How Job Stress and Psychological Adaptation Predicting Interpersonal Needs Among Female Migrant Manufacturing Workers in China: A Structural Equation Model

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore relationships between job stress and psychological adaptation and how they related to interpersonal needs through mood states among female migrant manufacturing workers. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 16 factories in Shenzhen, China. Sociodemographic, job stress, psychological adaptation and other psychological information of was collected. Structural equation modeling was performed to delineate the internal relationship between variables. RESULTS: The hypothetical structural equation model exhibited acceptable model fit among female migrant manufacturing workers (χ(2) = 11.635, df = 2, χ(2)/df = 5.82, p = 0.003, RMSEA = 0.090, CFI = 0.972, SRMR = 0.020). Job stress was directly associated with mood states and interpersonal needs; Psychological adaptation was directly associated with mood states and indirectly associated with interpersonal needs; Bootstrapping tests demonstrated mediation effect of mood states in the way from psychological adaptation to interpersonal needs. CONCLUSION: Female migrant manufacturing workers who suffered stress from job and the process of psychological adaptation may have worse mood states and workers with worse mood states are more likely to develop unmet interpersonal needs, a proximal factor of suicidal ideation.