Table 3.
Socio-demographic, migration and health related characteristics of parents in migrant and non-migrant households
| Migrant spouse (%) | Comparative spouse (%) | Group difference (chi 2 , df, p-value) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | 18.64 (2), p = 0.001 | ||
| Male | 111 (28.8) | 51 (13.2) | |
| Female | 274 (71.2) | 334 (86.8) | |
| Age | 29.14 (1), p = 0.001 | ||
| Spouse age (mean) | 37.9 (0.49) | 37.0 (0.39) | |
| 18-30 | 54 (14.1) | 77 (18.3) | |
| 31-60 | 293 (76.3) | 305 (72.4) | |
| above 61 | 37 (9.6) | 39 (9.3) | |
| Ethnicity | 0.86 (3), p = 0.461 | ||
| Sinhala | 286 (74.5) | 301 (78.2) | |
| Tamil | 27 (7.0) | 23 (6.0) | |
| Muslim | 61 (15.9) | 56 (14.5) | |
| Other | 10 (2.6) | 5 (1.3) | |
| Education | 22.55 (2), p = 0.001 | ||
| No education | 27 (7.0) | 4 (1.0) | |
| Primary | 95 (24.7) | 46 (11.9) | |
| Secondary | 263 (68.3) | 335 (87.0) | |
| Civil status | 9.00 (2), p = 0.001 | ||
| Married | 345 (89.6) | 374 (97.1) | |
| Unmarried | 7 (1.8) | 2 (0.5) | |
| Divorced | 33 (8.6) | 9 (2.3) | |
| Employment | 0.97 (1), p = 0.323 | ||
| Non-employed | 247 (64.2) | 260 (67.5) | |
| Employed | 138 (35.8) | 125 (32.5) | |
| Family indebtedness | 1.08 (2), p = 0.339 | ||
| No (little or no debt) | 214 (55.6) | 229 (59.6) | |
| Yes (significant levels of debt) | 171 (44.4) | 155 (40.4) | |
| Area of residence | 0.15 (1), p = 0.696 | ||
| Rural | 264 (68.6) | 269 (69.9) | |
| Urban | 121 (31.4) | 116 (30.1) | |
| Employment type of labor migrant* | |||
| Labourer/domestic maid | 249(65.5) | Not applicable | |
| Services | 78(20.5) | Not applicable | |
| Technical | 17(4.5) | Not applicable | |
| Professional/other | 36(9.5) | Not applicable | |
| Return frequency of labor migrant | |||
| Every year | 61(15.8) | Not applicable | |
| Every 2–5 years | 110(28.6) | Not applicable | |
| Never returned/missing | 214(55.6) | Not applicable | |
| In-bound remittance | |||
| Every month | 144(42.9) | Not applicable | |
| Every 2–6 months/more | 192(57.1) | Not applicable | |
| Health-related factors | |||
| General health | 9.97 (2), p = 0.001 | ||
| Excellent | 17 (4.4) | 19 (5.0) | |
| Fair | 319 (82.9) | 349 (91.1) | |
| Poor | 49 (12.7) | 15 (3.9) | |
| Current illness | 27.94 (1), p = 0.001 | ||
| Current diagnosed illness | 133 (34.7) | 70 (18.2) | |
| No current illness | 250 (65.3) | 315(81.8) | |
| Prevalence of Common Mental Disorders (CMD) | |||
| Any CMD | 74 (19.2) | 35 (9.1) | 16.56 (1), p = 0.001 |
| Depression | 65 (16.9) | 30 (7.8) | |
| Somatoform disorder | 22 (5.7) | 12 (3.1) | |
| Anxiety | 8 (2.1) | 2 (0.5) | |
*The categories of migrant worker employment were classified according to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment.