Families on the move in China: challenges, strategies, and implications

Abstract

We studied 12 migrant families who lived on the outskirts of Beijing, conducting participant observations and in-depth interviews between July 2008 and December 2009. Adopting the family strengths perspective, we identified the strategies employed by the migrant population to manage family life, the reliance on family networks for help and support, and their means of coping with the lack of equal access to state-provided benefits and services. We argue that migrants and their families should not be the target of policy or practice interventions – despite the unequal treatment, they cope with various difficulties, survive the migration process and succeed in adjustment and adaptation to the migrant life – rather, the divisive hukou system and the associated unequal distribution of benefits and services require fundamental reform.