“My young life, finished already?”: a qualitative study of embedded social stressors and their effects on mental health of low-wage male migrant workers in Singapore

Globalization and Health · 4 authors, 2 centres

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TL;DR

This qualitative study used interviews to explore the mental health of low-wage male migrant workers in Singapore, finding they are caught in a cycle of chronic stress driven by poor living and working conditions, social exclusion, and barriers to healthcare.

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The study used a grounded theory approach to analyze semi-structured interviews with 21 individual migrant workers and 2 group interviews. It found that low-wage male migrant workers in Singapore face a persistent mental health burden stemming from a cycle of chronic stress. This cycle is driven by structural factors like precarious employment, overcrowded living conditions, and exclusion from healthcare, which are reinforced by social stressors like discrimination and anticipated stigma. These factors synergistically lead to negative quality-of-life appraisal, healthcare avoidance, and reliance on emotion-focused coping strategies. The findings imply an urgent need for policy interventions to improve labor protections, living conditions, and social inclusion for migrant workers.

STUDY TYPE

other

SPECIALTY

psychiatry

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AI pipeline

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ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10329802

“My young life, finished already?”: a qualitative study of embedded social stressors and their effects on mental health of low-wage male migrant workers in Singapore

Globalization and Health

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ABSTRACT

Background Increasing evidence shows low-wage migrant workers experience a high prevalence of mental health disorders and adverse health outcomes. Significant disparities in health services usage among migrant workers create added vulnerability to health complications. However, much remains unclear about how vulnerabilities are constructed in migrant worker populations. Additionally, no studies in Singapore have attempted to critically examine the degree to which social environment and structures affect the health and wellbeing of migrant workers. Therefore, this study aimed to critically situate the socio-structural factors creating conditions of vulnerability among migrant workers using a social stress perspective. Methods We conducted semi-structured individual and group interviews with migrant workers focused on individual life experiences, community experiences (individual and collective social capital), health (mental and physical health concerns) and stress response behaviours. We used a grounded theory approach to identify sources of stress and stress responses and uncover pathways to social vulnerabilities. Results Findings from 21 individual and 2 group interviews revealed that migrant workers were embedded in a cycle of chronic stress driven by structural factors that were mutually reinforced by stressors arising from their social environment. Socio-structural stressors enacted as poor living, working and social conditions resulted in their negative quality-of-life appraisal. Stressors arising from being “foreign” resulted in anticipated stigma, concealment, and healthcare avoidance. These factors synergistically created a persistent mental health burden for migrant workers. Conclusions Findings highlight the need to address the mental health burden placed on migrant workers and create avenues for migrant workers to seek psychosocial support to manage their stressors. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12992-023-00946-5.

CITATION EXPORT

Aysha Farwin, Amanda Low, Natasha Howard et al.. “My young life, finished already?”: a qualitative study of embedded social stressors and their effects on mental health of low-wage male migrant workers in Singapore. Globalization and Health. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-023-00946-5

AUTHORS

4 · 2 CENTRES

Aysha Farwin, Amanda Low, Natasha Howard, Huso Yi

1grid.4280.e0000 0001 2180 6431Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, 12 Science Drive 2, Singapore, 117549 Singapore
2grid.8991.90000 0004 0425 469XDepartment of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK