Journal article
Neighborhood Effects on the Health of Chinese Older Adults: Beyond the Rural and Urban Dichotomy
The Gerontologist, Vol.61(3), pp.403-412
04/01/2021
DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnaa081
PMID: 32598467
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The associations between physical frailty and depressive symptoms among older individuals were established in the existing literature. Taking the person-environment perspective, we argue that neighborhood environment could either buffer the stress derived from being physically vulnerable or worsen it by adding another layer of stressors in the environmental context when physical health declined. The objectives of this study were to explore to what extent the neighborhood-level characteristics moderate the relationship between physical frailty and depressive symptoms.
Research Design and Methods: Using the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2011 wave, 6,245 individuals aged 60 years and older were included for analyses. Multilevel mixed-effects models were fitted to examine the moderating effects of urbanicity and neighborhood-level socioeconomic status (SES) on the relationship between frailty and depressive symptoms among older adults, controlling for individual-level characteristics.
Results: Results showed a stronger relationship between deterioration in physical health and depressive symptoms in rural neighborhoods and neighborhoods with lower SES, after controlling for individual-level SES. Also, the moderating effects of the neighborhood-level socioeconomic factors remained after controlling for urbanicity, indicating that neighborhood SES works beyond the rural-urban contexts.
Discussion and Implications: Findings from this study demonstrate the important roles of neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics in reshaping, and the need to redefine, China's rural-urban dichotomy. The findings also identified neighborhoods with low SES as potential targets for policy and practice to reduce the stress associated with health decline.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Neighborhood Effects on the Health of Chinese Older Adults: Beyond the Rural and Urban Dichotomy
- Creators
- Yuekang Li - Washington University in St. LouisYi Wang - University of Iowa, School of Social WorkNancy Morrow-Howell - Washington University in St. Louis
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Gerontologist, Vol.61(3), pp.403-412
- DOI
- 10.1093/geront/gnaa081
- PMID
- 32598467
- NLM abbreviation
- Gerontologist
- ISSN
- 0016-9013
- eISSN
- 1758-5341
- Publisher
- Oxford Univ Press
- Number of pages
- 10
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 04/01/2021
- Academic Unit
- School of Social Work
- Record Identifier
- 9984318050502771
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