Understanding Social Capital in Migrant Women From Mainland China to Hong Kong

This study was based on data from a survey of social capital in a low-income community in Hong Kong. Based on the importance of social capital for successful social adjustment and integration of migrants, this study compared the presence and nature of social capital among female migrants and local people and identified the relationship between socioeconomic status and the characteristics of social capital among migrant women. This large-scale survey adopted a cross-sectional design using the Chinese version of the Social Capital Questionnaire developed by Onyx and Bullen. Stratified random sampling was applied using 981 housing apartments as the sample units. A subsample of 90 new migrant women from mainland China was used for the analysis. The results indicate that the migrants had developed less social capital with different characteristics compared with that of local people. Social services to develop trust and social capital among migrants is recommended, in addition to further research on the intersectionality of gender, migrants, and social capital.