worthlessness' and 'anhedonia'. Results may not generalize to Filipino migrant workers in other occupations and to male migrant workers. Potentially relevant symptoms like somatic symptoms and fear of somatic and mental symptoms were not included. Central and bridge symptoms are the most important nodes in the network. Developing interventions targeting these symptoms, particularly depression symptoms, is a promising alternative to PTSD treatment given substantial barriers to specialist care for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depression and anxiety are comorbid. From the network model perspective, comorbidity is due to direct interactions between depression and anxiety symptoms. These interacting symptoms are called bridge symptoms, suppression of which is expected to halt other symptoms. This study investigates the network structure of depression, anxiety, and bridge symptoms in a sample of migrant domestic workers, who are among the most vulnerable and marginalized groups of workers.Method: Data were collected from 1375 Filipino domestic workers in Macao Special Administrative Region, China. Data from a subsample of 355 consisting of participants who met criteria for depression and anxiety were used in analysis. R software was used to estimate the network.Results: The eight strongest edges were between items from the same disorder. Six were between depression symptoms, like "concentration difficulties" and "psychomotor agitation/retardation," and "psychomotor agitation/retardation" and "thoughts of death." Two were between anxiety symptoms, including "worry too much" and "trouble relaxing." For centrality indices, "fatigue" had highest strength and closeness, and "restlessness" had highest betweenness. Results revealed three bridge symptoms: "fatigue," "depressed mood," and "anhedonia."Limitations: The results may not generalize to the entire Filipino population. Further, while the centrality index of strength had adequate stability, it was not highly stable.Conclusions: The current study highlighted critical transdiagnostic bridge symptoms as specific candidates for intervention. "Psychomotor agitation/retardation" was identified as key priority due to its association with suicidal ideation. Systemic multilevel interventions at the person-level (e.g., cognitive therapy and behavioral activation), and at the structural and policy-level to alleviate psychosocial stressors, could be applied to address disorder comorbidity in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The two-factor Model 2b (Krause et al., 2010) best represents DSM-5 MDD symptoms. • The PHQ-15 somatic symptoms have higher relationships with MDD's somatic symptoms than its non-somatic symptoms • The clustering of symptoms patterned to model 2b will prevent clinicians' possible over-reliance on the presence of non-somatic symptoms than that of somatic symptoms. • The differentiation of MDD symptoms into two factors will have significant implication to assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of major depression among Filipino Overseas domestic helpers. ABSTRACT Emerging research have investigated the factor structure of major depressive disorder (MDD) symptoms based on DSM-5 nomenclature. However, to date, results have been inconsistent on what symptom-structure best represent MDD. This study examines the best fitting MDD among four competing models in a sample of overseas Filipino domestic helpers (N = 232). The results show that a two-factor model (Model 2b; Krause et al., 2010) provided the best fit. The model consist of two factors: somatic and non-somatic/affective symptoms. Somatic component includes sleep difficulties, fatigue, appetite changes, concentration difficulties, and psychomotor agitation/retardation while non-somatic/affective component covers anhedonia, depressed mood, feelings of worthlessness, and thoughts of death. Further, the results reveal a pattern where PHQ-15 somatic symptom-items have a higher significant relationship with MDD's somatic symptoms than with the MDD's non-somatic/affective symptoms. These findings suggest that the items of model 2b are appropriately embedded in their respective factors. Differentiating MDD factors have important clinical implications, particularly in the diagnosis and treatment of depression among overseas Filipino domestic helpers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes how affect and emotion are linked to processes of voice, empowerment, and agency among a group of female domestic workers in Beijing. I explore such processes through analyzing the women's participation in an NGO-sponsored drama club and putting this in conversation with their social media use. I argue that although such programs provide limited forms of communicative empowerment, public performances of pain present a singular view of domestic workers that contrasts with their diverse expression online. Moreover, the therapeutic mode embraced by the NGO fosters individual empowerment, yet it also potentially dampens collective resistance. Nonetheless, the mobilization of affect creates potential for agency, a bottom-up process that enables possibilities for people to pursue and achieve goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Transnational migrant populations face critical barriers to mental health service utilization that perpetuate mental health disparities globally. Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) number over 2 million globally and 25% are female domestic workers. Structural barriers prevent equitable access to mental health services for this population. Electronic mental health (eMental Health) intervention is a scalable alternative to face-to-face treatment. The current study sought to identify key correlates of intention to use eMental Health within a community of female Filipino domestic workers living and working in Macao (SAR), China. Methods. Respondent-driven sampling implemented at a community field site was used to reach a sample of 1364 female domestic workers. A multivariable adjusted partial proportional-odds (PPO) model was used to assess relevant correlates of intent to use eMental Health. Results. The majority (62.8%) reported being likely to utilize eMental Health. The adjusted PPO model showed that younger age (18-25, 26-35, 36-45 v. over 55), longer time as an OFW, being likely (v. neutral and unlikely) to seek professional services, willingness to pay for services (v. not), belief that mental health services are a priority (v. low priority), having access to Wi-Fi outside the employer's home (v. not), and higher levels of social support were associated with increased odds of intent to use eMental Health. Conclusions. eMental Health is a promising intervention with high potential for uptake among OFWs. The majority of the study population owned a smartphone and were able to connect to the Internet or Wi-Fi. Future work will rigorously evaluate eMental Health programs for use among OFWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic work represents a significant share of global wage employment, but domestic workers – the majority of whom are women – remain to a large extent excluded from the scope of labour laws and, consequently, from the legal protection enjoyed by other workers. Since they work behind the closed doors of private homes, domestic workers are also shielded from public attention and are often hard to mobilise. In Hong Kong, women’s activism involving local and migrant domestic workers illuminates points of connection and distance as they are simultaneously privileged and marginalised along the hierarchies of class, ethnicity and nationality. Building on feminist and social movement scholarship, I illustrate how global frames facilitate our understanding of feminist solidarity among local and migrant domestic workers. I argue that the meanings of solidarity that dominate at any particular moment are not stable and enduring, but rather formed out of negotiation and struggle within and across domestic workers’ unions. This framing process involves these women working deliberately to make connections between global processes and local contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Filipina Christians pack their religion as they migrate overseas for work. And although Filipinas in search of work overseas do not list religious freedom and tolerance as one of their considerations for a destination country, once they have settled, religion functions as a coping mechanism in dealing with the migration process and serves to link migrants with their homeland. This paper explores this overlooked area in the research on Filipina domestic workers in Hong Kong. It examines Filipina domestic workers' religious beliefs and practices, and how these practices compare to those in their country of origin. It also examines how they make use of their religiosity as a survival and adaptive strategy in a city-state that has no state religion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Previous quantitative studies on the effects of social network types on mental health have obtained inconsistent or conflicting results, due to problems such as sample selection bias or crude measurement of variables. In this study, we avoided these problems by using appropriate statistical methodology to examine the effect of various forms of social network on the mental health of a sample of 987 Chinese female domestic workers. Thus, we measured social network types in terms of both network attributes (friend networks and family networks) and interaction channels (face-to-face, telephone, and WeChat/QQ channels, where the latter are two popular online messaging platforms in China), and used the coarsened exact matching method to obtain a balanced sample. The results showed that social network typologies had positive and negative effects on the mental health of this sample of domestic workers, as evidenced by (1) In terms of network attributes, family networks were associated with improved mental health and friend networks were associated with worsened mental health; (2) In terms of interaction channels, the significant amelioration in mental health from family networks came from face-to-face interactions, the significant deterioration in mental health from friends networks came from telephone interactions, and in terms of other interaction channels, family networks and friends networks had no significant effect on mental health. Robustness tests indicated that these conclusions are reliable. We discuss the possible mechanisms of which different types of social networks influence mental health., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Tang, Mamubieke, Jilili, Liu and Yang.)

This study examines the migration experiences of 24 female domestic workers in Beijing through in-depth interviews. Most of these women were involved in a circular pattern of movement between their home villages and cities. The pattern of reverse and circular migration was closely related to the life-course transitions of Chinese rural women and their socially-assigned gender roles such as marriage, childbirth, childrearing and caregiving for family members. For individual domestic workers, working in Beijing is a bittersweet experience. The women were subjected to unfavourable work conditions and pervasive forms of exploitation. Nevertheless, they benefited from the experience through increased access to income, knowledge and other resources unavailable in rural areas. Although these women challenged, through migration, the traditional social roles imposed on Chinese rural women, their own limitations and institutional barriers left them with few options for improving their social statuses in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese television dramas over the past decades have seen the rise and decline of various narratives, but no other narratives speak to the emerging urban middle class's fear and anxiety more palpably than the stories of the maid. However, despite the growing popularity of the maid stories among urban viewers, most of these stories do not resonate with domestic workers themselves. How do we make sense of the growing popularity of the maid stories among urban viewers? And how do we account for the differentiated capacity to resonate and identify with the characters among viewers? These are important questions to consider if one is to understand the new cultural politics of power and social formations in post-Mao China. In this paper, I explore some of the crucial ways in which a controlling gaze is facilitated and naturalised by the visualisation of place and space in these dramas. Then, through both critical analyses and engaged ethnography, I demonstrate how two sets of controlling gaze—everyday and televisual—reinforce and justify each other. Finally, I advance the concept of “peripheral vision,” which, I show, denies the modernist “master” narrative of the city and, instead, empowers the subaltern figure with an epistemological position of “eye-witness” and anthropologist of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a rapidly growing demand for domestic services among urban families in China. However, domestic work remains a low-status occupation with a high turnover rate. Focusing on the job satisfaction of domestic workers is useful to interpret this phenomenon. We investigate how the job satisfaction of domestic workers in China is affected by to two distinct labor control strategies used by their employers: the installation of video-monitoring devices in employers' homes (a "tough" control strategy), and the Chinese custom of giving monetary gifts, or "hongbao" (a "soft" control strategy). By analyzing data from surveys of domestic workers in four cities in China ( N = 699), we find that video monitoring in employers' homes negatively impacts domestic workers' job satisfaction, and that hongbao gifts from employers significantly promote domestic workers' job satisfaction. The analysis of the causal mechanism based on a structural equation model suggests that video monitoring can increase the discrimination that domestic workers perceive, which in turn reduces their job satisfaction. In particular, we find that domestic workers' perception of discrimination completely mediates the effect of video monitoring on their job satisfaction. However, we also find that hongbao gifts significantly reduce domestic workers' perceptions of discrimination, and thus promote their job satisfaction; that is, the relationship between hongbao gifts and job satisfaction is partially mediated by discrimination. Our study provides a more comprehensive understanding of Chinese employers' labor control strategies and their effects on the job satisfaction of domestic workers., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Yang, Fu, Liu, Fan and Jilili.)

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly comorbid with sleep dysfunction. This association was previously explained based on cognitive and emotional dysfunction. The current study extends this literature by investigating the symptom level comorbidity of sleep dysfunction and DSM-5 PTSD utilizing a network approach. Participants were trauma-exposed female Filipino domestic workers (N = 1241). Network analysis was applied to 23 items: 18 items from PCL-5 measuring PTSD (Community 1) and 5 items from PSQI assessing sleep dysfunction (Community 2). The results showed that the symptoms within each community had the strongest correlations. Bridge connections were identified between the sleep dysfunction and PTSD symptom communities. Symptoms with the highest bridge strength were concentration difficulties, recklessness, irritability, and sleep disturbance. This is among the first studies investigating the comorbidity between PTSD and sleep dysfunction from the network approach. Future interventions may be developed that emphasize the bridge symptoms to address comorbidity among trauma exposed migrants., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)