Challenges Facing Young Chinese "Knowledge Migrants" In Shanghai: Anxiety And Acculturation

Internal migrants in China face similar difficulties to those who migrate from one nation to another, yet few Chinese scholars have directed their attention to these group. This research chooses knowledge migrants as the research target (N=96) and explores the relationship between anxiety and acculturation levels of this group.Based on Berry's conceptual framework, an inventory, AL-YKM-SH, is developed to measure the acculturation level of young knowledge migrants transitioning to Shanghai. Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) is employed to assess the young knowledge migrants' anxiety level. Relationships between anxiety and acculturation, between anxiety and the sub-factors of acculturation are examined. The study also seeks to identify demographic factors affecting migrants' acculturation and anxiety levels. In addition, qualitative study is conducted to investigate the social-cultural reasons' for migrants' anxiety level.There are four major findings from this study. First, the research findings extend Berry's conceptual model on acculturation level to the Shanghai context by developing the AL-YKM-SH. Secondly, young knowledge migrants' anxiety levels are assessed and founded to be higher than average in China. Thirdly, among various pre-arrival and post-arrival demographic factors, it is found that knowledge migrants' marital status and residential duration have significant effect on their acculturation level. Concerning anxiety level however, no demographic factors are found to have significant influence on it. Fourthly, young knowledge migrants' state and strait anxiety both have strong negative correlation with their acculturation level. With regards to sub-factors affecting acculturation, it is found that state anxiety is negatively correlated with "stress phenomena," "mutual acceptance," and "life satisfaction and future expectation;" Trait anxiety is negatively correlated with "stress phenomena," "life satisfaction and future expectation," "mutual acceptance" (-.359) and "adjustment to the external environment". Findings from this research have theoretical and practical implications for research and practice.