Life Events and Quality of Life in the Chinese Population: The Mediating Role of Social Capital

Abstract

Objective Life events and social capital can affect one’s quality of life. Stress buffering theory holds that social capital can buffer the negative effects of life events. A conceptual model based on stress buffering theory was proposed to test whether social capital played a mediating role in the relationship between life events and quality of life among adults in Yunnan, China. Methods This study was based on baseline survey data from the Yunnan Cohort in the Chinese Multi-ethnic Cohort (CMEC). A total of 22881 adults were recruited by multistage stratified cluster sampling. A structured questionnaire was used to collect participants’ information, including general demographic characteristics and life events. A self-developed ultra-brief social capital scale was utilized to assess the participants’ social capital and the EQ-5D-5L scale was used to measure their quality of life. Correlation coefficients were used to analyze the relationships among life events, social capital and quality of life, and structural equation models were used to evaluate whether social capital had a mediating effect on the relationship between negative life events and quality of life. Results Social capital had a direct positive effect on quality of life (β = 0.108, 95% CI [0.089, 0.128]). Life events not only directly affected quality of life (β= -0.117, 95% CI [-0.135, -0.099]) but also indirectly negatively affected quality of life through social capital (β= -0.018, 95% CI [-0.022, -0.014]). The results showed that social capital had a mediating effect on the relationship between negative life events and quality of life. Conclusion Social capital played an important mediating role in the relationship between life events and quality of life, and social capital alleviated the negative effects of life events. Providing better social capital for adults experiencing negative life events could effectively improve their quality of life.