BEIJING - The majority of young migrant workers have  "medium" or "low" levels of social adaptation in cities, according to the results of a survey of over 2,000 migrant workers from the ages of 20 to 31.

The report, titled "The Marital and Living Conditions of China's New Generation of Migrant Workers," was released by the family studies center affiliated with the All-China Women's Federation on Thursday.

The survey was conducted from April to September 2011 in 16 cities across 10 provincial regions.

Of the 2,517 people surveyed, 45.2 percent were men with an average monthly income of 2,147 yuan ($337).

The level of social adaptation was evaluated based on respondents' self-evaluation on five aspects: how they have adapted to the ways of living and spending in cities; their social interactions with urbanites; the extent to which they like their jobs in cities; their level of satisfaction with urban public services; how they conform to public regulations in cities.

Among the respondents, 45.5 percent were rated "medium" in terms of their level of adaptation to city life, 44.3 percent were given a rating of "low." Only 5.4 percent and 0.2 percent were rated "relatively well" and "very well," respectively.

The report also says that it falls short of creating a full picture of migrant workers' adaptation to city life because the study only evaluated their adaptation according to several behaviors.

In response to a question about the most unacceptable behavior among city dwellers, 57.9 percent of respondents chose "looking down on migrant workers," putting it ahead of indifference and extravagant lifestyles, among others.

According to the report, China had 230 million migrant workers in 2009, 58.4 percent of whom were born after 1980. This "new generation of migrant workers" is estimated to total 84.87 million.

The report says these young migrant workers have not only become the main body of the migrant worker population, but also an important force among China's industrial workers, playing an increasingly vital role in China's economic and social development.