The Health Implications of Foreign Domestic Helpers’ Family and Friendship Network in Hong Kong

• In Event: 4367 - Section on Asia and Asian America Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: 4. International Migration

Abstract

Migrant domestic helpers provide essential services to the families they live with, but they are not considered a part of the family. As a group, they are not well-integrated into the society and often suffer from social isolation. In this paper, we explore the potential health buffering effects of their personal network, in terms of family and friendship ties in both the local community and their home country. Existing literature provides inconsistent evidence on who and what matters more, as regard to the nature, strength, and geographic locations of individual personal networks. Using data from the Survey of Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong (2017), we find that family ties are extremely important. Presence of family members in Hong Kong and daily contact with family, regardless of location, are associated with better self reported health. Only daily contact with friends in Hong Kong, not with friends in other countries promotes better health. We also find evidence of interaction between family and friends network. Interestingly, we find higher satisfaction with the employer is associated with better self-reported health.

Authors

• Jing Ye, University of Maryland, College Park

• Feinian Chen, University of Maryland