Abstract: According to the stress process theory, the stressors produced in migration process and individual stress vulnerability would affect the mental health of migrants, while the stress vulnerability is affected by the social capital owned by individuals. Based on the dynamic monitoring data of the National Migrant Population Health and Family Planning Survey in 2014, this paper quantitatively examines the urban and rural stressors faced by migrants in the process of migration and the influences on migrants’ mental health by social capital. The results show that: (1) parental pension, children’s education, family medical treatment are the three most important stressors for the migrant population, which have a negative impact on their mental health; among the urban stressors, social exclusion and lower degree in social and cultural adaptation are the main factors affecting the mental health of the migrant population. (2) Individual social capital and social participation have no effect on improving the mental health of the migrant population. (3) The stronger the hometown identity of the inter-provincial migrants, the better mental health they will have; while for the intra-provincial migrant population, their mental health will be better if they have stronger city identity.

Key words: migration stresses; social capital; migrant population; mental health