Effect of subjective economic status on psychological distress among farmers and non‐farmers of rural C hina

Objective This study aims to compare the prevalence of psychological distress between farmers and non‐farmers of rural C hina. Further, this examines the effect of subjective economic status on psychological distress and whether this effect varies between farmers and non‐farmers. Design The study design is a cross‐sectional survey. Setting The study was conducted in 27 villages of D ongying C ity in S handong P rovince. Participants Rural employed people included 1433 farmers and 584 non‐farmers. Main outcome measures Psychological distress was assessed by the K essler 10 questionnaire, and subjective economic status was assessed by a single question. Results Overall, the farmers did not report significantly higher prevalence of psychological distress than non‐farmers (31.13% versus 30.01%). However, the farmers aged 51–70 years did report significantly higher psychological distress than their non‐farmer counterparts (33.4% versus 24.2%, P = 0.04). Second, subjective economic status had a significant ( β  = −0.28, P < 0.001) effect on psychological distress. Finally, subjective economic status exerted a stronger effect on psychological distress among farmers ( β  = 0.30, P < 0.001) than among non‐farmers ( β  = 0.20, P < 0.001). Conclusions The farmers had a comparable prevalence of psychological distress when compared with non‐farmers in rural C hina. Subjective economic status exerted a significant effect on the psychological distress of rural employed people, and this effect was stronger for the farmers than for the non‐farmers.