Effect of social support on mental health in Three Gorges immigrants

Objective To study the mental health and social support condition of Three Gorges immigrants,as well as the relation between the two variables.Methods Three hundred and twenty Three Gorges immigrants and 320 local residents in Shandong province were tested with SCL-90 and Social Support Rating Scale.Results The SCL-90 total score and all of the factors scores in Three Gorges immigrants were significantly higher than that of the local residents.According to the positive standard of any factor score of SCL-90 equal to or higher than 2,the positive rate of Three Gorges immigrants was 40.3%.The scores of subjective support,objective support,use of support and the total level of social support of Three Gorges immigrants were lower than that of the local residents(P<0.001).Scores on objective support,use of support and the total level of social support of positive group were lower than those of negative group(P<0.05).Correlation analysis revealed that the use of social support was related to all of the SCL-90 factors and the total score(P<0.05).Conclusion The social support to Three Gorges immigrants should be streng thened and the mental health work should be promoted among the immigrants.