Depressive symptoms among older empty nesters in China: the moderating effects of social contact and contact with one’s children

Xu, Mingming; Yang, Wei

doi:10.1080/13607863.2021.2019190

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…However, the fact is that children have their ideas and want their own private space, and the expectations of older people are not met. Therefore, it aggravates the emergence of depression [ 38 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and factors influencing depression among empty nesters in China: A meta-analysis

et al. 2023

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Background Empty nesters are older people who live alone or an older couple without children to care for them. In China, empty nesters make up a significant community and are more likely to experience emotional issues, particularly depression. This study investigated the prevalence of depression and the factors influencing depression among Chinese home-bound empty nesters using meta-analysis. Methods Based on previous studies, we used search terms relating to empty nesters and depression in English and Chinese. Databases, including China Journal Full Text Database (CNKI), Wanfang, Wipu, China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and UptoDate, were searched in April 2022, for relevant articles. Details including names of authors, year of publication, region of investigation, study type, sample size, depression detection scale, depression detection rate, and influencing factors were captured. The heterogeneity of the studies was assessed based on the I2 index, and data analysis was performed using Stata 16.0 software. Results A total of ten research articles involving 5337 Chinese empty nesters were evaluated in the present meta-analysis. The overall prevalence of depression among empty nesters in China was 43%. The prevalence of depression among urban empty nesters was 38% (95% CI: 0.24,0.52), and 36% (95% CI: 0.18,0.55) among rural empty nesters. Many factors, including female, income, marital status, chronic illness, relationship with children, and social support were linked to depression among urban empty nesters. Conclusion The prevalence of depression among empty nesters was 43%. Therefore, based on the factors influencing depression, government departments can intervene early to improve the mental health of empty nesters. Limitations The meta-analysis only included cross-sectional studies. Therefore, there is a need for more future original studies investigating depression among empty nesters in China.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and factors influencing depression among empty nesters in China: A meta-analysis

et al. 2023

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“…Thus, empty nesters seek connectedness as it is important according to Xu and Yang (2022) who discussed other studies indicating social contact especially with their children to have critical impact on mental health, weakens perceived stress, enhances well-being, and produces positive affective states.…”

Section: Theme 3: Social Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Surviving Vulnerabilities of Isolation among Widowed Empty Nesters

Ablanque

Singson²

2022

IJMABER

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A sufficient number of empty nesters living in isolation had been increasing in population, thus it is encouraged to provide a plethora of research data and studies on gerontology and isolation that could contribute to their wellbeing. This study utilized the descriptive phenomenological analysis and purposive sampling method to determine the five participants. Inclusion criteria were established to narrow down participants with common conditions. Data were gathered through online interviews and analyzed using Lichtman’s 3 C’s comprised of codes, categories, and concepts. The following themes emerged: economic vulnerability, physical vulnerability, social vulnerability, emotional vulnerability, coping with isolation vulnerabilities, and hopeful aspirations. In conclusion, empty nesters may experience multiple challenges that made them vulnerable in many aspects, but they were also able to develop coping strategies to manage these vulnerabilities. The limitations encountered in this study may be improved by exploring the experiences of empty nesters from other socio-economic categories and conducting a mixed-method study that would generate a broad range of data. The result of the study exposes various vulnerabilities that contribute to challenges encountered by empty nesters. Since the results are limited from generalizing the entire senior citizen population, it could be noted that the resiliency to survive challenging situations promote a holistic approach for aging and positive psychology as results provided varied sources for coping which ranges from both the internal and external sources. Survival elements of connectedness and transcending difficult situations affirm the practicality of promoting life meaning especially during difficult situations.

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“…Previous studies found that young-old adults were associated with more barriers to mental health treatment [ 7 ], female was more likely to be depressed when facing loneliness because of declining estrogen levels in their golden age [ 8 ], and people with secondary and higher education were more likely to seek professional help for depression than those with no formal education [ 9 ]. Appropriate social participation was beneficial to improve depression because of the U-shaped relationship between social participation and depression [ 10 ], and frequent social contact was important to depression improvement for older empty nesters with disabilities [ 11 ]. Previous studies also found that higher community socioeconomic status was associated with lower individual depressive symptom among middle-aged and older adults [ 12 ], depressive risk of the elderly was higher in living alone compared with not living alone in China [ 13 , 14 ], and regular contact with children was important for the mental health of older adults [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participation in productive activities was associated with fewer depressive symptoms for older adults with dual sensory loss [ 49 ]. People who were highly active had lower depressive symptoms [ 10 , 11 , 50 ]. After controlling for the confounding effects of aging, individual demographic differences, and health status, continued or initiated participation in social activities later in life was significantly associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms in older adults [ 51 ].Social participation not only regulated depression caused by chronic diseases [ 52 ], but also reduced the depression risk caused by air pollution exposure among older adults [ 53 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of long-term care insurance policy on depression in non-disabled people: evidence from China

Jiang,

Yang

2024

BMC Public Health

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Background Policy effect might be multidimensional and spill over to non-recipients. It is unclear how the implementation of Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) policy affects depression in non-disabled people and how this effect differs in different non-disabled groups. Methods Using time-varying differences-in-differences method and nationally representative health survey data in wave 2011, wave 2013, wave 2015 and wave 2018 from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we assessed the effect of LTCI policy on depression in non-disabled people aged 45 years and older, and discussed the heterogeneity of effect across different population characteristics: retirement, financial support and social participation status. Results We found LTCI policy statistically significant reduced depression by 0.76 units in non-disabled people compared to non-pilot cities. Depression in non-disabled people who unretired, with financial support and without social participation was reduced by 0.8267, 0.7079 and 1.2161 units, respectively. Conclusions Depression in non-disabled people was statistically significant reduced because of LTCI policy in China, and non-disabled people who unretired, with financial support and without social participation benefited more from LTCI policy. Our findings highlight the depression-reducing effect of LTCI policy in non-recipients and suggest that non-disabled people who unretired, with financial support and without social participation should be concerned during LTCI policy progress.

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Depressive symptoms among older empty nesters in China: the moderating effects of social contact and contact with one’s children

Cited by 12 publications

References 50 publications

Prevalence and factors influencing depression among empty nesters in China: A meta-analysis

Prevalence and factors influencing depression among empty nesters in China: A meta-analysis

Surviving Vulnerabilities of Isolation among Widowed Empty Nesters

Effect of long-term care insurance policy on depression in non-disabled people: evidence from China

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