Ecological Influences on Chinese Migrant Mothers’ Integration with Hong Kong

The present study uses an ecological model to understand how personal, interpersonal, and environmental factors contribute to migrant mothers’ employment readiness and their perceived integration with the host society. In the literature, successful employment, especially for recent arrivals, has proven to be important in the acculturation process. Little work has taken into account how various personal characteristics, relational factors (e.g., social capital), and neighborhood features make their contributions simultaneously. To enrich the work, this study employs survey data on 433 Chinese migrant mothers living in three low-income neighborhoods of Hong Kong. Results are supportive of the ecological model. They are favorable to the strengthening of social capital and workplace accessibility as a way to champion migrant women's integration with the host society.

Research highlights▶ Social capital tended to raise the migrant mother's integration with the host society. ▶ Social capital comprised neighborhood social cohesion and social support networks. ▶ Workplace walkability tended to raise the integration indirectly. ▶ The indirect effect relied on mediation by the mother's employment readiness. ▶ Overall, ecological factors at neighborhood and interpersonal levels are influential.