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Melancholy or mahjong? Diversity, frequency, type, and rural-urban divide of social participation and depression in middle- and old-aged Chinese: A fixed-effects analysis

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  • Wang, Ruoxi
  • Chen, Zhuo
  • Zhou, Yongjie
  • Shen, Lining
  • Zhang, Zhiguo
  • Wu, Xiang

Abstract

The potential benefit of social participation (SP) to one's mental health has been widely acknowledged. Nevertheless, the specific type and amount of SP that is associated with improved depressive symptoms in middle- and old-aged Chinese awaits further investigation. This study aimed to understand the patterns of depression and SP by comparing urban vs rural China, and according to which, measure the associations between changes in SP and that in depressive symptoms. A total of 10,988 community residents aged 45 years and above were selected from wave 1 (2011), wave 2 (2013), and wave 4 (2015) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a nationally representative survey. The fixed-effects analysis was used to explore the association between the changes in diversity, frequency, and type of SP and the changes in depressive symptoms. The results indicated that rural respondents suffered from a significantly higher risk of depression and took less SP than their urban counterparts. Transitioning from no SP to 1 or more types of SP or to a once a week or higher frequency was associated with a decline in depressive symptoms. For urban respondents, playing mah-jong or cards and joining sports or social clubs predicted a decline in depressive symptoms. For rural residents, interacting with friends regularly was associated with fewer depressive symptoms. In conclusion, more diverse and higher frequency of SP was associated with better mental health, while the social significance of SP varied across different types of SP and between rural and urban areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Ruoxi & Chen, Zhuo & Zhou, Yongjie & Shen, Lining & Zhang, Zhiguo & Wu, Xiang, 2019. "Melancholy or mahjong? Diversity, frequency, type, and rural-urban divide of social participation and depression in middle- and old-aged Chinese: A fixed-effects analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:238:y:2019:i:c:7
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112518
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    3. Wang, Mingzhe & Huang, Hai & Xiong, Jie & Yuan, Zhe & Zeng, Keya, 2023. "Impact of ecological reserves on the local residents’ health: Evidence from a natural experiment in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    4. Junfeng Jiang & Jiang Song, 2022. "Health Consequences of Online Social Capital among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in China," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(4), pages 2277-2297, August.
    5. Wenran Xia & Jeroen D. H. van Wijngaarden & Robbert Huijsman & Martina Buljac-Samardžić, 2022. "Effect of Receiving Financial Support from Adult Children on Depression among Older Persons and the Mediating Role of Social Participation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-16, October.
    6. Ding, Xiangyuan & Yuan, Luoqi & Zhou, Yi, 2023. "Internet access and older adults' health: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    7. Li, Wei & Liu, Echu & Balezentis, Tomas & Jin, Huanhuan & Streimikiene, Dalia, 2021. "Association between socioeconomic welfare and depression among older adults: Evidence from the China health and Retirement Longitudinal Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    8. Junfeng Jiang & Peigang Wang, 2022. "Which Generation is More Likely to Participate in Society? A Longitudinal Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(1), pages 209-229, July.
    9. Sha Sha & Sunny H. W. Chan & Lin Chen & Yuebin Xu & Yao Pan, 2022. "The Association between Trajectories of Loneliness and Physical Frailty in Chinese Older Adults: Does Age Matter?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-12, April.
    10. Xin Gao & Tieying Feng, 2020. "Public Pension, Labor Force Participation, and Depressive Symptoms across Gender among Older Adults in Rural China: A Moderated Mediation Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-13, May.

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