The association between perceived residential environment, social interaction and subjective well‐being of China's elderly migrants

Abstract

With the rapid growth in both urbanization and the ageing of the population, elderly migrants have become a more prominent group in urban China. Previous studies have shown that elderly migrants are a vulnerable group in terms of subjective well‐being (SWB) and studies have emphasized the role of their socioeconomic status (SES) and family‐related attributes (FRA) on their SWB. However, there is less attention on whether the perceived residential environment (PRE) to which elderly migrants are exposed and their social interactions have some effect on their SWB. To fill this research gap, street view images and questionnaire survey data from Guangzhou, China were collected. The association between PRE, social interactions, and elderly migrants' SWB was examined within a comprehensive framework using structural equation models. The results indicated that elderly people who had migrated within China had lower levels of SWB than Guangzhou‐born elderly adults. Social interactions mediated the effects of SES, FRA, and perceived environment on the SWB of elderly migrants. After controlling for SES and FRA, a livelier and safer PRE was directly positively associated with elderly migrants' SWB (coefficient = 0.181 at the 1% level) and indirectly associated with elderly migrants' SWB through social interactions with local friends (coefficient = 0.035 at the 1% level) and with neighbours (coefficient = 0.014 at the 5% level). These results suggest that increased social interactions and the creation of a better PRE would benefit elderly migrants' SWB in the context of active ageing.

How does the neighbourhood environment influence migrants' subjective well‐being in urban China?

“…This finding is noteworthy given the extensive research suggesting that a higher land use mix within residential areas generally leads to improved social engagement, outdoor activity opportunities, and better accessibility to essential services and facilities (Su et al, 2016). These factors have been associated with higher life satisfaction and daily happiness (Barton et al, 2020; Song et al, 2022). However, these potential benefits may be offset by some undesirable outcomes related to the land use mix, such as increased noise and air pollution resulting from overconcentration (Frank et al, 2006).…”

“…We included a set of individual characteristics as controlled variables (Ng et al, 2021; Schwanen & Wang, 2014; Song et al, 2022; Yang et al, 2023), such as age, gender, educational status (below junior high school, high school and junior college, bachelor's degree or above), average personal annual income, and frequency of changing work. Table 1 provides summary statistics for all variables.…”

“…These factors have been associated with higher life satisfaction and daily happiness (Barton et al, 2020;Song et al, 2022). However, these potential benefits may be offset by some undesirable outcomes related to the land use mix, such as increased noise and air pollution resulting from overconcentration (Frank et al, 2006).…”

“…Evidence has found significant social inequality in park accessibility in Shenzhen and that socioeconomically disadvantaged groups exhibit lower accessibility to cities' highest and second‐highest quality parks outside neighbourhoods, especially when walking and using public transit modes (Xu et al, 2017). This phenomenon is pronounced among older Chinese migrants (Gao et al, 2022; Song et al, 2022). Thus, as migrants' dependence on their community or neighbourhood increases, the impact of NEs on their quality of life and well‐being becomes more significant.…”

“…Residential stability also benefits residents by enabling them to forge social bonds in the neighbourhood and enhance their social capital (Desmond, 2016). All of these elements contribute to strengthening migrants' SWB, whether directly or indirectly (Liu, Zhang, Liu, et al, 2017; Song et al, 2022). Although the SoP is not entirely equivalent to place attachment, they both represent in‐depth people‐place emotions (Sebastien, 2020).…”