Types of integration and depressive symptoms: A latent class analysis on the resettled population for the Three Gorges dam project, China

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.03.045Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Three integration patterns were found among the Three Gorges re-settlers.

  • Fully integrated (68%), culturally economically integrated (21%), unintegrated (11%).

  • Different integration types linked to different levels of depressive symptoms.

  • Culturally economically integrated had similar high levels of CES-D as the unintegrated.

  • The subjective dimension of integration and resettlement was important.

Abstract

Focusing on China's Three Gorges Project (TGP)-Induced Resettlement, the largest scale resettlement induced by a single development project, this study aims to investigate different types of integration patterns among the TGP re-settlers and how modes of integration associate with depressive symptoms. Using Latent Class Analysis, we analyzed survey data on 407 TGP re-settlers. We detected three integration patterns among these re-settlers: the fully integrated (68%), the culturally and economically integrated (21%) and the unintegrated (11%). We found that different integration types were linked to different levels of depressive symptoms. Unless fully integrated and experienced a warm feeling toward new community, re-settlers were vulnerable to elevated depressive symptoms. Our findings that culturally and economically integrated re-settlers had similar levels of depressive symptoms as the unintegrated re-settlers highlighted the importance of subjective dimension of integration and resettlement. We also found that rural re-settlers and those who move with the whole village were more likely to fall into the unintegrated category. Policy implications were discussed.

Introduction

In today's world, millions of refugees are forced to relocate due to wars, social conflicts, natural disasters, etc. Although not having drawn much attention of the global society, a large number of people are displaced by developmental projects such as dams, urban infrastructure projects, irrigation systems, mines, and urban renewal projects. A recent estimate indicates that about 15 million people around the world are displaced each year to make way for developmental projects (Oliver-Smith, 2009). Although factors that trigger their relocation are different, project-induced relocatees face the same challenges as resettled refugees face when they strive to establish themselves in the new community.

In what circumstance can a resettlement be considered as successful? Derived from the experiences of voluntary immigrants, assimilation and integration theories suggest that a resettlement can be considered as successful when an immigrant is fully integrated into the host society. Researchers argue that getting familiar with host society's extrinsic culture such as language and food is usually the first step of integration (Alba and Nee, 1997, Gordon, 1964). They then strive to achieve social and economic parity with the natives in job markets and educational systems (Alba and Nee, 1997). Diminished social distance, emotional attachment and sense of belonging are indicators for the last step of integration (Alba and Foner, 2014, Amit, 2011). Researchers have emphasized the subjective dimension of integration such as emotional attachment as it may not be the by-product of economic integration (Amit, 2011). Even if immigrants are comfortable with the local culture and have reached social economic parity with natives, they may not develop an emotional attachment to the host society (Amit, 2011). In this case, a successful re-settlement is not reached.

Informed by the assimilation and integration theories, in this study we focus on China's Three Gorges Project (TGP)-induced resettlement, the largest scale resettlement induced by a single development project. This study has two main goals. First, we aim to investigate different types of integration patterns among the TGP re-settlers and how modes of integration associate with the mental health of the re-settlers. Second, we examine if there exists vulnerable groups that are at the lowest level of integration. If there are such groups, what are the characteristics of members in these groups? As such, this study would contribute to the immigration literature by examining mental health implication of types of integration. It would also contribute to project-induced resettlement literature by identifying vulnerable groups so that resettlement policy can be better tailored to different subpopulations and resources can be allocated to the most in need.

Section snippets

The Three Gorges Project (TGP)

Among developing countries, China has experienced a stunning rapid development during the past few decades. In 1994, China began the construction of the Three-Gorges Project, the world's largest hydroelectric project located in the mid-section of China's Yangtze River. The stated purposes of the TGP is to control for recurring floods in one of China's most populated regions, to generate hydro power for economic expansion, and to facilitate development in China's interior by means of improved

Social integration of re-settlers

In what circumstance can a project-induced resettlement be considered as successful? The literature on the integration of voluntary migrants into the host society can inform us in answering this question. Derived from the experiences of European immigrants entering the US around the turn of the 20th century, classical assimilation theory suggests that new comers first pick up language, food and other customs as part of their “culture assimilation” process. However, full assimilation only occurs

Mental health

There is a consensus that a project-induced re-settlement is stressful. However, different researchers have different views on where the stress comes from. There are researchers who maintain that displacement itself does not necessarily lead to mental distress; rather, distress results from changes in life circumstances such as changes in employment, source of income, social network, quality of farm lands, and access to services (Desjarlais et al., 1995). As a result, once the income source,

Data

Data used in this study came from a prospective panel study involving a pre-migration and a post-migration survey spaced three years apart. The TGP migration provided a natural experiment-like research condition for migration studies. The construction of the dam and the reservoir required the relocation of all those who were in the way on a non-selective basis. This allowed us to measure migration consequences such as integration free of confounding selectivity. In addition, the TGP migration

Measures

Integration was measured by 7 items: Do you have difficulties in communicating with local people? Do you think it is hard for you to establish here without learning local dialects? Do you think you are often at odds with local people because you are not familiar with their customs? Do you think that your working condition is worse than that of local people because you are a re-settler? Do you think that local people are not nice to you because you are a re-settler? Do you like your new

Analytical strategy

Latent class analysis (LCA) is an analytic tool that allows researchers to identify unobserved subpopulation or clusters of individuals that respond similarly to a set of measured variables. We suspect the observed integration data are an unobserved “mixture” of two or more integration types with high homogeneity within each type and adequate separation among them. In this approach, individuals are classified into unobserved latent integration classes based on similar integration patterns. The

Results

Table 1 reports descriptive statistics for depressive symptoms, integration items, and other sample characteristics. With respect to depressive symptoms, the average CES-D for the overall sample was about 22 at baseline and 26 at the post-relocation survey. In literature, a CES-D score of 16 is often considered as the cutoff point for depressive symptoms with clinical significance (Radloff, 1977). With this in mind, even the pre-relocation CES-D score was considered high. After relocation, the

Discussions and conclusions

“Development” is one of the main themes for global society, and projects that are labeled as developmental are common, especially in the developing world. Populations to be relocated involuntarily to make way for these projects are often social-economically disadvantaged. Many such projects in the past have brought catastrophic impacts on the displaced population. How to improve relocation outcome and help re-settlers successfully resettle in their new home has been hotly debated. In this

References (39)

  • S.-S. Hwang et al.

    Anticipation of migration and psychological stress and the three gorges dam project, China

    Soc. Sci. Med.

    (2007)
  • R. Alba et al.

    Rethinking assimilation theory for a new era of immigration

    Int. Migr. Rev.

    (1997)
  • R. Alba et al.

    Comparing immigrant integration in North America and Western Europe: how much do the grand narratives tell us?

    Int. Migr. Rev.

    (2014)
  • K. Amit

    Social integration and identity of immigrants from Western Countries, the FSU and Ethiopia in Israel

    Ethn. Racial Stud.

    (2011)
  • T. Asparouhov et al.

    Auxiliary Variables in Mixture Modeling: a 3-Step Approach Using Mplus

    (2013)
  • L.J. Bartolome et al.

    Displacement, Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Reparation and Development

    (2000)
  • M. Beiser

    The health of immigrants and refugees in Canada

    Can. J. Public Health

    (2005)
  • K. Berlin et al.

    An introduction to latent variable mixture modeling (Part I): overview and cross-sectional latent class and latent profile analyses

    J. Pediatr. Psychol.

    (2014)
  • P. Blau

    Inequality and Heterogeneity

    (1977)
  • M.M. Cernea

    Financing for development: benefit-sharing mechanisms in population resettlement

  • E. Colson

    Social Consequences of Resettlement: the Impact of the Kariba Resettlement upon the Gwembo Tonga

    (1971)
  • R.R. Desjarlais et al.

    World Mental Health: Problems, and Priorities in Low-income Countries

    (1995)
  • T.E. Downing et al.

    Routine and dissonant culture: a theory about the psycho-socio-cultural disruptions of involuntary displacement and ways to mitigate them without inflicting even more damage

  • X. Feng

    Are higher response rates better? an alternative view on response rate (In Chinese)

    Sociol. Res.

    (2007)
  • M. Gordon

    Assimilation in American Life

    (1964)
  • C. Guo et al.

    Analysis of character of conversion of the role of immigrants: study on the social role of three gorges immigrants to Shandong Province(In Chinese)

    Chin. J. Soc. Med.

    (2010)
  • G. Heggelund

    Environment and Resettlement Politics in China

    (2004)
  • S.-S. Hwang et al.

    The short-term social, economic, and health impact of China's Three Gorges dam project: a prospective study

    Soc. Indic. Res.

    (2011)
  • S.-S. Hwang et al.

    Structural and individual covariates of English language proficiency

    Soc. Forces

    (2008)
  • Cited by (10)

    • ‘Sustainability of what, for whom? A critical analysis of Chinese development induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR) programs

      2022, Land Use Policy
      Citation Excerpt :

      From 1949 until the 1980s, 15 million people were resettled because of hydropower development. Although resettlement is an efficient approach to accomplish targeted development goals (Fig. 1) in a short time, resettlees commonly face secondary poverty after relocation, including loss of land and homeland, unemployment, physical, social and psychological marginalization, disease, food insecurity, loss of shared resources and the disintegration of social structure (Wilmsen, 2018; Yang et al., 2017; World Commission on Dams, 2000; Xi, 2016). In some poorly handled resettlements, impoverishment, and disintegration of social structure impacts not only the resettlees but also the broader population (Webber and Mcdonald, 2004; Xu et al., 2021b).

    • Integration of migrants in poverty alleviation resettlement to urban China

      2022, Cities
      Citation Excerpt :

      It should be noted that resettlers may develop depression after relocation. For instance, depressive symptoms of the resettled population of the Three Gorges Dam project were much higher in the post-relocation period than the pre-relocation period (Xi, 2016). Moreover, the integrated population manifested significantly fewer depressive symptoms than those who were not integrated.

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text