The Migration, Mental Stress, and Tobacco use of Internal Migrants in China: The Moderating Effect of the Social Context of the Host Society

Background: Previous studies on the relationship between mental stress and the tobacco use of internal migrants have not fully considered the social context of the host society. Objectives: This study aims to examine how mental stress influences cigarette smoking in internal migrants in China by considering the social context of the host society. Methods: We used the RUMiC data that were collected in 15 cities distributed throughout 9 provinces of China. A total of 8,446 and 5,426 migrant workers were interviewed in 2008 and 2009, respectively. We selected individuals based on the criteria of age, salary, and hukou status. A total of 8,880 observations are valid for this study. This research used the logistic regression method to test the association between mental stress and the tobacco use of internal migrants. Results: The results show that mental stress is not necessarily associated with the tobacco use of internal migrants. However, the effects of mental stress on tobacco use are moderated by the social context of the host society. Conclusions: This article calls for more attention to be paid to the moderate effect of social context in the host society on the association between mental stress and cigarette smoking of internal migrants. Moreover, this article underscores the importance of factors related to local societies in making and enacting tobacco control policies for migrants in developing countries.