Drinking habits of rural-to-urban versus urban-to-urban internal migrants in chengdu, China

Aim: To analyze differences in and reasons for drinking habits and rates of binge drinking between urban-to-urban and rural-to-urban migrants in a metropolitan city in China.

Design: Cross-sectional, 165-item survey of job-seeking migrants carried out in Chengdu, China in 2005.

Setting: Respondents were selected randomly for an in-person survey from eight labor markets targeting various job types.

Participants: Weighted analyses included 1,005 participants. 504 females, 501 males. 47% between ages 18 and 25. 36% of respondents were rural migrants, and 64% were urban migrants.

Measurements: Thirty-day drinking history including binge drinking rates as well as demographic and socioeconomic measures.

Results: 35.5% of total respondents had had at least one drink in the past 30 days, with no significant difference between rural- and urban-migrant respondents. ~19% of respondents had binged on alcohol in the past 30 days. For urban-migrants, increases in education level and monthly income were correlated with increased likelihood of being a current drinker. Increased education, increased income, and increased pressure at work led to higher likelihood of binge drinking in the urban-migrant population. Increased income was the only variable correlated with increased likelihood of current drinking in rural-migrants. Increased affordability of medical care was negatively correlated with binge drinking in rural-migrants.

Conclusion: Though the general drinking rates do not vary significantly between urban-to-urban and rural-to-urban migrants in Chengdu, China, the reasons behind drinking rates may be different. These differences are important when making alcohol-related policy choices.