A Research On The Characteristics And Relationships Of Social Mobility And Leisure Participation Behavior Of Migrant Workers In Qingdao

By adopting a comprehensive use of literature, questionnaire survey, observationmethod, interviews, scaling method and mathematical statistics, the paper attempts toresearch on the characteristics of social mobility of migrant workers, thecharacteristics of leisure participation of migrant workers, and their relationships.1. The characteristics of social mobility of migrant workers are studied. Of306migrant workers being surveyed in Qingdao,17.3%have the tendency of downmobility,55.2%have the horizontal mobility tendency, and27.5%of upward mobility.The migrant workers of downward mobility are characterized by long hours, lowincome, unstable work, low social security, poor living conditions, and low livingstandard. The new generation is in the majority of migrant workers of horizontalmobility. They’re better educated, but their vocational skills remain to be furtherimproved; they work longer hours, but their wage income is not high; their insuranceconsciousness increases, but they fail to enjoy all the social securities; their livingconditions are improved, but their cost of living is accordingly heightened. Themajority of the migrant workers of upward mobility are those who were born in the1980s. A greater proportion of them graduate from high school and have somevocational skills. They work regular hours and enjoy a handsome income; they enjoysuperior living conditions and their consumption of living is high; they enjoy thecomprehensive social security and are ambitious.2. The factors affecting the social mobility of migrant workers are analyzed.Through interviews it is found that the migrant workers pursuing the urban dream aregradually aware of the importance of human capital and social capital, seeking topromote themselves in a special way. Those who are young, better educated,experienced, and professionally skilled have the advantage of human capital, so theyare more likely to conduct vertical upward mobility. They are more motivated topursue the urban life and more desirous to blend in with city life. The perceptionaldifferences in the changes in social status may affect the migrant workers’ enthusiasmsin social contacts, which results in different social network scale. Through stepwiseregression analysis, it is found that those who are young, highly paid, more sociallyinsured, living more spaciously, and more socially involved are more likely toperceive the changes in social status; Female migrant workers are more likely toperceive the change of social status than males.3. A comparative analysis is made of the intentions of migrant workers whochoose to blend in with urban life. Migrant workers with different perception of socialstatus change are different in the identity, and the intention to purchase house andsettle down. The migrant workers of upward mobility are the most inclined to the cityidentity, the most active to purchase house, and the most desirous to settle down.4. Proper ways to the successful implementation of urbanized migrant workers ofupward mobility are analyzed. Winning honorary titles, becoming individualbusinesses, private business owners, and professionals are suggested ways for them. Some strategies for migrant workers to promote upward mobility are put forward onthe macro, meso and micro levels.5. A leisure participation scale suitable for the migrant workers in China isrevised, and the reliability and validity are tested. The characteristics of leisureparticipation are then further analyzed. The revised scale includes five dimensions:recreational activities, entertaining activities, social activities, sports activities andimproving activities, which can comprehensively reflect the current leisureparticipation of migrant workers. The characteristics of leisure participation behaviorof migrant workers are as follows: recreational and entertaining activities arepreferred while social and sports activities are increasing; the new generation andunmarried migrant workers are more enthusiastic to get involved while male workersparticipate in more sports activities. It is also found that migrant worker of differenttypes of social mobility have apparently different preference to leisure participation.Migrant workers of horizontal mobility are more frequently engaged in recreational,entertaining and improving activities while those of upward mobility give greaterpriority to social and sports activities.6. To measure the recreational attitude of migrant workers in China, the migrantworkers’ leisure attitude scale is revised, and the reliability and validity are tested.Through analysis of the characteristics of migrant workers’ leisure attitude, it is foundthat migrant workers’ leisure behavior attitude scores the highest, which shows thatmigrant workers have a positive leisure experience and it is most possible for them toselect and participate in possible leisure activities. It is also found that their emotionalattitude scores the lowest, which may result from their working environment in thecity. Migrant workers with different perception of social status changes display asignificant difference in the cognitive attitude and emotional attitude (P﹤0.01). Theleisure attitude of the migrant workers who perceive their decreased social statusscores obviously low.7. To measure the migrant workers’ sports leisure constraints, the leisureconstraint scale is revised, and the reliability and validity are tested. It is shown thatthe structural constraint scores the highest while the interpersonal constraint scores thelowest. While time and cost is the most common restriction factor, laziness, lack ofinterest and sports skills is one of the largest internal factors which affect migrantworkers.8. It is found that the social mobility and leisure participation behavior ofmigrant workers are interacted. The leisure participation of migrant workers in citiesis of special significance. It is beneficial to improve their sense of belonging to thecity. It also helps to strengthen their sense of city identity and their willingness toblend in. The possible mechanism is finally put forward for migrant workers topromote the city integration by enhancing human capital, psychological capital andsocial capital through leisure participation, which is supposed to promote their upwardsocial mobility.