The Impact of Social Support on the Health of the Rural Elderly in China

Bai, Yunli; Bian, Fang; Zhang, Linxiu; Cao, Yueming

doi:10.3390/ijerph17062004

Cited by 64 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Our results showed that aging women who took part in social activities had a higher possibility of caring for grandchildren ( Table 2 , Row 7) and led to a positive impact on self-rated health ( Table 6 , Column 3). Supporting these results, previous research has shown that taking care of grandchildren had a positive effect on both physical health and mental health of elderly people [ 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ] and helped them to increase their self-esteem [ 55 , 56 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Impacts of Social Participation on Self-Rated Health of Aging Women in China: With a Mediating Role of Caring for Grandchildren

Tian

2021

IJERPH

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Population aging is a global challenge and the degree of population aging is continuing to deepen in China. Under the active aging policy framework by WHO, great importance has been attached to aging women and participation is emphasized for the well-being of the elderly. This study aimed to investigate the relation between social participation and self-rated health status of aging women in China and whether caring for grandchildren mediated such an association. Adopting data from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), this study used Oprobit regression, propensity score matching (PSM), and instrument variable regression to estimate the effects. The result showed that there was a positive association between social participation and self-rated health among aging women in China, and social activities that directly made contributions to others had the most significant impacts on self-rated health. Furthermore, the mediator analysis confirmed that caring for grandchildren played a role between social participation and self-rated health. In conclusion, to deal with population aging challenges, the society should recognize the value of intergenerational care for aging women and the government need to strengthen policy supports to guarantee platforms and opportunities for the elderly to participate in social activities.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Impacts of Social Participation on Self-Rated Health of Aging Women in China: With a Mediating Role of Caring for Grandchildren

Tian

2021

IJERPH

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“…There is a noteworthy difference in the influence of informal social support on the mental health of urban and rural older adults. Frequent communication with children and frequent financial support from children can significantly improve the mental health of rural older adults, mainly due to the influence of “filial piety” in traditional Chinese culture, which is more obvious in rural areas [ 52 ]. At the same time, mutual communication and support among neighbors and friends can significantly improve the mental health of urban older adults because of the stronger social desire of urban older adults, which reflects the social phenomenon that distant relatives are not better than close neighbors among urban residents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Perspective of Urban–Rural Differences: The Impact of Social Support on the Mental Health of the Older Adults: A Case from Shaanxi Province, China

Zhang

Niu

2021

Healthcare

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With the increase in aging in China, the health problems of older adults, especially mental health problems, have become a concern for the whole society. This article selected urban and rural older adults and analyzed the impact of social support on their mental health using a binary logistic model. It was found that under the current urban–rural dichotomy, the effects of social support on the mental health of urban and rural older adults are significantly different. In social support, first, the fairness and satisfaction with the social security system only had a significant effect on the mental health of urban older adults and had no significant effect on the rural older adults. Second, the closeness of contact with grassroots community workers had a significant impact on the mental health of older adults in urban and rural areas. From informal social support, the mental health of rural older adults was mainly influenced by the support of their children, reflecting the influence of the traditional culture of “filial piety”. Furthermore, the mental health of urban older adults was mainly influenced by neighborhood support, reflecting the importance of “close neighbors are better than distant relatives”. Based on the results of the empirical study, this article suggests that to promote the mental health of older adults, we should start by strengthening the formal social support system, establishing high-quality community service facilities, and emphasizing the role of informal social support.

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“…Lyons (2016) and Koelmel et al (2017) demonstrated that emotional and practical support from family members can reduce the occurrence of psychological distress, thereby reducing the level of depression [40,41]. Yunli Bai (2020) suggested that communicating with children by telephone significantly improves the mental health of the rural elderly in China [42]. These results imply that family support is associated with the living satisfaction of the elderly through the mediating role of multidimensional health.…”

Section: Family Support Multidimensional Health and Living Satisfacmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family Support, Multidimensional Health, and Living Satisfaction among the Elderly: A Case from Shaanxi Province, China

Wang

Liu

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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The current study investigated the association between three types of family support and living satisfaction of elderly individuals in China, and paid particular attention to the possible mediating role of the elderly population’s multidimensional health. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2019, and 938 elderly people from seven counties (districts) of China’s Shaanxi province were enrolled. Multivariable linear regression and mediation effect analysis were employed to examine the integrated relationships among these variables. The results showed that emotional support and decisional support from families were positively related to the living satisfaction of elderly individuals (β = 0.101, p = 0.000; β = 0.263, p = 0.000), while the relationship between daily living support and living satisfaction was not significant (β = 0.017, p > 0.05). The mediation examination further demonstrated that both mental state and social integration mediated the association between emotional support and living satisfaction, as well as the association between decisional support and living satisfaction, but a mediating effect of physical health was not observed. These results indicate the pathways in the relationships of different types of family support to living satisfaction via mental state and social integration, having significant implications for enhancing the living satisfaction the elderly.

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The Impact of Social Support on the Health of the Rural Elderly in China

Cited by 64 publications

References 34 publications

Impacts of Social Participation on Self-Rated Health of Aging Women in China: With a Mediating Role of Caring for Grandchildren

Impacts of Social Participation on Self-Rated Health of Aging Women in China: With a Mediating Role of Caring for Grandchildren

A New Perspective of Urban–Rural Differences: The Impact of Social Support on the Mental Health of the Older Adults: A Case from Shaanxi Province, China

Family Support, Multidimensional Health, and Living Satisfaction among the Elderly: A Case from Shaanxi Province, China

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