With this line of research, I explore experiences of belonging and citizenship in the context of transnational migration and social, cultural, and political change. My scholarship in this area encompasses a fairly wide range of projects. Through these projects, I have looked both at large-scale transformations in the politics and infrastructures of transnational migration, and at everyday lived experiences of being mobile and 'on the move'. My work in this area includes:
- Research on highly-skilled migration between Europe and China. This includes an earlier study on transnational Chinese-Western couple relationships, as well as two ongoing research projects on experiences of community formation and belonging among Shanghai 'expats', and on European academics' experiences of migration and academic labour at Chinese universities. My research in this area has been funded with grants from bodies such as the British Academy and the Universities' China Council in London.
- Research on the politics of migration, with a particular focus on visas and immigration permits and the consequences of visa policy reforms for the selective facilitation of migration.
- Smaller research projects on other subjects in this area, such as international student mobility to China and the mental health conditions of 'left-behind' children in China's huge wave of rural-to-urban internal migration.
- As part of this line of research, I have also conducted grant-funded consultancy research. This has included studies on gender-based violence in China, for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and on gender and migration in East Asia, for UN Women.
Recent publications
For a complete overview of my publications in this line of research, please visit my profiles on Google Scholar and Research Gate, via the links below.
Physical activity, sport and transnational migrant spaces in Shanghai, China:
(Re)crafting contours of a metropolitan cityscape
(Re)crafting contours of a metropolitan cityscape
Kohe, G., Nehring, D. and Tu, M. (2021) ‘Physical activity, sport and transnational migrant spaces in Shanghai, China: (Re)crafting contours of a metropolitan cityscape’, International Review for the Sociology of Sport (SSCI), Online First, DOI: 0.1177/10126902211009444. Impact factor 2.019
This study examines associations between sport/physical activity space, community formation and social life among Shanghai’s highly skilled migrant demographic. There is limited illustration of the roles sport and physical exercise provision and spaces play in this migrant cohort’s lives, community formation and participation in their host societies. Yet, such evidence is of value in determining social policy, urban development and community engagement initiatives. Using a mixed-methods approach involving public policy critique, cultural and spatial analysis and virtual community investigation, this article provides a conceptual exploration of ways sport and physical activity frame individual and collective migrant experiences, and how such experiences enmesh with wider geo-spatial, political and domestic context. Amid Shanghai’s presentation as a globally attractive space, we reveal some of the complexities of the cityscape as an emblematic location for highly mobile, highly skilled migrants. A confluence of ideals about urban citizenship, social participation and localised physical activity/sport-based (inter)action, we note, articulate Shanghai anew, and contribute to debates on highly skilled transnational mobility and community formation.
Available online here.
This study examines associations between sport/physical activity space, community formation and social life among Shanghai’s highly skilled migrant demographic. There is limited illustration of the roles sport and physical exercise provision and spaces play in this migrant cohort’s lives, community formation and participation in their host societies. Yet, such evidence is of value in determining social policy, urban development and community engagement initiatives. Using a mixed-methods approach involving public policy critique, cultural and spatial analysis and virtual community investigation, this article provides a conceptual exploration of ways sport and physical activity frame individual and collective migrant experiences, and how such experiences enmesh with wider geo-spatial, political and domestic context. Amid Shanghai’s presentation as a globally attractive space, we reveal some of the complexities of the cityscape as an emblematic location for highly mobile, highly skilled migrants. A confluence of ideals about urban citizenship, social participation and localised physical activity/sport-based (inter)action, we note, articulate Shanghai anew, and contribute to debates on highly skilled transnational mobility and community formation.
Available online here.
Maltreatment and depression among left-behind adolescents in rural China: The moderating roles of food security and depression literacy
Yang, F., Shen, Y. and Nehring, D. (2021) ‘Maltreatment and depression among left-behind adolescents in rural China: The moderating roles of food security and depression literacy’, Child Abuse & Neglect (SSCI), 114, Online First, DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.104976. Impact factor 2.569
Abstract
Background
Maltreatment is a leading cause of adolescent depression. Economic empowerment and mental health services provision are major policy options to solve this problem in developing countries. However, little is known about how these policy options jointly influence the association between maltreatment and adolescent depression.
Objective
To examine how the configuration of food security and depression literacy influenced the association between maltreatment and depression of Chinese rural left-behind adolescents (LBAs).
Participants
The analysis was based on the responses of 1,469 LBAs (12–18 years old) from 21 rural schools in 2018.
Methods
The participants responded to items on the Birleson Depression Self-Rating Scale, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, a clinical vignette on depression, and questions on their demographic information. The data was analyzed using a hierarchical moderated regression model.
ResultsMaltreatment was significantly associated with depression of LBAs (p < .001). The independent moderating effect of food insecurity (p < .05) or of depression literacy (p < .05) was observed only after including the interaction of maltreatment, food insecurity, and depression literacy. The configuration of food insecurity and depression literacy significantly moderated the focal association (p < .05). Specifically, in the low food insecurity setting, low depression literacy significantly strengthened the focal association (p < .01), while in the high food insecurity setting, high depression literacy significantly strengthened the focal association (p < .01).
Conclusions
Depression interventions for adolescents in under-resourced communities should consider both food security and psychoeducation, and the implementation of the latter should be based on the level of the former.
Available online here.
Abstract
Background
Maltreatment is a leading cause of adolescent depression. Economic empowerment and mental health services provision are major policy options to solve this problem in developing countries. However, little is known about how these policy options jointly influence the association between maltreatment and adolescent depression.
Objective
To examine how the configuration of food security and depression literacy influenced the association between maltreatment and depression of Chinese rural left-behind adolescents (LBAs).
Participants
The analysis was based on the responses of 1,469 LBAs (12–18 years old) from 21 rural schools in 2018.
Methods
The participants responded to items on the Birleson Depression Self-Rating Scale, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, a clinical vignette on depression, and questions on their demographic information. The data was analyzed using a hierarchical moderated regression model.
ResultsMaltreatment was significantly associated with depression of LBAs (p < .001). The independent moderating effect of food insecurity (p < .05) or of depression literacy (p < .05) was observed only after including the interaction of maltreatment, food insecurity, and depression literacy. The configuration of food insecurity and depression literacy significantly moderated the focal association (p < .05). Specifically, in the low food insecurity setting, low depression literacy significantly strengthened the focal association (p < .01), while in the high food insecurity setting, high depression literacy significantly strengthened the focal association (p < .01).
Conclusions
Depression interventions for adolescents in under-resourced communities should consider both food security and psychoeducation, and the implementation of the latter should be based on the level of the former.
Available online here.
Intimate citizenship and the tightening of migration controls in the United Kingdom
Nehring D. and Sealey C., (2020) ‘Intimate citizenship and the tightening of migration controls in the United Kingdom’, Social Policy and Administration (SSCI Q1), 54(3), pp.427-440, DOI: 10.1111/spol.12541. Impact factor 1.91
This article examines recent changes in British family migration policy. It explores the reasons for these policy changes. It highlights the fact that these changes have affected the legal, financial, social, and lived experiences of transnational couples. It uses primary research to exemplify these changes. For example, it highlights the fact that the changes in policy have had some negative impacts on the ability of transnational families to have intimate relationships with each other. Some of these changes have led to the separation of couples. Other changes have led to what couples outline as an involuntary separation from the United Kingdom. This research has current and future relevance in the context of the focus of the current government and the likelihood that policy will be tightened even further in the aftermath of Britain leaving the EU, post‐Brexit.
Available online here.
This article examines recent changes in British family migration policy. It explores the reasons for these policy changes. It highlights the fact that these changes have affected the legal, financial, social, and lived experiences of transnational couples. It uses primary research to exemplify these changes. For example, it highlights the fact that the changes in policy have had some negative impacts on the ability of transnational families to have intimate relationships with each other. Some of these changes have led to the separation of couples. Other changes have led to what couples outline as an involuntary separation from the United Kingdom. This research has current and future relevance in the context of the focus of the current government and the likelihood that policy will be tightened even further in the aftermath of Britain leaving the EU, post‐Brexit.
Available online here.
Remain, return, or re-migration? The (im)mobility trajectory of mainland Chinese students after completing their education in the UK
Tu, M. and Nehring, D., (2019) ‘Remain, return, or re-migration? The (im)mobility trajectory of mainland Chinese students after completing their education in the UK’, International Migration (SSCI), 58(3), pp. 43-57, DOI 10.1111/imig.12589. Impact factor 1.04
The migration of Chinese students to the UK has long been the focus of academic and policy‐making attention. However, what happens to their transnational mobility after their education remains understudied. This article unpacks the migration decision‐making process behind graduates' study‐to‐employment transition. We focus on individuals' on‐going reinterpretation of capital convertibility between China and the UK and examine how the meaning of mobility changes in time and in the transnational socio‐economic environment. In so doing, we draw on in‐depth interviews with graduates who have remained in the UK, as well as with returnees. Our findings reveal our participants' periodic uncertainty about professional opportunities and attendant mobility choices in the context of fast‐paced socio‐economic change in China and in the UK. The article thus calls for a more supportive post‐study work policy environment for international students in the UK, especially in the context of uncertainty about Brexit.
Available online here.
The migration of Chinese students to the UK has long been the focus of academic and policy‐making attention. However, what happens to their transnational mobility after their education remains understudied. This article unpacks the migration decision‐making process behind graduates' study‐to‐employment transition. We focus on individuals' on‐going reinterpretation of capital convertibility between China and the UK and examine how the meaning of mobility changes in time and in the transnational socio‐economic environment. In so doing, we draw on in‐depth interviews with graduates who have remained in the UK, as well as with returnees. Our findings reveal our participants' periodic uncertainty about professional opportunities and attendant mobility choices in the context of fast‐paced socio‐economic change in China and in the UK. The article thus calls for a more supportive post‐study work policy environment for international students in the UK, especially in the context of uncertainty about Brexit.
Available online here.