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The majority of young migrant workers have "medium" or "low" levels of social adaptation in cities, according to the results of a survey of over 2,000 migrant workers from the ages of 20 to 31.

Young migrant workers not well adapted to city life.[File photo/China.org.cn]

?The report, titled "The Marital and Living Conditions of China's New Generation of Migrant Workers," was released by the family studies center affiliated with the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) on Thursday.

The survey was conducted from April to September 2011 in 19 cities across 10 provincial regions.

Of the 2,517 people surveyed, 45.2 percent were men with an average monthly income of 2,147 yuan (339 U.S. dollars).

The level of social adaptation was evaluated based on respondents' self-evaluation on five aspects: how they have adapted to the ways of living and spending in cities; their social interactions with urbanites; the extent to which they like their jobs in cities; their level of satisfaction with urban public services; how they conform to public regulations in cities.

Among the respondents, 45.5 percent were rated "medium" in terms of their level of adaptation to city life, 44.3 percent were given a rating of "low." Only 5.4 percent and 0.2 percent were rated "relatively well" and "very well," respectively.

In response to a question about unacceptable behavior among city dwellers, 57.9 percent of respondents chose "looking down on migrant workers" as the most unacceptable, putting it ahead of "indifference" and "living extravagant lifestyles."

Meanwhile, as for why they choose to work in cities, 45.9 percent of respondents choose "the experience is conducive to personal development," followed by "there are more opportunities to make money in cities," "the ability to learn skills," and "the ability to broaden one's horizons."

According to the report, China had 230 million migrant workers in 2009, 58.4 percent of whom were born after 1980. This new generation of migrant workers is estimated to total 84.87 million.

The report said these young migrant workers have not only become the main body of the migrant worker population, but also an important force in China's industries, playing an increasingly vital role in China's economic and social development.

The report also covered the marital woes that many migrant workers find themselves confronting. Just 55.8 percent of the survey's respondents said that they still live with their spouses, as many migrant workers are forced to leave their spouses in their hometowns to take care of their children.

For these couples, financial problems are the biggest source of marital difficulties. Paying for housing was the biggest problem for 29.2 of the survey's respondents, while another 21.5 percent cited costly education for their children as the greatest problem in their relationships.

Despite living separately and being financially strained, nearly 75 percent of the survey's respondents described their relationships as "harmonious," while less than 3 percent said they were in "bad" relationships.

Nevertheless, the survey found that more and more young migrant workers have moved their whole families into cities, rather than leaving their spouses or children back in hometowns like most of the first-generation migrant workers had.

Among 75.2 percent of all respondents who have children, 58.2 percent live with their children in cities.

According to statistics from ACWF, China in 2009 had 58 million "left-alone" children, or children whose parents left home to work in cities, accounting for 28.29 percent of the total population of rural children.

The report suggested the government should help migrant workers move to cities with their families, in order to improve their quality of life and so that their children can be raised under their custody.

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