The impact of neighborhood mental health on the mental health of older adults

Abstract

Background：The health problems of aging have attracted immense attention in recent years. Researchers are concentrating on the health of older adults from different perspectives.This report attempts to explore the impact of neighborhood mental health effects on the mental health of older adults from the neighborhood relationship. Methods：Based on the data received from the China Health and Retirement Tracking Survey (CHARLS) in 2018, people aged 60 and above were selected as the research objects (N=7713). The ordinary least square (OLS) regression model was used to analyze the influence of neighborhood mental health effect on the mental health of older adults. Furthermore, instrumental variables estimation using two-stage least-squares (IV-2SLS), heterogeneity analysis, and robustness test were used to strictly verify the effect of neighborhood mental health on the mental health of older adults. The KHB decomposition was used to examine the mechanism of effect. Results：Baseline regression showed that the neighborhood mental health effect positively affected the mental health of older adults (B=0.356, CI= [0.315,0.397]). The neighborhood mental health effect estimated by IV-2SLS (B=0.251, CI=[0.096,0.405]) was higher than that of OLS regression, indicating endogeneity. The mediating effect of KHB showed that the total effect (B=0.356, CI=[0.314,0.398]), direct effect (B=0.281, CI=[0.232,0.330]), indirect effect (B=0.075, CI=[0.049,0.101]). and the total effect was 1.266 times of the direct effect, and 21.03% of the total effect came from the intermediary variable. Conclusions：First, the neighborhood mental health effect had a positive impact on the mental health of older adults, but there are heterogeneity differences based on gender, age, residence, and other aspects. Second, the results of IV-2SLS estimation revealed that without controlling for endogenous problems, the effect of neighborhood mental health effects was underestimated. Third, county-level neighborhood mental health, life satisfaction, three-year self-assessment health change, and physical health were used to replace variables, and physical disability (small sample) and non-disability (large sample) were grouped. The effect of neighborhood mental health on older adults' mental health is stable. Finally, social connection, participation, and interaction are important mediating mechanisms for the effect of neighborhood mental health on the mental health of older adults.